Opinion Please :)

[Larky]

Hello.

I've decided to use a recent wedding shoot (you'll be allowed to see the rest of the pictures after the Bride & Groom have 🙂 ) as a way to upgrade my Photoshop skills.

So, opinions please, have I gone too far, not enough, have I buggered up totally, is it a crap picture in the first place etc. Don't worry, I can't be offended (well I can, but only in one way, and that's secret).

Original:

Colour and other tweaks:

B&W conversion:

 

[kully]

Nice Simon, I really like it as it is.

Is it possible to dodge under the eyes a little bit though? The left eye looks swollen (perhaps not something you'd want in a wedding album 🙂 )

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

I think that's really nice work! I actually prefer the color for a change; it looks quite three-dimensional. A very pretty bride, who obviously hasn't slept in a long time.

 

[Larky]

Bloody hell you were fast, and who is Simon? 😉

Good spot on the dodge, I'll remove the evidence (she wasn't being still enough, I threw my shoe at her).

 

[OurManInTangier]

I like the crop, there's nothing wrong with empty space in a picture but this cuts out the unnecessary window and concentrates on the bride. Losing some of mums head isn't a loss as it's her hands framing the pretty bride that really makes the shot for me.

A b/w conversion is always a good idea too as b/w is always popular. Are you planning to give them colour and mono from the digi images you took?

 

[Larky]

Vanquished the bag:

Sadly she works too hard, long hours and worst of all she has to serve me drinks.

I think I'll give them all the images, an example of each type of finish, then I'll let them choose and put together an album. Then I'll do my own for my website. I want to do a couple more weddings for free to get some experience and a portfolio then start charging half of what the locals do, drive them out of business then hike my price and retire to my own island with resident masseuse. 😀

By the way, the list of tweaks:

Removed some skin blemishes.
Increased detail in eyes and adjusted brightness.
Blurred the background, removed the No Smoking sign.
Increased detail in necklace.
Adjusted white balance and curves.

 

[kully]

Bloody hell you were fast, and who is Simon? 😉

Sorry... too many Simons that day... ;-)

 

[OurManInTangier]

Sorry... too many Simons that day... ;-)

Don't you mean Martini's?😀

 

[Papercut]

i'm not a professional by any means, but the improvement from first to last is striking. i like both versions (colour/bw) and am especially keen on your long-term business plan! the heart of a monopolist beats strong in you! 😉

 

[Sparrow]

hope you don't mind, but maybe

or even

 

[Thardy]

So this is the wedding we've read about! I like the crop in color. I agree with dodging under the eyes, (photoshop as concealer). Yes she is a very pretty bride.

 

[Bobfrance]

Bearing in mind what, and who, it's for...

It could be my monitor but does the adjusted colour image look a little cold (blue)?
I feel this sort of shot should be warmer to emphasise the warmth of the situation and to stop the bride appearing pale (in my experience women don't tend to like looking pale).

I still think you're a brave man for tackling a wedding. Just my 2p 🙂

Bob.

 

[Larky]

mm, I guess our monitors are calibrated differently. 🙂 It looks nice and warm on mine. Sparrow's versions look blue on mine, are you talking about those?

@sparrow Something about the bottom pic I really like, the colour in her face. It's hard to chose a direction. 🙂

 

[Sparrow]

mm, I guess our monitors are calibrated differently. 🙂 It looks nice and warm on mine. Sparrow's versions look blue on mine, are you talking about those?

@sparrow Something about the bottom pic I really like, the colour in her face. It's hard to chose a direction. 🙂

the face in both pics are the same colour, i just adjusted the wallpaper to improve her complexion, a colour theory trick

embarrassingly I haven't calibrated this monitor for 10 weeks, whoops 😱

PS and I have a cool bias anyway

 

[philipp.leser]

Very nice work... I prefer the color version(s) over the b&w one, though. How did you go from color to b&w? Did you by any chance just desaturate the image? I'm asking because the b&w one looks a little bit dull... It might profit greatly from a good b&w conversion (Lightroom does it easily, I think Photoshop has the right tool, also).

Regards,
Philipp

 

[Larky]

The conversion to B&W was a simple Aperture job, I normally do it in Photoshop but didn't for this one. I tend to got for a very contrasty and grainy look when I do B&W, but for a wedding I wanted something smoother.

EDIT: Another B&W style.

Going to go to bed now, early start tomorrow. Going to shoot the dodgy areas of town, may get stabbed. Nice knowing you all.

Edit 2: Just seen this whilst looking at it properly, it's gopping isn't it! Yes, off to bed now.