Color POP

[brandy_singer3]

How do you guys get the color in your photos to POP the way they do? I have seen an average photo turn out

GREAT because the color now POPs.

 

Thank you

[ronald_moravec1]

The color saturation and contrast are increased.

 

This generally is not desired in wedding work. I will assume you have adjusted the camera to moderate contrast and

saturation. Go no further for most work

[Matt Laur]

That word ("pop" - much over-used, I think) isn't really specific enough to give you a meaningful answer. If you provide some links to the sorts of images you're talking about, you'll get some feedback about whether you're looking at lighting techniques, care with depth of field, composition that places the subject against a complementary background, shrewd post-production work, or all of the above.

<br><br>

Anything that looks good when you're done started out as a well-exposed, thoughtfully shot image in the first place. From there, it's usually good post work. But... you've got to show what you mean, to know if you're about to get pointers on saturation (which could mean <i>de-</i>saturating backgrounds), curves/contrast, dodging/burning, or whatever else contributes to what you have in mind.

[gmahler5th]

I think most do so the lazy way... Photoshop Actions or Lightroom Presets

 

Check out Azalia at http://actions.lilyblue.com/index2.php for Lightroom. The designer has the same for Photoshop.

They really are some of the easiest actions to use, and I like the results.

 

In technical terms, it's an boost to the levels/curves/contrast/saturation/lightness/vibrance, and the designer sets

have hue shifts that give a modern appeal to them. But who cares (anymore) what the technical answer is, when the

results are so fast and easy to achieve?

 

Kubota and Totally Rad actions have the same, but they cost more, but you get a lot more along with them. If you

are looking for the basics check out the Lilyblue actions/presets.

 

If you are a Lightroom user, and want to try out some free yet very useful presets, the following Jack Davis presets

are a must-have. It has various levels of intensity for everything from BW conversion, light/dark vignettes, etc.. and

produce simply amazing results. It even has a preset to perfect your Skin tones that are pretty amazing. Try them.

You and your clients will love the results and they will save you a ton of time in workflow automation!

 

http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=33

[bill_mussett1]

Here's a link to an older post from the P.Net Wedding Forum asking the same question. Includes some good responses

from several reputable photographers.

 

http://www.photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/00Eh5S

[leicaglow]

I'm sort of amused by yous guys' responses so far. The answer isn't just post processing. Sure, cranking the saturation and contrast sliders to the right is one way, but I think you get a much more natural look if you use great glass to start. Add to that spot on exposure and you're already close to that pop.

 

After being snookered into buying some kit lens glass, and realizing how bad it was, I think some vendors assume that great contrast and color can be recovered in post processing, but I think this is the wrong approach all the way around.

[patricklavoie]

curve / ok / blending mode softlight / adjust opacity to taste

 

and

 

hue saturation / + 15-20%

 

you should get your POP : )

[g dan mitchell]

There is a lot of careful post-processing work to master to make more effective prints. Sure, you must start with a fine

exposure, but it is a myth that "good photographers don't post-process" or that "with good lenses you won't have to post-

process."

 

A little bit of photographic knowledge confirms that some of the greatest photographers and printers in the chemical

darkroom achieved their results to a significant extent by mastering the art of darkroom post-processing. ("The negative

is the score. The print is the performance." - You've probably heard that before. Hint: Ansel Adams.)

 

Today it is possible to do things that these photographers could only imagine. (A person I know who worked with Adams

likes to describe one technique as "the thing Ansel couldn't do.") In general there is often significant work to do with such

parameters as saturation (but please, a bit of discretion! ;-), levels, color adjustments, curves (of various types) - much

of it done with masks that constrain the processes to certain parts of the image.

 

Dan

[Tim_Lookingbill]

Geez! After viewing the beautiful results achieved in the actions and presets links Steve Stout posted, I can't help but feel the

photographer/artist has now become just an image process art director/broker. Kind of takes the fun out of the creative process,

but dang those images on that LilyBlue site are just incredible and hard to pass up.

 

So who's the real artist at that site, the buyer or the seller? Or is there really any art to this?