LightningPaul

21 Mar 2009 • 442 views
 
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photoblog image The Lady with the Camera

The Lady with the Camera


While wondering around, I suddenly noticed that this woman grabbed her camera, leaned against the door, shot and left immediately. All went very quickly.

Luckily I had my camera in my hand ready to snap which I did. The moment I took this image I just knew I had captured a great image (or at least I think I did, feel free to judge yourself by writing a comment).



TECH-INFO: despites I knew I had a good shot, I had lots problems how to post process it. I tried so many thinks, even some HDR techniques. The latter is (mostly) a very bad idea for portraits.
It was shot in RAW, so that means a blessing because you have lots of data for all kinds of procesing, but also a curse because of having too many options. A "standard" RAW conversion with the usual adjustments yielded in a pretty dull image without inspiring colors.

During my last trials I starting working to get a decent B/W image. Using the selective color tool I darkened the background. By painting on masked curves adjestment layers I brightened the camera and some parts of the face. The B/W tool, part of CS3 converterd it. It's a good idea to use the colors to selectively alter the tones and then set it in B/W.

On Chromasia I read some neat stuff of using textures. So a few weeks ago I've shot some metal bumps of a crane near the beach. I mixed two of my textures, using soft light blending, with the background (only). At the end I converted the image to grayscale and then colored it using the duotone function. Now it has a nice and warm effect. Finally I added Fuji Superia HG1600 film grain using DxO Optics Pro.

The image reminds me to pictures published in Lenswork Magazine. Though I still have long way to go to reach that level.




The Lady with the Camera


While wondering around, I suddenly noticed that this woman grabbed her camera, leaned against the door, shot and left immediately. All went very quickly.

Luckily I had my camera in my hand ready to snap which I did. The moment I took this image I just knew I had captured a great image (or at least I think I did, feel free to judge yourself by writing a comment).



TECH-INFO: despites I knew I had a good shot, I had lots problems how to post process it. I tried so many thinks, even some HDR techniques. The latter is (mostly) a very bad idea for portraits.
It was shot in RAW, so that means a blessing because you have lots of data for all kinds of procesing, but also a curse because of having too many options. A "standard" RAW conversion with the usual adjustments yielded in a pretty dull image without inspiring colors.

During my last trials I starting working to get a decent B/W image. Using the selective color tool I darkened the background. By painting on masked curves adjestment layers I brightened the camera and some parts of the face. The B/W tool, part of CS3 converterd it. It's a good idea to use the colors to selectively alter the tones and then set it in B/W.

On Chromasia I read some neat stuff of using textures. So a few weeks ago I've shot some metal bumps of a crane near the beach. I mixed two of my textures, using soft light blending, with the background (only). At the end I converted the image to grayscale and then colored it using the duotone function. Now it has a nice and warm effect. Finally I added Fuji Superia HG1600 film grain using DxO Optics Pro.

The image reminds me to pictures published in Lenswork Magazine. Though I still have long way to go to reach that level.




comments (14)

You have made a great job of a well caught picture
Oooh, how I love faces like these, all with lines of life...
Bravo, bellissima.
i think the capture is great on its own Paul, and i love what you have done to it fella. Bookmarked that site, looks interesting, cheerssmile
Muy buena. Me gusta el virado atrevido a rojo.
  • 613photo
  • United States
  • 21 Mar 2009, 22:43
I really like this one. Your choice of toning is outstanding; even though I'm not generally a fan of that it certainly fits this photo very well. One of my favorite aspects is to see an older person with such a modern-looking camera. You'd expect such a distinguished appearing woman to be shooting a Leica or something.

Great detail, though. You really captured a moment of studied concentration here.
  • jelb
  • France
  • 22 Mar 2009, 00:48
Bonjour,
Nice shot..Well done effect..Bravo!
The processing you did to this RAW conversion really makes the shot. The strong blacks certainly accentuate the lines in the lady's face, and bring out a character of focused concentration. Great use of sharpening also - I think this is just the right balance, such that textures are emphasized, but without becoming overwhelming.
Red is red, but I like it.
Another trick is to use bichromy, to keep the blacks black (duotone in CS3)
  • Doum
  • Canada
  • 23 Mar 2009, 15:56
E X C E L L E N T! Minolta can use this photo for prepare shock publicity campaign. I learn another idea / technique from you Paul, thank.
It's an excellent portrait; sounds like a lot of work in the processing but it was worth it for such a great result. Would be interested to see it without the red tint (ie just in B&W) and also the original
Yep you got a cracker Paul, did it need processing?
  • Denis
  • an other galaxy
  • 30 Mar 2009, 10:34
Excellent picture. And I am impressed how pfofessionnaly she holds her camera.
Amazing portrait, love the clarity and the shadows here

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for this photo I'm in a any and all comments icon ShMood©
camera NIKON D200
exposure mode aperture priority
shutterspeed 1/50s
aperture f/5.6
sensitivity ISO200
focal length 150.0mm
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