joelclarke

<p>Bill / Mark, my apologies for the delayed response to your questions. I should have included my workflow and reasonings along with my initial post. Better late than never though and thanks to non-destructive workflow I've been able to quickly re-create the steps I took.<br> Firstly, before I start any work on an image I ask myself these questions What's the end purpose of the image? What's it trying to say? What does it need to say? How is communicating this to the viewer and what if anything does it need to do this better?. This sets the framework for everything that comes afterwards. I don't make a final decision of what I want it to look like at this stage, just the message.<br> For this image, the message is obviously the "Be Brave and Shave" slogan but at first glance this wasn't an image that was communicating anything brave. There were also the issues of the distracting elements of the fittings on both the bricks and tiles, not to mention how the joins in the mirror tiles cut right through the subjects face.<br> Inspecting all the elements though, several details began to emerge that could help communicate the "brave" message by creating a somewhat scary environment. Half-hidden faces in the background for-instance - especially the one showing just a nose and eye to the (viewers) right of subject, the security camera in the mirror top-right and those eyes.<br> Decision made, and referencing the look of a D-grade slasher movie / film-noir (Bill re the red overlay - partly for the slasher movie look and partly to attract viewer attention as I'm assuming this image would be used in advertising) I've done the following; all in Photoshop CC.<br> <br />Open image<br> Levels adjustment > set highlights and shadows in each channel using sliders while pressing the alt (command) key. (I find this the quickest way to correct any issues with colour balance and will always start with this step.)<br> New blank layer > select layer > clone stamp and patch tool to remove the wall fittings<br> Crop image to tighten composition and remove the distracting sink fittings.<br> Double-click on background to convert it to a layer > Group layers > convert to smart object<br> New gradient adjustment layer > Green to Red overlay at 100% opacity > change blending mode to Vivid Light > select gradient mask > brush tool > black brush > opacity 15% > paint on the mask to burn in the subject's reflection in the mirror and selectively change the lighting on the rear wall by revealing the original image (creating both tension and diagonal lines that draw the viewers eye towards the subject in the process)<br> New blank layer > select layer > clone stamp and healing brush > fix three distracting areas highlighted by the previous step 1. shadow across chest 2. top lip 3. to the right of her thumb<br> New blank layer > fill 50% grey > change blending mode to overlay > paint on the grey layer with 10% opacity brush with white to subtly burn in the subjects eyes, security camera, faces, mirror joints<br> Still on grey layer > change paint brush colour to black > opacity 10% >paint on layer to create a vignette around the frame and improve the contrast on the brickwork.<br> Group all layers > create smart object > duplicate smart object twice<br> Select layer copy 1 > run high-pass filter set at 1.4 > apply an inverted layer mask > paint on layer mask using a soft, white brush set at 10% to selectively sharpen areas in the image, text, etc. building up the effect slowly if needed by repeated strokes<br> Select layer copy 2 > apply gaussian blur fliter at 2.7 > apply an inverted layer mask > paint on layer mask using a soft, white brush set at 10% to selectively heal any remaining destractions (these where mainly on the head and due more to the quality of the JPEG file than the editing process. I doubt they would have been there from a RAW base image.<br> Save as > JPEG ><br> Done!<br> This whole process took less than 10 mins time, longer than it took to write this. The process is completely non-destructive and also contains the editing history as any point in the chain can be jumped into at any time....even a far future time.<br> Whether or not it conveys the intent as defined in the first step, well, I'll leave that up to you to decide.</p>

<p>I have a CanoScan Lide 700F and can thoroughly recommend it. It has an <strong>optical</strong> resolution of 9600dpi, a wide colour gamut (accept ICC profiles), an infrared channel, is very quick and quiet and outrageously inexpensive.<br> You can use the supplied Canon software which gives better than average results (after some tweaking I might add) however when you use Vuescan with it as I do, it really sings. I bought it specifically for scanning film and while it doesn't have some of the automatic features of some of the more expensive models, i.e. batch scanning, the quality of the scan more than compensates for this. I've found it to be right up there with the best of them.<br> This is a pretty accurate review <a href="http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/scanners/266443/canon-canoscan-lide-700f">www.expertreviews.co.uk/scanners/</a> you might find helpful. The only part I disagree with is the last paragraph regarding negative scans. You do need to set up the driver correctly to get the results I've spoken about....or use Vuescan.<br> You can pick one up new for around AU$150 if you hunt around.</p>

<p><img src="/photo/17881675&;size=lg" alt="" />Hi all, my first entry into these challenges.<br> Like many here, my initial reaction to this photo was mild, to say the least. Turning it into an arresting, or even interesting image seemed futile, however that also presented itself as a challenge.<br> This is the end result of a bit of lateral thinking. You guys be the judge, but I think it shows why one should never give up on or dismiss ones own images out of hand.<br> For the record, although quite a dramatic shift from the original, this was a pretty quick edit...once I'd decided on the direction I wanted to take it...around 10 mins actual work. Just goes to show that some of the simplest techniques can have the greatest impact.<br> Interested in hearing your feedback.<br> http://www.photo.net/photo/17881675&size=lg</p><div></div>