_Wick
Rachel and white wall
Model: Rachel
Makeup: Aim
Location: Kerr Studio, Norcross, GA
Rachel was lit by two 800W continuous light sources. Main light was about 10 feet back over her right shoulder and cast the shadow on the wall. The second light was lower and to camera right providing front lighting. The white wall also provided fill lighting to her right side face. Both lights were roughly 45 degrees to the flat surface of the wall. It was high contrast lighting with bare bulbs.
Camera: Canon 450D
Lens: Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L
White Balance: Tungsten
ISO: 100
Speed 1/125 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
The original capture was great, but I did the following to bump it up a notch.
The RAW image was fine tuned for white balance, and adjustments were tweaked for clarity and vibrancy, black level and exposure we adjusted for full luminance range without clipping. Saturation (adding about 4%) were balanced between highlights and shadows to match the scene as I remembered it.
The image was then brought into Photoshop (CS5) and cropped using the rule of thirds, placing the eyes in a position of interest in the framing. Harsh lighting is very unforgiving to skin, so minor cosmetic touch-up with a healing brush and clone tool were used on the skin. The blur tool was also used on the skin for additional smoothing and softness.
For the eyes, the following tools were used with very light settings ( 8 - 15 %): The sharpen tool was used on the eyes, eye lashes and the parting of the lips; sponge tool on de-saturate was used on the whites of the eyes; Burn tool was used on the outer edge of the iris; and the lighten tool was used in the center annular area of the iris. Finally, the sponge tool on saturate was used on the overall iris in order to intensify the color. [The image needs to be viewed full size to see this]
A couple of ever so subtle enhancements were also applied:
An additional technique was used to draw the viewer’s attention into the face. A 2nd layer was added with a box shaped gradient layer with a 45 degree rotation, and it was placed over the Rachel’s face: white in the center, black at the edges. Blend mode was set to screen, and the opacity was set very very low. Masking was used to eliminate the effect from Rachel’s skin and where it was distracting on the front wall. The final effect is very slight, and it’s not even noticeable unless you know it’s there.
A copy of the flattened image was saved at this point, and HDR toning was applied to the image. Radius of the edge glow is a critical adjustment in the process so the HDR effect is not overdone.. The HDR toned image was placed in a new layer above the previously saved copy of the image. The opacity was then reduced with a color multiply blending option. This adds a little kick to the image, bringing out the hair highlights. This has to be applied with a light touch to look natural.
Rachel and white wall
Model: Rachel
Makeup: Aim
Location: Kerr Studio, Norcross, GA
Rachel was lit by two 800W continuous light sources. Main light was about 10 feet back over her right shoulder and cast the shadow on the wall. The second light was lower and to camera right providing front lighting. The white wall also provided fill lighting to her right side face. Both lights were roughly 45 degrees to the flat surface of the wall. It was high contrast lighting with bare bulbs.
Camera: Canon 450D
Lens: Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L
White Balance: Tungsten
ISO: 100
Speed 1/125 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
The original capture was great, but I did the following to bump it up a notch.
The RAW image was fine tuned for white balance, and adjustments were tweaked for clarity and vibrancy, black level and exposure we adjusted for full luminance range without clipping. Saturation (adding about 4%) were balanced between highlights and shadows to match the scene as I remembered it.
The image was then brought into Photoshop (CS5) and cropped using the rule of thirds, placing the eyes in a position of interest in the framing. Harsh lighting is very unforgiving to skin, so minor cosmetic touch-up with a healing brush and clone tool were used on the skin. The blur tool was also used on the skin for additional smoothing and softness.
For the eyes, the following tools were used with very light settings ( 8 - 15 %): The sharpen tool was used on the eyes, eye lashes and the parting of the lips; sponge tool on de-saturate was used on the whites of the eyes; Burn tool was used on the outer edge of the iris; and the lighten tool was used in the center annular area of the iris. Finally, the sponge tool on saturate was used on the overall iris in order to intensify the color. [The image needs to be viewed full size to see this]
A couple of ever so subtle enhancements were also applied:
An additional technique was used to draw the viewer’s attention into the face. A 2nd layer was added with a box shaped gradient layer with a 45 degree rotation, and it was placed over the Rachel’s face: white in the center, black at the edges. Blend mode was set to screen, and the opacity was set very very low. Masking was used to eliminate the effect from Rachel’s skin and where it was distracting on the front wall. The final effect is very slight, and it’s not even noticeable unless you know it’s there.
A copy of the flattened image was saved at this point, and HDR toning was applied to the image. Radius of the edge glow is a critical adjustment in the process so the HDR effect is not overdone.. The HDR toned image was placed in a new layer above the previously saved copy of the image. The opacity was then reduced with a color multiply blending option. This adds a little kick to the image, bringing out the hair highlights. This has to be applied with a light touch to look natural.