Kristin Palmer Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 My vision for this photo is that I would have an almost blacked out background, with a single light coming onto mum. I realise my mistake was not hanging a black background behind and I'm left with a pretty amateur looking image. It's a shame because I have a series of these images with beautiful poses and expressions, so I'm looking for help. I've tried overlaying a gradient, but I'm not sure its really convincing. I'd appreciate your opinion. I've attached the photo that is simply the RAW converted to B&W, and one where I've tried the gradient (I know the masking is rough, obviously I'd refine it) Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien Symonds Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Hi Kristin, can you link me to any photos that inspired you for this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristin Palmer Posted March 20, 2016 Author Share Posted March 20, 2016 Similar to the top image in this post. http://www.jeremyigo.com/blog/tag/maternity-photography/ I'm worried though that my execution was too poor to achieve this look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien Symonds Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 No, I think you can achieve something nice. I'd make the background a radial gradient - pure black at the outside, and very very dark grey in the middle. So that the tonal shift is very subtle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristin Palmer Posted March 22, 2016 Author Share Posted March 22, 2016 I've done the masking with a light soft brush - when I tried to do a mask with hard edges she was looking a bit cut out. Is this what you were envisaging when you suggested the radial? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristin Palmer Posted March 22, 2016 Author Share Posted March 22, 2016 Ugh that looks terrible. Hold tight I'll keep working Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristin Palmer Posted March 22, 2016 Author Share Posted March 22, 2016 Okay did a proper job of the masking. I think it looks good. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien Symonds Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Good. Now go ahead and do your Levels work. I suggest leaving the gradient layer on top, and doing all the Levels layers just underneath it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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