Category — Uncategorized

Last week, Bill received an e-mail with a question about “The Boxer” post, and we thought we’d share it along with Bill’s answer. Luckily Bill caught the e-mail, as it had been sent to is junk box! So we’re going to request that any questions regarding the blog be made on this site, so to avoid missing them!

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Good day to you Bill. How are y
ou doing? I am a huge fan of your work! I saw your website on Flickr and have going on it almost everyday
I am particularly intrigued by the boxer girl photo. I am new to STROBIST and the HDR stuff. I work as a graphic designer so I get to do some cool stuff too sometimes.

I just had a super quick question for you, well I went through the boxer girl tutorial you were talking about in your blog and I had a hard time seeing the layers that you used in PS.

I am trying to get the same kind of look and was wondering if you would be so kind as to maybe send me the layers screen shot so that I could read what’s there.
I want to set up my PS file the way you have. I have included a screen capture to show you what I am talking about.

Thanks kindly,
And I hope to hear back from you.

Best regards

______________________________________________
SAMIT BHATIA

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Hello Samit!

Thanks for your
interest and inquiry.

As I was able to read the layers pallete in the email you sent to me, I will try to describe the layers from the bottom up.

The first layer is not relevant it is simply a merge of all above.

#2 Is the HDR room scene background.
#3 Is a duplicate of the Room Scene Background desaturated and changed to multiply blend mode. Then a layer mask was applied and a hole
“punched” in it with a large soft edge brush. The purpose of this layer is to softly darken the edges, a “vignette” if you will. I like this method as it does not add any weird
saturation.
#4 Is a curves adjustment layer activated after a selection was made. It creates the beam of light crossing behind her.
#5 Is the previously masked model on a transparent field.
#6 Is a layer affecting only the model layer, some simple additional face retouching.
#7 Is a layer affecting only the model layer, a curves adjustment layer adjusting the shadow contrast on the face.
#8 Is a layer affecting only the model layer, a curves adjustment of a selection of the eyes to brighten them.
#9 Is a layer affecting only the model layer, a curves adjustment of a selection of the left eye only.
#10 Is a layer affecting only the model layer, a curves adjustment of a selection of the hand tape on the right to darken and add contrast.
#11 Is a layer affecting only the model layer, same tape on left.
#12 Is a layer affecting only the model layer, a curves adjustment layer to darken the model overall slightly.
#13 Is a layer affecting only the model layer, a hue saturation adjustment layer to slightly alter the hue of the model.
#14 Is a layer affecting only the model layer, a layer set to color on which I painted some warm tint into the ropes.
#15 I copied and pasted the ear and hands onto this layer and pulled out red. The hands and ears were a little too red.
#16 Is a layer set to color on which I painted the yellow into the windows on the right and wall on the left.
#17 Is a curves adjustment layer adjusting the yellow painted on the layer below.
#18 Is a softlight layer filled with 50% gray to burn and dodge the shorts to add to their dimension.
#19 Is the new catchlights in the eyes.

So thanks to Samit for his question and I hope everyone can benefit from this.
I think by far the most important thing to take away from this is that their is no “formula”. Each of these are subtle yet important details that contribute to the whole.
None or some of these may show up in another image. It all depends on what is required.

Thanks

Bill

I can’t believe it’s been a month since my last post!  How could I have let so much time pass by?  We’ve been getting busy around the studio again, and while Bill has been shooting nearly every day of every work week, I’ve been busy with some back-to-back retouching jobs.  After a small break over the winter, we began working again with a client that Bill has been shooting for, for nearly 20 years.  They’re among the leading manufacturers of dance and gymnastics costumes in America.  Starting in February Bill shoots for them roughly 2-3 weeks per month up to December, though there are several breaks scattered throughout this time.  Each photo shoot is a large job with multiple sets and many people involved to keep it running smoothly.  They output roughly 5 main catalogs, some twice a year, and various other supplements and publications.  The first to be printed this year is their line of leotards for gymnasts.  They have two different catalogs for this; one is a higher-end series for performance and the other is a little more light and fun.The following images first show the raw image developed without any adjustments.  The following paired images afterwards show the raw developed WITH adjustments followed by the final retouched photo.  You’ll notice that through tweaking the RAW file, more contrast and better flesh tone were achieved, giving me an advantage before even developing the file.

- Before/After

- Before/After

- Before/After

- Before/After

- Before/After

In order to give the skin tones pop while editing RAWs, I use the Color Editor feature in Capture One PRO to make a selection of the skin tone, then boost the saturation and/or lightness depending upon the lighting conditions.  Afterwards, I just save the ICC profile and am able to use it again for other images.  I have created several of these, all dependent upon the lighting of the image, the skin tone of the model, and various other criteria.  This method helps greatly helps minimize steps that would later be taken in retouching the file.

Though the inclement weather had threatened to cancel the carefully laid plans of Saturday, February 23rd, it was unable to hinder the spirit and determination of nearly everyone involved in the Central PA Strobist meet.  In fact, it couldn’t have been a better success thanks to all the talented, selfless, helpful, inquisitive photographers who met up for a day of learning and experimentation.  I would like to thank all of you for coming with jubilance and excitement and for making the day as wonderful as it was!  And a special thanks to Jordan Oplinger for his amazing videography talents and making a video of the day!

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Wow, it’s been over three weeks since my last update!  It’s starting to get pretty busy around the studio, especially for Bill with the arrival of his newest piece of equipment…the RED Digital Cinema Camera.  A few years ago he started offering videography and made dozens of commercials, training videos, and anything else clients may need.  He even did editing of a local documentary-drama film, The Blue Eyed Six.  Well with the advent of this new prosumer all digital video camera, the quality easily surpasses filming on mini-dv.  Later this week I’ll be posting up photos of a shoot Bill did last week along with a more detailed commentary on this remarkable piece of equipment.By the way, we’d like to thank everyone for the immense amount of feedback on the “Boxer Chick” image!  We hope to offer explanations like this for future shoots as well :). Strobist meet this Saturday!!!   Can’t believe it’s here already.  We’ve got about 30 photographers attending…what a blast it’s going to be.

Well for all you strobist.com flickr members near Central Pennsylvania we’ve finally selected a date for a meet-up at the studio. Mark your calendars for Saturday, February 23rd! We’re still working on setting a time to begin, but once I get a good idea of how many people will be able to attend that can be worked out. We have plenty of equipment, props for those wanting to try still life photography, and we’ll provide light refreshments. However, please feel free to bring anything you wish, especially if you know of someone who can model for the meet. There’s no charge to participate (save your money for gas if you need to travel). If you would like to attend or have any other questions, please e-mail me at shana@simoneassociates.com. Now let the countdown begin :)!