Centering their attention
Here's a video tutorial I recorded in HD that shows a great 2-step finishing effect for your photos. It shows a simple yet effective way to bring your viewers' attention into the centre of your photos (and other graphic images too). It's a technique I use on pretty much all my photos, black and white and colour.This how-to won't make bad images good but it will make good images better!
I used my image of a Dartmoor Pony mare suckling her yearling foal to demonstrate the technique and in the video you'll see the before and after compared.
When you do, I'm sure you'll agree that it's both subtle and effective and a technique you'll want to use on your own photos.
To see this best, pop out the video and watch at full screen size - make sure you watch in HD (720p) to see the subtlety of the effect as the tutorial progresses. If you use this technique, drop off a link to the results in the comments so we can all share. Thanks from all of us :)
comments / critique / feedback / tweets / buzzes always welcome :)
6 comments:
I love this tutorial. Thanks for helping us be better!
Thanks for saying so, Stacey. I'm glad you enjoyed and learned something from it :)
I hope you shared with those buttons at the bottom of the post - they're a good way of passing on good stuff to your friends and followers. Thanks even more if you did!!
Thank you for highlighting "subtle." I have seen HD used to enhance photographs, and it seems that so many of them are obviously manipulated. They seem a bit "too much," if you know what i mean. When used subtly, HD has obvious advantages. I will have to try it out and let you know for myself.
Hey Sandy - just to clear things up... When I mention HD, I'm not talking about "high dynamic range", I'm just saying that I recorded the video in high definition - 1280x720. Sorry I wasn't clearer :)
Thank you for the useful tutorial, fine sir. There are numerous ways to do a vignette, but if this and your other tutorials are any indication, your approach has an elegance and simplicity to it. I also like filling a blank layer with 50% gray in Overlay mode and then using a low opacity white or black paint brush to dodge and burn.
I must also commend you on your fine B&W photography. I love the medium very much, but have only recently begun seriously delving into monochrome conversions of my color photographs. Monochrome has such a surreal, magical timelessness to it. Without the distraction of color it seems you can more easily lead the eye, sculpting such wonderful shadows and highlights.
Though I am still learning the craft, I was very much taken with this beautiful cabbage in my mother's garden and took many photos of it. It was almost flower-like, but the leaves had this amazing veiny texture and it seemed ideal for B&W. After much processing, this was the final result:
http://bit.ly/cEoS9f
Best regards,
~ Gabe
Hey Tronam, welcome to the great world of monochrome :) I really enjoyed your mother's cabbage! Great composition and a wonderful treatment. I love the spiral lead-in to the flower-like centre and your tonal treatment is really fine! Well done :)
You mention one of the great d&b methods using the overlay-blend layer approach. Not so good at emphasizing textures I find, instead I do traditional dodging of the highlights and burning of the midtones when working on woods and stone - then it still gets my vote... :)
Post a Comment