Acheiving a similar sheen/polish

[gregory_imler]

<p>Hello, I was looking through a gallery of winners on a contest site and a particular image caught my attention. It looks simple, but the sheen/glow of the highlights and overall polished look really impressed me.<br /> It's the first Honorable Mention image in the list of winners for the Feb. 26, 2010 contest, a photo of a dog by photographer Shane Oosterhoff.<br>

<br /> http://www.studio414contest.com/Winner_s_Gallery.html<br>

<br /> I contacted Mr. Oosterhoff through his flickr site congratulating him and inquiring about his approach, and I should mention that when I asked, I was clear to say I wasn't looking for a step-by-step, do-this-exact-thing, place-this-light-here reveal. I was wondering if he approached things with post production in mind, or did he try to focus all on the light when taking the shot...so I'm just curious what others' impressions are on how this was achieved: post production, purely the lighting when captured, good mix of both? It looks like a large softbox was used on the set and maybe a kicker to the dog's left. Perhaps even some diffuse glow added in post? I'm still experimenting but haven't had anything really match the effect i'm looking for. So again, any impressions anyone might have, I'd be very interested to hear.<br /> Thanks!</p>

[r_johnston]

<p>Looks like just a really good lighting and then correct post processing with a full Zone range. Including blacks without detail and good highlights. Possibly he also adjusted the Luminance levels for the color range. Haven't done that in PS much, but do it regularly in Lightroom. Because you can adjust it individually for 8 colors. Importing RAW or JPEGs into PS with in PC.CS3 or CS4, you can generally adjust overall luminance.</p>

[dan_south]

<p>The dog photo was taken with studio lighting. There's a large softbox pointing down at the dog from several feet above. I thnk there's another light to the photograper's right (dog's left). The dog is sitting on a roll of seamless white paper. The colors are neurtral or slightly desaturated.</p>

<p>Get your hands on some lighting equipment for a weekend. Put a teddy bear on some white paper and try some lighting setups until you arrive at a similar effect. Notice that the dog is throwing VERY LITTLE shadow on the paper.</p>

[steve_bingham]

<p>1- good lighting to start with<br>

2- post processing in PS CS4 and probable use of a commercial filter to alter the tonal curves, smoothness, etc. There are many ways to do this.</p>

[Uhooru]

<p>Generally speaking, when studio photographer set up a shot such as this one with lighting, they are depending on getting the great majority of what they want "in camera".</p>

[michael_young3]

<p>Just an OT comment about dogs... My dogs have been the long suffering and unwitting victims of my Strobist activities. They'll play along for a few, but really, the flashes are just as painful to them as they are to people. That forced yawn in the linked photo is a very plain statement of "Enough of the Flashee-Thingee! Please, I just want to lay down." It's a photo of a dog in distress and discomfort. You may as jab an infant with sharp sticks and enter the shots of pained expressions in the contest. It's a potshot if the judges will recognize and be influenced by the body language of your subjects/model. I can't see past the facial expression to the art that might lurk underneath. It's an uncomfortable dog on seamless paper under a studio light. The ears are certainly unique, and the stubby legs are cute, but the expression that dominates the face and image can be induced very easily, and accuses the photographer of lacking artistry and sensitivity. I would judge that shot accordingly.</p>