Which processing parameter setting is best for portrait photography.

[danielle_broxson]

What do you find works best for very sharp, good contrast portraits. I love

the vibrant colors and I was just curious as to what people find works best

for them. Thanks alot.

[bryan_lardizabal]

Shoot RAW files and adjust them in Photoshop.

[apetty]

I second Bryan's answer. If you shoot in raw you can make all the adjustments the camera would have made for you. And you can pick which one you like best. Where if you shoot in JPG, you limit your self. The conversions are not always as clean when shooting in JPG

[KenPapai]

Like was said, what works best is Raw capture and skilled post processing (knowing how best to WB, what and when and how much to sharpen, contrast curves, level adjustments, color mngt [e.g., edit in 16-bit Pro Photo RGB for max latitude and range]) to final print of your images.

 

Easy way to get vibrant colors is just to boost color saturation and the Vibrancy slider via ACR 4.31 (the Raw editor in PS CS3).

[alan_myers]

Velvia.

 

 

 

(Sorry, couldn't help it.)

[JDMvW]

If you know what you are doing, it's best to "develop and print" your own "negatives", just as it was back in the film days. Using RAW and a processor like Photoshop is just the digital equivalent.

 

If you're a total nonplus when it comes to the digital processing, then use the little picture of the head setting. Look at your manual, if you have questions about how it works and what it does ;)

[dogbert]

As expected the usual RAW fans come out. I am not sure what level Alan's joke is pitched at, but Velvia is not well regarded for portraits even if one were shooting film.

 

Personally for most protraits I would shoot with a neutral contrast setting and +1 on sharpness and saturation, but if I want some oomph I would got to +1 on contrast and +2 on saturation and sharpness.

 

Contrary to what the above posts imply JPEGs can be post processed easily in most cases for minor adjustments without any discernable decline in quality. However, it is generally better to get it right in the shooting stage than rely too much on computer fixes. The same goes for RAW too.

[danielle_broxson]

Thanks alot. I did try shooting raw this weekend. I liked the results but my only issue was (I know it was my first time) it seemed liked alot of extra steps for editing. I probably was doing it wrong. I guess it's all just what type of results you want and personal preferrence. Thanks. I'm going to try to upload one of my pics. I just walked around the yard praticing. Nothing fancy.

[danielle_broxson]

so sorry about the attachment. i didnt resize it.