This is the first of two portraits of Harmony, both of which were shot today. This one was taken in our garden this morning, while the second was taken in the park in Veliko Tarnovo at lunchtime. Of the two, I think I prefer this one, but there's something about the next one that I really like too.
In terms of the post-processing: this is a partial black and white, insofar as I used a Channel Mixer adjustment layer (biased towards the red channel) to convert the image to black and white, after which I lowered the opacity of the layer to allow some of the colour to bleed back into the image. In other words, it's very much like the first image I discuss in my Black and White: part one tutorial; i.e. the image is a lot lighter than the original – because of the way in which the black and white conversion was carried out – but because the opacity of that layer was lowered it's a colour rather than black and white image. To give you an idea of what I mean, take a look at the original:
Kevin: I was trying to photograph a small spider yesterday afternoon, and didn't get around to changing the lens. That said, the 100mm macro is a razor sharp lens, and great for portraits, so I may well use it more often.
comment by Mark at 07:32 PM (GMT) on 8 June, 2009
Do you do any localized adjustments around the eyes? They are so clear and brilliant, and grab my attention much more so than in the original. This seems to be a feature of most of your portraits, which I really like.
comment byJennifer at 07:52 PM (GMT) on 8 June, 2009
Gorgeous - perfect processing.
comment by-trond- at 07:54 PM (GMT) on 8 June, 2009
This is absolutely stunning! The dim colors in it makes a very special mood, fantastic work.
comment byMaarten at 08:28 PM (GMT) on 8 June, 2009
beautiful shot ! Just love the tones !!!
comment by Chris at 08:29 PM (GMT) on 8 June, 2009
Hi Dave, Did not realize it was your birthday today, so Happy Birthday! Another nice portrait. The bleeding colors through the B&W works great.
However, You were photographing a spider? Are you exploring more macro-type of material? I actually did two spiders recently, if you care to see them,
http://cmldigitaldetails.com/photoblog/index.php?showimage=209
http://cmldigitaldetails.com/photoblog/index.php?showimage=220
Happy Birthday! God's decission gave you a camera was really great :D ...
comment by Ananth at 06:12 AM (GMT) on 9 June, 2009
She doesn't need a great photographer like you
You dont need a great model like her
But when you happen to be together
That will be impressive as ever.
Happy Birthday djn and keep rocking...
comment byLightningPaul at 08:14 AM (GMT) on 9 June, 2009
Very beautiful! I love such toned images from you a lot. I would have preferred both eyes sharp or one sharp and the other one more blurry.
comment byPernilla at 10:17 AM (GMT) on 9 June, 2009
comment byStephan at 01:02 PM (GMT) on 9 June, 2009
I like it very much. The posing itself might be a tad too mature style for a little girl maybe.
Hearing that it was your birthday yesterday, I wish you all the best and I hope you had a great party :)
I want to say a big 'thank you' for describing what you did in the post processing on your pictures. That, plus the link to the original photo is much appreciated.
This is the first of two portraits of Harmony, both of which were shot today. This one was taken in our garden this morning, while the second was taken in the park in Veliko Tarnovo at lunchtime. Of the two, I think I prefer this one, but there's something about the next one that I really like too.
In terms of the post-processing: this is a partial black and white, insofar as I used a Channel Mixer adjustment layer (biased towards the red channel) to convert the image to black and white, after which I lowered the opacity of the layer to allow some of the colour to bleed back into the image. In other words, it's very much like the first image I discuss in my Black and White: part one tutorial; i.e. the image is a lot lighter than the original – because of the way in which the black and white conversion was carried out – but because the opacity of that layer was lowered it's a colour rather than black and white image. To give you an idea of what I mean, take a look at the original:
.../archives/dreaming_of.php
As you can see, it's quite a light shot anyway, but nowhere near as high-key as the final image.
As always, let me know what you think.
Oh, and thanks for all the birthday wishes on Facebook, they're very much appreciated :)
camera
lens
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
cropped?
Canon 1Ds Mark II
EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
f/4.0
1/160
aperture priority
+0.0
evaluative
100
no
RAW
Adobe Camera Raw
1x1
what impressive light!!! Wonderful david and happy birthday again..
Stunning work as always. All the best.
Happy Birthday David!
And your picture of Harmony is positively gorgeous.
Wonderful picture David. I'm curious as to your choice of lens. How did this work differently than with your 24-70 or 70-200 2.8/L?
Odilia, Thatch and Kevin H: thanks.
Kevin: I was trying to photograph a small spider yesterday afternoon, and didn't get around to changing the lens. That said, the 100mm macro is a razor sharp lens, and great for portraits, so I may well use it more often.
Do you do any localized adjustments around the eyes? They are so clear and brilliant, and grab my attention much more so than in the original. This seems to be a feature of most of your portraits, which I really like.
Gorgeous - perfect processing.
This is absolutely stunning! The dim colors in it makes a very special mood, fantastic work.
beautiful shot ! Just love the tones !!!
Hi Dave, Did not realize it was your birthday today, so Happy Birthday! Another nice portrait. The bleeding colors through the B&W works great.
However, You were photographing a spider? Are you exploring more macro-type of material? I actually did two spiders recently, if you care to see them,
http://cmldigitaldetails.com/photoblog/index.php?showimage=209
http://cmldigitaldetails.com/photoblog/index.php?showimage=220
Again, Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday! God's decission gave you a camera was really great :D ...
She doesn't need a great photographer like you
You dont need a great model like her
But when you happen to be together
That will be impressive as ever.
Happy Birthday djn and keep rocking...
Very beautiful! I love such toned images from you a lot. I would have preferred both eyes sharp or one sharp and the other one more blurry.
Wonderful portrait! Amazing work.
I think it's your birthday, so Happy Birthday, and thanks for your present to us...this outstanding portrait.
Amazing Portrait ! beautiful kid..
.. oh.. and Happy Birthday
Bonjour,
great portrait..Nice effect..bravo!
I like it very much. The posing itself might be a tad too mature style for a little girl maybe.
Hearing that it was your birthday yesterday, I wish you all the best and I hope you had a great party :)
I want to say a big 'thank you' for describing what you did in the post processing on your pictures. That, plus the link to the original photo is much appreciated.
I like the shot just the pose looks a litlte disjointed to me? Almost a twsited neck :/
Great focus, and I love the soft colours!
beautiful. innocently sophisticated.
and shot with my (new) favorite lens !!!
Thanks everyone, for the comments and birthday wishes :)
Mark: in this instance I didn't add any localized adjustments to the eyes, but it is a technique I use quite often, as discussed in this tutorial.
Chris: both your spiders are considerably better than mine :)
YETi: I agree, that's the only thing I don't like about this one.
beautiful picture!!!