Taking votes from Pentaxians. Color or B&W?

[mcmanamey]

<p>Instead of taking up a bunch of space in the POW - I'm just going to make a separate thread.<br /> I actually would like to know if ya'll prefer the color or the b&w, because I honestly can't decide for myself. Sometimes I'm just hopeless that way. First, the original.</p>

<p>This is tweaked just slightly differently than what I posted over in POW. I decided I made her skin too rosy (the straight pic is pretty green) so I re-did the saturation and brightness a bit and then upped the contrast just a hair.</p><div></div>

[mcmanamey]

<p>Now the b&w... this one has the exact same adjustments (when in color) as the POW version, but obviously converted to b&w.<br>

Conversion done in Aperture, using the Monochrome mixer, I decided I liked the Orange Filter look best, so here she is.</p>

<p>Obviously there is a plus & a minus to both - my problem is, there's just enough I like about both, I can't quite make a decision on either.</p><div></div>

[mcmanamey]

<p>PS - for all those who just demand smiles from kids.... this is why I quit w/ that philosophy. This is also why I refuse to keep a sleepy baby awake & keep struggling. No way. Go with the flow and teach the parents to do the same!</p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>I would normally prefer black and white, but for this picture I like the color version. I think there's a warmer "glow" about it. Good use of tone; it could go black and white; yet, I think the color is the stronger of the two.</p>

[c_wyatt]

<p>Normally I prefer b&w, but agree the colour has a great tone and I'd go with that</p>

[kevin_hess]

<p>I think the color.</p>

[pbarnes]

<p>I like the colour - the light looks like it is coming from a fire.</p>

[chune_hoong_pong]

<p>I'm with the rest, colour.<br />The warmth coupled with the earthy tones does it for me.<br />Excellent pic Maria.<br /><br />Btw, was it in any way intentional that the focus was slightly above the right eye?</p>

[mountainvisions]

<p>color for the warm light</p>

[shots worth sharing]

<p>I say the color you captured is so special you <em>have</em> to keep it.</p>

[bob-c]

<p>Looks like a clear verdict, Maria. I'm with color as well.</p>

[mcmanamey]

<p>WELL! It certainly has been a long time since I've seen anything so unanimous!! Color it is!<br>

To see the full set, go here:</p>

<p>http://mc2imaging.smugmug.com/gallery/8494305_GEGJu</p>

[garry_young1]

<p>Well, if I may add my 2 cents - a little tardily it seems - I would say the color shot is great with the warm glow. The black and white also has a nice atmosphere, but I never liked the word "nice" as much as the word "warm". :)</p>

[jtk]

<p>I doubt the skin tone is nearly that orange in daylight... looks like tungsten (lightbulb) lighting. The B&W's OK but I think it'd be stronger with little dodging and burning emphasize the baby's face a bit, de-emphasize everything around it. Brighten the eyes.<br>

<br />Depends on what you want. If all you're after is a casual snapshot, the color is not just "warm," it's an unnatural distraction IMO, an accident... so I'd prefer the B&W.<br>

<br />I think the infant deserves a few moments of the simplest post-processing. I don't know Aperture but it'd be easy with Lightroom, Photoshop, or Elements.</p>

[michael_elenko]

<p>Hi Maria,<br>

I agree with John K, in that the orange is too much of a distraction for me. I played with your shot in Lightroom a bit and found that by simply lowering the saturation by about 47% the skin tone would appear more natural. Not seeing the baby I don't know what his/her natural tone is, but this looks less orange.<br>

I do like B&W for this. I was able to return a "glow" to the cheeks found in the color version that your conversion lacks. This was accomplished by lowering the saturation 100%, moving the tint towards green by a small amount, providing some highlight boost but reducing slightly the high-mid tones (still light tones but darker than highlights), and increasing shadows. I'd post this later if you are curious.<br>

It is a fine shot any way you do it.</p>

<p>ME</p>

[jtk]

<p>Michael E's right IMO..with Lightroom (don't know Aperture) reducing saturation would help. Reducing "clarity" might also help (just a little would reduce shiny appearance, could make the image softer if you took it far enough).</p>

 

[r.t. dowling]

<p>I have to say that I prefer the color version. My first thought upon seeing it was that it appeared that they were lit by candlelight or a fireplace. I really like that look.</p>

[roseberry guitars]

<p>I'm a little late for the judges panel, it looks like but I have to go with the majority (much against my nature) but I have to agree that the color makes it.</p>

<p>I'm not particularly bothered by the color cast as some are. I tried what Michael suggests and agree that the skin tone appears more natural (not having seen the baby to know what the actual tone is) but I find the result lacks the same degree of warmth and "punch". The orange "glow" gives me the feeling that the mother might be watching the sunset from her front porch, at the end of the day, as she slowly rocks her child to sleep for the evening...all is peaceful and comfortable with the world.</p>

<p>I don't know, that's just my thoughts. Which ever way you decide it's a beautiful capture.</p>

[markus maurer]

<p>Hi Maria<br>

I would first work a bit on the oily reflections on the nose and a bit on the skin. Then lighten up the yellows and reds in the photo a bit with the mixer and convert to b/w and add a tint. I would like the color version but something just does not seem right with the yellow there.</p>

<div></div>

[bueh]

<p>While I agree with the others that the color pic looks better, I don't like the flat perspective at all (probably caused by cropping too much). Next time move closer if you can.</p>

[michael_elenko]

<p>I like Markus' version. Here is my take with a little cheek glow retained from the color version.</p>

<p><img src="http://www.smugmug.com/photos/559542303_TncNh-L.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>ME</p>

[mc2imaging]

<blockquote>

<p>I don't like the flat perspective at all (probably caused by cropping too much). Next time move closer if you can.<br /></p>

</blockquote>

<p>I'm not sure what makes it look flat and over-cropped to you. It's full frame, and she was shooting with the D-FA 100mm f/2.8 macro. Not sure how she could get closer...</p>

[Tim_Lookingbill]

<p>I'm with the color version though all it really needs is a (-20) adjust to the Vibrance slider in ACR to make the skintones appear more natural instead of looking as if viewed in front of a raging fire.</p>

<p>That's a great looking shot, BTW.</p>

[hagar]

<p>Great shot by the way.. I prefer the color version as long as it is slightly desaturated. The b/w looks good too, but I would pick either Markus or Michael's version.</p>

[mcmanamey]

<p>Okidoki - I chewed over the DESATURATE especially and went back at it. Yeah, I had to chew over it... desaturating didn't make much sense at first and this is a huge busy week (all day/night video project. Tons of fun, huge crunch, almost done) so I had to be able to sit and think and try.</p>

<p>Well, my extra tired brain finally wrapped around it, AND realized something I think should have been a *DUH* that didn't occur to me earlier. That one, I'll just blame on Matt & I both being so tired on Monday :-D</p>

<p>I went back into Aperture and did 2 things - 1) went to the color version, w/ changes I had already made (pic at the top) and tried a suggestion or two from that point. 2) I made an entirely new version from the master and just started from scratch.<br>

End result: I tossed the version posted up above & went w/ the new from-scratch try.<br>

I hadn't minded the orange glow - you should see how green/yellow the original is!! - until I started messing around again. Thank you, guys, for giving me a new starting point!!</p>

<p>Sooooo - here's what I did (all in Aperture):<br>

Exposure pulled down just a tad ( -.29)<br>

Contrast up a hair (+ .07)<br>

Saturation down from a 1.00 to .90<br>

Highlight (removal) way way up to 86.6<br>

Tint - I don't know how to describe this entirely, but I added a lot of magenta. The Tint slider goes from straight green (negatives) to straight magenta (positives). The original photo came through at -27 (well into the green end). I moved it pretty far over to 15 in Magenta. This definitely made THE difference.</p>

<p>The Tint is where the DUH hit me. I'm concerned about the yellow/green cast in (all) the photos.... Well OF COURSE, if I want to get rid of the green, you add Magenta. Maybe I should take some printing or color classes so I get to know these things better (typically, this is Matt's area). I can NOT believe it took me 3 days to remember this.<br>

Well, that flash of "I'm an idiot!" also made me realize what I needed to do to every last photo we kept. So, in about 60 seconds, I went through and added magenta to all those that remained in color.<br>

BOY are the results so much better!<br>

THANKS GUYS ( i mean it!) for helping me realize what I was forgetting and getting the skin back to "natural"! They all look much, much better, and I'm much much happier with all results.</p>

<p>http://mc2imaging.smugmug.com/gallery/8494305_GEGJu#560460206_Xybty<br>

Once again, the whole set is there (newly uploaded w/ the fresh changes this time). <br>

And here, after all that, is the NEW color version!</p><div></div>