Thinking in black & white: let's play with contrast! (please share your shots)
Feb 15, 2016 15:40:16 #
Linda From Maine wrote:
Here is a quick crop and adjust in a free editor I have on my Chromebook. Though you lose the fireplace mantle, I think you retain the mood, with the cozy chairs. How do you feel about this one?
It does have a lot of midtone grays, but sure is an inviting scene! Maybe even add a steaming pot of tea onto the table? :)
It does have a lot of midtone grays, but sure is an inviting scene! Maybe even add a steaming pot of tea onto the table? :)
LOL -- I see what you mean. I think I would darken the light on top more, but I agree it shows the window as the divider between outside cold and inside comfort. The chairs being main protagonists for the warmth idea.
Feb 15, 2016 15:42:58 #
pfrancke wrote:
LOL -- I see what you mean. I think I would darken the light on top more, but I agree it shows the window as the divider between outside cold and inside comfort. The chairs being main protagonists for the warmth idea.
I agree about removing or darkening the light at ceiling. And now I'm thinking maybe we need a kitty curled up in one of those chairs? :)
Feb 15, 2016 16:06:05 #
OK, I have done away with everything but black and white.
It was so backlite by the sky and contrast so high that colors were a hopeless mess. So first I went to blue and black, now white and black.
It was so backlite by the sky and contrast so high that colors were a hopeless mess. So first I went to blue and black, now white and black.
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Feb 15, 2016 16:22:15 #
robertjerl wrote:
OK, I have done away with everything but black and white.
It was so backlite by the sky and contrast so high that colors were a hopeless mess. So first I went to blue and black, now white and black.
It was so backlite by the sky and contrast so high that colors were a hopeless mess. So first I went to blue and black, now white and black.
I adore this shot, Robert! Easily recognizable as to what bird, and the second branch brings additional interest.
Do you prefer the blue and black, or this, or were you hoping for a chance at more cooperative light for details?
Feb 15, 2016 16:29:17 #
This is a most intriguing subject, primarily because I am not accustomed to thinking this way, even if I am shooting with black and white in mind. I spend most of my time avoiding silhouettes, so when one presents itself, I do not immediately recognize its value.
Since I don't normally think this way, I don't have any shots, on hand, that were created specifically with this approach in mind. I thought I'd try something, anyway. This particular shot is a ranch hand rounding up some cattle. To my mind, the subject lends itself to black and white, simply because of the romance of the Old West. However, the fact that this ranch hand is a woman, and is wearing a ball cap, seems an interesting counter to the traditional stereotype of the Old West.
I thought I'd try to remove as much of the gray as I could. For this conversion to black and white, I did not use Silver Efex Pro 2. Instead, I used Analog Efex Pro 2. I'm not sure if it was successful, but I actually like this version a little better than a more traditional b&w conversion I tried.
Since I don't normally think this way, I don't have any shots, on hand, that were created specifically with this approach in mind. I thought I'd try something, anyway. This particular shot is a ranch hand rounding up some cattle. To my mind, the subject lends itself to black and white, simply because of the romance of the Old West. However, the fact that this ranch hand is a woman, and is wearing a ball cap, seems an interesting counter to the traditional stereotype of the Old West.
I thought I'd try to remove as much of the gray as I could. For this conversion to black and white, I did not use Silver Efex Pro 2. Instead, I used Analog Efex Pro 2. I'm not sure if it was successful, but I actually like this version a little better than a more traditional b&w conversion I tried.
Feb 15, 2016 16:37:14 #
angela k wrote:
Lucky you!!! We might reach 50 this week after the torrential rain tomorrow!!
Attractive one Angela.
Feb 15, 2016 16:38:43 #
Linda From Maine wrote:
I adore this shot, Robert! Easily recognizable as to what bird, and the second branch brings additional interest.
Do you prefer the blue and black, or this, or were you hoping for a chance at more cooperative light for details?
Do you prefer the blue and black, or this, or were you hoping for a chance at more cooperative light for details?
I was just after humming bird pictures and the little darlings were staying on the dead branches at the top of a 2 1/2 story tree. Back lite and with the sky behind them. I just decided to play with it and got the blue and black, then today saw your post and converted it.
Sort of make lemonade when all else fails. I was using burst and trying different settings to try and get good shots. So I have a lot of frames I could do this too. All kinds of head positions and even a few partial wing spreads. I now know better than to take pictures of hummers who aren't practically sitting on my lens hood. Well, that might be too close, unless I have a second camera.
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Feb 15, 2016 16:44:33 #
Anvil wrote:
This is a most intriguing subject, primarily because I am not accustomed to thinking this way, even if I am shooting with black and white in mind. I spend most of my time avoiding silhouettes, so when one presents itself, I do not immediately recognize its value...
Thank you for your wonderful lead-in and your image, Anvil. It's intriguing learning how another photographer goes about reaching his or her vision.
I love the gritty reality of the shot. I keep forgetting about that Nik plug-in; have used only once, I think.
Thanks so much!
Feb 15, 2016 16:45:15 #
robertjerl wrote:
... I now know better than to take pictures of hummers who aren't practically sitting on my lens hood. Well, that might be too close, unless I have a second camera.
:thumbup:
Oh, and if you have several different poses, how about a series of them on a wall, with similar frames? Sounds pretty tasty lemonade to me!
Feb 15, 2016 17:17:44 #
Feb 15, 2016 17:20:02 #
Blues wrote:
Here are a couple of mine. Don't think they are quite right.
Mike
Mike
Thank you, Mike. They do have a lot of gray :) Can you post a larger pre-converted shot, with "store original" so we can work on together? Also, can you tell me what editing program/s you use? Thanks!
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Feb 15, 2016 17:25:15 #
Linda, I deleted the first ones, they were too small. By pre-convereted, do you mean the originals?
I use Lightroom 6
Mike
I use Lightroom 6
Mike
Feb 15, 2016 17:26:19 #
Blues wrote:
Linda, I deleted the first ones, they were too small. By pre-convereted, do you mean the originals?
Mike
Mike
Yes, if you're OK with that.
Feb 15, 2016 17:27:01 #
Feb 15, 2016 17:36:25 #
I wanted to show an example of trusty ol' Picasa's editing. While the software will no longer be supported by Google, if you have it installed on your computer and nothing goes wrong with it, you'll be able to continue using the editor 'til you move to Win 10 :)
I shot raw + jpg (with the jpg in my T3i camera's style "monochrome" ). I tried editing my color raw, but ended up not liking the results as much as when I took the b&w jpg into Picasa, hit the special effect "boost" and then auto-contrast.
I did have to use PS Elements for a little cloning. Here is original jpg (over-exposed by +1) and the Picasa edited crop.
I shot raw + jpg (with the jpg in my T3i camera's style "monochrome" ). I tried editing my color raw, but ended up not liking the results as much as when I took the b&w jpg into Picasa, hit the special effect "boost" and then auto-contrast.
I did have to use PS Elements for a little cloning. Here is original jpg (over-exposed by +1) and the Picasa edited crop.
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