First attempt at High Key (ish) Lighting

[adbsgicom]

She was in a good mood to play (and knew it would delay her bedtime since mom's off at a conference). We were nominally experiementng with the umbrella, but then she wanted to jump and we were in my office space, which isn't very photogenic, so I opted to blow out the bg with a stobe.

The hair along the edges seems harsh, and I also had a fair amount of hazy lens flair from the strobe hitting the ceiling in tight quarters. Since I have no real bg, is there much/anything I could have done to reduce the spill from the ceiling? I had the strobe at 1/2, and wasn't getting a fully blown bg, but good enough to tweak in LR.

Mods: If this is more appropriate for Technique, feel free to move it.

1. Her jump....
http://andrewbowen.smugmug.com/photos/718576180_z2eno-L.jpg (http://andrewbowen.smugmug.com/Photography/dgrin-stuff-not-necessarily/9165080_VAkwQ#718576180_z2eno)

2. Should the top blow out more?
http://andrewbowen.smugmug.com/photos/718576161_pXPnP-L.jpg (http://andrewbowen.smugmug.com/Photography/dgrin-stuff-not-necessarily/9165080_VAkwQ#718576161_pXPnP)

3. Same Q re the top....
http://andrewbowen.smugmug.com/photos/718576132_Kks3V-L.jpg (http://andrewbowen.smugmug.com/Photography/dgrin-stuff-not-necessarily/9165080_VAkwQ#718576132_Kks3V)

[D'Buggs]

I'm not on my cal'd monitor right now so it's hard to answer what you're after. My 1st impression though is pretty good.... #1 I really like. FWIW I always proof HK on paper, just to be a b s o l u t e l y sure... Or any lit BG for that matter.

[kidzmom]

Andrew, these are REALLY fun! Great job! I would have never guessed you didn't have seamless back there? How did you do that! Very nice! I love the jump shot (I did this outdoors with my eldest recently in front of a brick wall). VERY fun! She loved the shot so I imagine your dd did as well. The only nit from me is that her face is a little dark due to the hair shadows. I love the shot though. I also particularly love 3. SO cute! Great job.:D

[Qarik]

good stuff sir. I like 1 the best. I do think the top of the head in 2 and 3 have some issues but lovely none the less.:clap

[divamum]

Nice job! Having just tried this recently, I know it's tricky. Main thing which I forgot to do (DUUUHHHH) is FLAG that bg light - looks to me like it's back- and sidespill rather than strictly speaking from above, judging by the parts of her hair that are flaring.

Your daughter has the most GORGEOUS eyes, too! (Btw and OT: has she demanded to see New Moon yet? I had plans to treat mine today, but sadly was called away for an audition. I'm making up for it with a Girls Day Out tomorrow :D)

[rwells]

Hey Andrew,

These look pretty good and a pretty slick trick blowing the bg out. About the flare on her hair ~ in post, simply burn it in and add some contrast till it matches the rest of her hair.


Light:

Put it where you want it ~ take it away where you don't...


This applies to post processing too!

[blaser321]

I added some black point and some contrast sharping what do you think :dunno

[blaser321]

the low res is not good

[adbsgicom]

the low res is not good
Looks good. So you bumped the levels' black point. What is 'contrast sharpening'? Is this what you are talking about (found it in a search)

Using Sharpening to Change Contrast

Here's something I hadn't noticed before. Then one day I made accidentally entered some "stupid" values into the Unsharp Mask filter and noticed a change to the image that was interesting. So I did some research. It seems that a number of digital cogniscenti have been using the Unsharp Mask to make slight bumps in image contrast. It's really quite simple to do: just select a low value for Amount (10-25%), a very high value for Radius (200-300 pixels), and a 0 Threshold. This technique actually produces a more likeable contrast boost, in my opinion, than does the Contrast command. Just be sure to save a version of your image before using this technique (it's not undoable at a later date). You also perform this action prior to doing a "real" sharpening.

[adbsgicom]

Thanks all. :bow Your feedback is very helpful.

The strobe was very slightly flagged and I think at that power, not flagged enough.

[adbsgicom]

Your daughter has the most GORGEOUS eyes, too! (Btw and OT: has she demanded to see New Moon yet? I had plans to treat mine today, but sadly was called away for an audition. I'm making up for it with a Girls Day Out tomorrow :D)

Re eyes: thanks!
Re New Moon: She got a great report card today, so we went to the Alamo Draft House to see it after school. They serve real food while you watch, so we had dinner out and saw the movie. I hadn't read the books, but the movie was watchable (these kids can't act, though; the cg dogs were cool). The whole teen love and depression is pretty heavy in this one -- perhaps she'll realize not dating until she's 30 (and guys sort of mature) is a good idea. The DW was a little bummed that we saw it without her, but she gets to be in New Orleans for a 'conference'....

Hopefully the audition went well.

[blaser321]

When I shoot high key in post I like to try to reduce some of the white wash over the model by adding a small amount of black in camera raw 3 or 4% and use unsharp mask
at no more 5 to 7% and 250 radius

[adbsgicom]

When I shoot high key in post I like to try to reduce some of the white wash over the model by adding a small amount of black in camera raw 3 or 4% and use unsharp mask
at no more 5 to 7% and 250 radius


Thanks a ton!!!

[heatherfeather]

Re eyes: thanks!
Re New Moon: She got a great report card today, so we went to the Alamo Draft House to see it after school. They serve real food while you watch, so we had dinner out and saw the movie. I hadn't read the books, but the movie was watchable (these kids can't act, though; the cg dogs were cool). The whole teen love and depression is pretty heavy in this one -- perhaps she'll realize not dating until she's 30 (and guys sort of mature) is a good idea. The DW was a little bummed that we saw it without her, but she gets to be in New Orleans for a 'conference'....

Hopefully the audition went well.
And now for some more OT conversation about Twilight:
I listened to those books (As in ALL of them) in 5 days straight while editing. They were very addicting, though in a sick sort of teenage over the top romantic... every guy on the planet in love with the main lady even though she is really quite ordinary....sort of way. And so when I watched the first movie, I found it to be annoying. Really. Bad. Acting. I think the second book (New Moon) is the worst and the last book is the best. I will probably wait to see the movie, but thanks for the review anyhoo. I did really enjoy the break from reality and being just blindly entertained for a while, though. It is like eating Doritos... not filling, but tastes good enough it is hard to stop.

Back to your photos... Love the first! High Key on white is something I have yet to figure out how to do properly, though I have all the equipment. Mostly I haven't invested the time. Good job on a first try! She is such a cutie!

[divamum]

OT to Andrew and Heather:

I read the first book just to see what we were getting ourselves into - I confess I stopped there (I must admit, I think of them as Harlequin romances with fangs :rofl). Heather, you're right - the first movie is DREADFUL... I confess I laughed out loud repeatedly, and not due to clever scripting (omg, the makeup jobs alone are hilarious - you can see the edges where they stopped the vampire white at the chin). Andrew, I'd agree that the 2nd one is that bad. Still not exactly Gone with the Wind, but a big improvement and it was relatively watchable. I felt so bad at the theater this afternoon - a couple hundred in the audience.... THREE of whom were guys (one boyfriend and two dads by the look of it)

Not my thing (much to my daughter's outrage - how DARE I not share in the gaga excitement which is Team Edward!), but she's enjoying being in the throes of infatuation. Ah me... I appear to have an official preteen on my hands :D

/tangent