Something Different

<p>Hello, <br>

I am new to photo.net and was referred by a fantastic friend of mine, which i trust very dearly.</p>

<p>Anyway, I'm trying to break into my own as a fashion photographer/ wedding photographer and i want to learn of new color management techniques. I'll give a small sample of my set up so my questions make better sense:<br>

I shoot with a canon 5d and i usually set my camera to the kelvin mode and put the temp at 4700(if inside) and 5200(outside). I usually use a 580 EXII flash for fill.<br>

When i go home and work on photoshop (CS2 is what i have) i tweak the colors but i am afraid that i am missing out on better color techniques.<br>

I do the usual:<br>

Unsharp mask<br>

Levels<br>

A small curve<br>

color correct, fade or brighten colors if needed<br>

of course, fix and or hide imperfections.</p>

<p>but that's as far as i go...the photos look ok but i feel like i can do something more... and i don't know what.<br>

i have noticed that a lot of newer wedding photographers use these beautiful colors and i can't figure them out.</p>

<p>for samples of my work go to my site www.marencophoto.com please check my blog too.</p>

<p>any type of help would be sooooo appreciated. thank you!</p>

<p>I started in this way - I mean using PS to make exactly these types of corrections. Later I realised that these are just "foundation" things that evey photo out of my camera (well those I intend doing something with) need. once that is done the rela work starts. Photo making is no longer just about a person and a camera. Its the product of a system. The system starts with a camera but includes post processing. This is a change of mindset as much as anything and I now find I spend a lot of time in PS - as much or more than I spend with my camera taking pics. And whats more I enjoy it just as much as its an intensly creative process.<br>

Now to answer your questions. I do a LOT of experimenting with different effects. I like to try new things that I have read, seen in magazines about or have deamt up myself. I read and research these magazines voratiously to get ideas. And I like to use PS to apply different treatments.<br>

Some that I particularly found fruitful in terms of their ability to contribute to a creative image are the following - converting to black and white; toning the black and white photos that result either in a sepia-like tone or some other suitable tone; using vignettes to focus more in the main subject; using selective desturation to draw attention to the subject; using selective blur to ditto; using pastel (desaturated) colors in portraits; using filters like the "bleach bypass" simulation filters, which give low color saturation and high contrast; using the local contrast filter to boost details; using some actions I have downloaded to creatively add glamour glow and greater saturation etc. All of these ideas produce intereting effects. Some will work with given images, some will not. Experimenting and experience will tell you which.<br>

I actually use Paint Shop Pro more than PS and I recently found some nice scripts (their name for actions) designed to nehnace portraits. These give soem really very nice portrait effects that can be varied at whim by the user. Check out this site. I only mention it as while this download may not help you directly, looking at the pictures demonstrates what I mean as I am sure the equivalent type scripts/ actions are available for PS.<br>

<a href="http://swimchick.net/resources/paint-shop-pro-scripts/index.php">http://swimchick.net/resources/paint-shop-pro-scripts/index.php</a><br>

I am not particularly a PS master. I struggle with it still but there are many filters and actions that will provide these effects and can be downloaded - some for free. If you do not mind paying, I would suggest looking closely att NIK color efex filters for your purposes. Not cheap but they provide a plethora of interesting options that do not require spending hours in PS. Including filters that allow you to emulate different analogue film types.<br>

One other thing if I may. I have found that while I use filters and actions a lot and this saves time as you do not then have to create the effects manually in PS it is still quite a lot of work. often it involves multiple filters and effects to get the right outcome. And often it involves applying them selectively. All of this takes expereience to knwow hat works when.<br>

if I cna offer a final piece of advice. Irecently discovered how much a complimentary border or frame adds to a picture. Sounds dumb I know but it really does add a lot and some how focuses the viewers attention on the picture in a different way.</p>

<p>Actually, just looking further on the same site I linked above. Here are some Photoshop actions (as opposed to Paint Shop scripts) of the same sort I referenced in my response.<br>

You may wish to experiment.<br>

<a href="http://www.swimchick.net/resources/photoshop-actions/index.php">http://www.swimchick.net/resources/photoshop-actions/index.php</a></p>