DPC Mentorship - Digital Color - DPChallenge Forums

07/27/2005 08:49:14 PM · #76

Exercise 3
This was my first attempt at selective color so be kind! ;-)
Hopefully I did a little better than I did on exercise 2.
I didn't do too much really. I used levels and curves to brighten the shot and add contrast then selective color to bring out the color of the water and sky. I cropped out some distractions in the water on the lower left and some leaves on the top. I also cloned out some very distracting sensor dust.

I just got back from Chicago a few hours ago so I'm behind on commenting but I promise to catch up tonight or tomorrow at the latest.
-Laura

edited to add photos (duh!)

Message edited by author 2005-07-27 20:50:51.

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

07/28/2005 05:52:22 PM · #77

Originally posted by Jeileen:

Originally posted by nico_blue:
I am going to have a crazy busy week this week, but I'll make sure to leave feedback and comments on everyone's stuff in the coming days. Feel free to pm me at anytime with questions or comments. Just wanted to say that I am really proud of you guys, keep up the great work! :-)

Sounds like midterms!

Close :-)
I am doing biomaterials research over the summer and I am preparing for a presentation next week.

The new lesson is posted, according to my original plans it was going to be on duotoning but last minute change of plans and its burning and dogding instead which would be really helpful for duotoning.

oOWonderBreadOo

Canon EOS-5D

07/29/2005 01:51:24 PM · #78

Not sure about it...

Message edited by author 2005-09-05 20:27:16.

07/30/2005 06:53:23 PM · #79

Okay, so I just spent an agonizing hour-hour and a half trying to pretend I know how to use the dodge and burn tools -- with little to no success.
Resize for web. Get ready to upload. Decide to check the assignment one more time to make sure I did't miss anything.
"enhance a black and white photo using dodge and burn"
Damn!
All day yesterday I told myself it was supposed to be black and white. This morning I told myself it was supposed to be black and white. This afternoon I get off work early, rush home to work on my photo, spend what feels like an eternity getting absolutely nowhere, resign myself to show such pitiful work to the rest of the group ---- and it's in COLOR!
SHITE!!
Now what?
Should I upload it anyway? Is color better than nothing?
-Laura

07/30/2005 08:18:17 PM · #80

Originally posted by sheapod:

Go ahead and upload it, color is waaay better than nothing :-)
It would be a shame to have all that work into the photo and not get any feedback on it. The only reason i wanted the assingment to be in b/w was bcos its easier to work with dodge/burn on black and white photos.

07/30/2005 09:24:14 PM · #81

Alright. Sorry that I don't know how to read properly. lol
I had to laugh at the irony of dodge and burn being the new assignment since I tried it on my selective color shot with very poor results. I didn't have much better luck this time. It is kind of cool how much lighter the trees are, but it messed up their color and I think I really messed up the sky. I'm gonna have to practice this A LOT to get a handle on it.
In b/w of course. :-)
-Laura

Edit: Along with dodge and burn I used levels, curves and selective color. I also cropped out a little on the left.

Message edited by author 2005-07-30 21:25:53.

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

07/31/2005 06:42:14 PM · #82

Sorry for the late completion - I was out of town for the weekend and, despite being able to check DPC, didn't have my USB cord or any photo software with me to allow me to edit. I got back late last night and just completed assignment four with a shot I took over the weekend.

The first shot is the unedited (only converted from raw, all default settings in raw). The second is the edited version (settings in RAW converter, Curves, Channel Mixer, USM). The third is the edited version after it has been dodged/burned. I'm not sure if I prefer the first or second edited version, so let me know what you think and if you wouldn've done anything differently.

P.S. I think I have commented on everybody's shots, but let me know if I haven't and I'll make sure to do it :)

edit to add: The changes are very subtle, but I tried to lighten the eye areas, as well as the tongue/part of the mouth... and tried to darken nearly everything else. More specific editing info can be found on the last shot.

edit again to add: For some reason after converting to sRGB and using "Save for web" it converts it back to Adobe RGB and messed up the colors a bit when I uploaded it. Here is what the Final (Edited, Dodged/Burned) version was supposed to look like (sorry, it's a bit smaller in size):

Message edited by author 2005-07-31 19:08:05.

DustDevil

Canon EOS-70D

07/31/2005 07:04:34 PM · #83

Sorry I did not complete the assignment. But for the "long exposure" challenge I am doing dodge and burning. So I did not want to post anything that I wanted to use for it. I had some nice cloud pictures but nothing on land. Was not very dramatic, so I opted not to post it.

I had a question. I have used dodge and burn before. But I did it in a layer type of way. I would make a duplicate or mask of a layer and then do gaussian blue and set the layer properties to dodge or burn. I like the paintbrush way better because you have more control over it.

07/31/2005 07:14:03 PM · #84

Originally posted by DustDevil:

I had a similar dilemma with my Wooden entry, but I think the practice of using it (even on one of your old photos) will be of great benefit. I did the Dodging/Burning via a layer as well. I added a New Layer and set the mode to Overlay and chose the option to fill it with 50% neutral gray. Then I just used the paintbrush at 5-9% opacity in order to dodge/burn. Unfortunately the Adobe RGB mix-up de-emphasized the difference (I think) between versions.

07/31/2005 07:29:29 PM · #85

Originally posted by brianlh:

Originally posted by DustDevil:
Sorry I did not complete the assignment. But for the "long exposure" challenge I am doing dodge and burning. So I did not want to post anything that I wanted to use for it. I had some nice cloud pictures but nothing on land. Was not very dramatic, so I opted not to post it.

I had a similar dilemma with my Wooden entry, but I think the practice of using it (even on one of your old photos) will be of great benefit. I did the Dodging/Burning via a layer as well. I added a New Layer and set the mode to Overlay and chose the option to fill it with 50% neutral gray. Then I just used the paintbrush at 5-9% opacity in order to dodge/burn. Unfortunately the Adobe RGB mix-up de-emphasized the difference (I think) between versions.

This dilemma thing must be contagious... for this assignment I dug up an old challenge submission and attempted to improve what I had originally submitted. The original -

and the "new and improved" version -

A little hint - I put some shadows on the background canvas and highlights on the bottle and glass.

Message edited by author 2005-07-31 19:30:36.

07/31/2005 07:55:08 PM · #86

Originally posted by Jeileen:

A S S I G N M E N T # 3 (I think this is the first time I finished on time)
Original/Edited versions

I made revisions based on group feedback -

What do you think?

08/02/2005 12:00:46 PM · #87

Hey - can I join this group for real? I tried to be a groupie and follow several of the mentorship threads but found, to my surprise actually, that this is the one that intersts me the most.

I have done all my homework and posted it in my profile and I have commented on all the pictures. I'll be a good group memeber, I promise.

08/02/2005 02:17:20 PM · #88

Ellen, I for one welcome you to our little group. Your comments so far have been well thought out and insightful. Much more than my own in fact. I think you can bring a lot to the party and help us all improve.
Now that I know you've also done the assignments I'm off to comment.
Welcome!
-Laura

08/02/2005 05:33:07 PM · #89

Originally posted by emorgan49:

Thanks for the compliment. I agree that this group is interesting. I feel that I am learning a bit.

As far as wanting to join us, according to the rules of the group - "If you are not an active member of this group but have a question or comment, please send it directly to the moderator by Private Message. The moderator will either answer you directly or post your comment and their response to the thread." Nico-blue is our moderator.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

08/02/2005 09:35:37 PM · #90

Originally posted by emorgan49:

In light of your dedication and since not all our current members are 100% active i think the group does have an opening and would benefit from an active member like yourself.

Welcome aboard!

PS - if you are an official member and would like to relinquish your spot in the group for whatever reason please PM me so that I can have an accurate class size estimate.

Message edited by author 2005-08-02 21:39:01.

JayWalk

Canon EOS-6D

08/02/2005 09:42:35 PM · #91

Originally posted by nico_blue:

Originally posted by emorgan49:
Hey - can I join this group for real? I tried to be a groupie and follow several of the mentorship threads but found, to my surprise actually, that this is the one that intersts me the most.

I have done all my homework and posted it in my profile and I have commented on all the pictures. I'll be a good group memeber, I promise.

In light of your dedication and since not all our current members are 100% active i think the group does have an opening and would benefit from an active member like yourself.

Welcome aboard!

PS - if you are an official member and would like to relinquish your spot in the group for whatever reason please PM me so that I can have an accurate class size estimate.

Feel free to take my spot since I have not been very active in this group. Sorry to take up a spot.

08/02/2005 10:01:22 PM · #92

Originally posted by JayWalk:

Feel free to take my spot since I have not been very active in this group. Sorry to take up a spot.

No need to apologize, thanks for offering up your spot. Feel free to follow along in the thread and pm me with questions and/or comments. Oh and we should have that Providence, RI mini-gtg at somepoint :-)

08/03/2005 12:29:36 PM · #93

Thank you so much for bending the rules for me. I originally thought I wouldn't have time to join a group. And I am glad I waited because I have found that I am not as interested, or maybe just not ready for, some of the groups I had considered. I am intrigued by black and white images and think "OOOHhh I'd love to make pictures like that" but in the end I always find myself wanting MORE color instead.

I have been following along with the lessons.

This is #1 - complimentary colors. And this is what I learned:

1. It works. Even with just a levels adjustment, as I did here, the colors themselves help the other color to stand out.

2. I should look for complimenatry colors when I am shooting, not just wait for them to turn uo randomly and say "oh wow".

3. The local garden clubs have studied more color theory than I have. I am amazed how often they plant yellow next to purple, red in a sea of green and blue mixed with orange.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

08/03/2005 12:32:16 PM · #94

Wait - I forgot the first part where we post a color image that we like. This one always takes my breath away.

JayWalk

Canon EOS-6D

08/03/2005 12:59:12 PM · #95

Originally posted by nico_blue:

Originally posted by JayWalk:

Feel free to take my spot since I have not been very active in this group. Sorry to take up a spot.

No need to apologize, thanks for offering up your spot. Feel free to follow along in the thread and pm me with questions and/or comments. Oh and we should have that Providence, RI mini-gtg at somepoint :-)

I'm down whenever. Possibly some candids on Thayer St or at the WBRU outdoor concert? Not sure what is happening in Providence over the next couple weeks, but if you hear or anything let me know.

08/03/2005 06:20:12 PM · #96

Lesson #5 - I saw that we only had until Friday, so I got right on it...
The original

and the edited

I am going to keep playing with this d&B stuff because realistically I am not too happy with the result. I don't know if it is that I don't favor this type of result or that I am not grasping the concepts. Any suggestions?

Message edited by author 2005-08-04 11:19:17.

08/03/2005 07:01:09 PM · #97

Lesson 5
I had a lot of problems with Color temperature in Lesson 2 so I'm not sure if I'm on the right track or not. I know we only had to work on one photo, but I decided to post the three I thought might be what you were looking for. (Increase my chances to have one that works, you know?)lol
Anyway, the first one was an infrared shot from the Coolpix 950. I tried to make it feel a bit more serene and I really liked the green.

I'm not sure why I chose a yellow tone for the zebras, but it seemed to be the best color for them. I thought it gave the photo an old time classic look. Like I said, I haven't really grasped the concept of color temp yet so I might be way off. I tried just using gray and black but it didn't seem to make enough of a difference.The differences were very subtle. Not that that is a bad thing, I guess.

Again I was going for an aged look with the tiger.

I don't really understand which photos would benefit from being turned into a duotone and which ones wouldn't. What qualities are we supposed to look for? Is it all about the mood we're trying to convey?
-Laura

08/03/2005 07:19:04 PM · #98

Playing catch up -

Here is my first try at the warm cold temperature color LESSON #2

And here is what I learned:
1. Color does, indeed influence mood.
2. You can take an image pretty far from what it "really" looked like and it can look better. Reality is over rated.
3. In order to take the same image in both a cool and warm direction the scene should have a full range of colors. A mostly green scene will just end up looking un natural if it is just changed to reddish.

I have always post processed to make an image look like it looked in real life, sometimes even going back to shoot it when the light was cooler. Learned a lot with this exersize. Thanks

Message edited by author 2005-08-03 19:21:05.

08/03/2005 07:25:24 PM · #99

I actually have two finals tomorrow, so I won't be doing this workshop today. I'll definitely try to get around to it Thursday night or Friday, though. Same with my commenting on your guys' projects.

In the meantime, I've posted the original/final edition of my Textures III entry so that some of you can see the [messy] workflow that I used. I did levels twice because the quadtone killed the contrast a bit. USM was used quite a number of times in order to get a good deal of sharpness without unsightly haloing.

Feel free to ask me any questions you may have about the process.

Message edited by author 2005-08-03 19:26:38.