I have a B/W conversion of Multnomah Falls and would like opinions and suggestions on improving the image. I have included the original color version as well. Thanks, Barbara
For the original, the light is quite soft. To give it more snap, try a PS duplicate layer with the Soft Light blending mode and adjust the opacity slider to somewhere between 40% and 70%. Also some USM would probably help. A slightly different crop might also benefit. Perhaps a little off the top and right side.
For a B & W version, I'd suggest playing with the color sliders for a darker foliage to give the water greater contrast.
As aesthetically pleasing as they are to view in person, I've had little success in capturing the grandeur and scope of waterfalls - in short, a difficult subject, at least IMO. My most recent failed attempts were at Watson Falls...maybe better next time
I agree with AuntiPode, #1 is flat and soft, #2 could stand some pop.
Although I've been there, we did not have an opportunity to explore different vantage points so I do not know the accessibility, but the next time perhaps something other than the frontal view would add more uniqueness and interest to the image. Maybe you already have something in the 'set'?
I think the shot cooks in color. It must have been an overcast day to get such great detail in the shadow areas. The trees at the top make a great frame for the bridge. If you have a shot that includes the tops of the trees (especially the trees in the upper left), you could do a horizontal crop just above the bottom falls line so that you don’t know what the depth of the canyon is, and it would have a nice visual flow between the upper falls, the trees, and the bridge. The two people viewing the falls, makes the shot. You might change the color of the person’s white jacket, so it isn’t the same as the falls; and clone out the white spot in the middle of the bridge.
1) Rotate the image so the bridge is horizontal (Level)
2) Perform a high pass sharpening filter in Photoshop by doing the following:
- Duplicat the Image Layer
- Top Layer - Highpass filter (it is in the filter menu)
- Setting somewhere between 1 and 2 just until you see an outline of the image
- Set Blending Mode to Overlay
3) Merge the Highpass Layer and the Background Layer
4) Perform a slight USM on the image with the following setting:
- Threshold : 0
- Radius : 80
- Amount : 30%
5) Convert the color type to Lab Color
- Adjust Curves
- For both the A and B curve:
- Drag the bottom left end of the diaginal line to the right to about 115
- Drag the Top right end of the diagonal line to the left to about 115
6) Convert back to RGB Color
These changes should make it a nice image and do the following:
Bob, AuntiPode, Bert, Scott, Ken, you all have such great suggestions and ideas. I learn so much from each of you. I can't seem to put my finger on it but something to me isn't quite right with the image. (I may just have to re-shoot the falls when I go back up that way). I wish when I shot these pictures that I bracketed the shots for more range, but I did at least use a neutral density filter. I will continue to try different things and see if I can't come up with a pleasing combination. I will post another pic when I finish the pp'ing. Thanks, Barbara
Here is a better way to add detail to the falls. This method involves looking for the channel with the best diffuse highlights. Since every file has ten channels, we open the original file in RGB (3 channels) and a duplicate in CMYK (4 channels). We don't need a LAB version (3 channels) this time.
The CYAN channel in the CMYK version has slightly better detail than any of the RGB channels, so using the Apply Image command, the CYAN channel can be copied to a new layer above the original Background layer in the RGB file.
With the new layer selected open the Curves dialog (Ctrl-m), and drag the top right curve point down so the Output = 230. Set the blend mode to Multiply.
Following Tony Kuyper's tutorial on luminosity masks, make a Super Lights mask in RGB.
Load it and click on the mask icon at the bottom of the masks palette. Blur the layer mask with Gaussian Blur (radius 2).
