Candid Portraits

[tommiejeep]

Mongo, Tom is not amused.... he is delighted  .  She really POPs.  I did some quick playing with levels and curves, contrast and came close but still not as good.  Many thanks.

[Mongo]

......... I did some quick playing with levels and curves, contrast and came close but still not as good. ....

You are very welcome Tom and Mongo is glad you are happy with the changes.

In addition to the tools you used, also try (in photoshop if that is what you are using or similar), "selective colour" utilising within that tool , the white, neutral and black channels in turn and add or subtract black as needed. Selective colour is found in Image - Adjustments - selective colour.

also consider the careful use of some "luminance" which is found in Image - Adjustments - replace colour.

Lastly and most importantly, Mongo found you cannot generally get the best results if you try and do the adjustments as a whole over the entire image. For this reason, even though it may be a lot more work, Mongo often works on each segment of the image separately e.g each arm, the face, the background, each segment of her dress etc.

hope this assists.

[tommiejeep]

Lastly and most importantly, Mongo found you cannot generally get the best results if you try and do the adjustments as a whole over the entire image. For this reason, even though it may be a lot more work, Mongo often works on each segment of the image separately e.g each arm, the face, the background, each segment of her dress etc.

hope this assists.

Yup, I totally agree.  I love CNX2 selection tools with U-point.   Just have not been able to get to the same level with PS or LR.  Mostly my fault for not working with them enough.  Sad story, a couple of years back paid a guy about Rs$250 to teach the family PS.  He was highly recommended Techie but was only into design.  When I started asking serious questions about the tools for images, he had know idea and disappeared (having collected the remainder of his fees due to some emergency) .
Tom

[Mongo]

Mongo is sorry to hear that story Tom - not an encouraging experience. Mongo is self tought in Photoshop and anyone can do it. A lot of trial and error and reading some bits and pieces. It may help you that Mongo thinks once you know even less than 10% of what photoshop can do, you have learned far more than you will ever need.

[armando_m]

Yup, I totally agree.  I love CNX2 selection tools with U-point.   Just have not been able to get to the same level with PS or LR.  Mostly my fault for not working with them enough.  Sad story, a couple of years back paid a guy about Rs$250 to teach the family PS.  He was highly recommended Techie but was only into design.  When I started asking serious questions about the tools for images, he had know idea and disappeared (having collected the remainder of his fees due to some emergency) .
Tom

Tom,

I used to believe CNX2 upoint was the best , it is certainly easy to use, but after some reading,  watching youtube tutorials,  trial and error, patience, frustration,  I'm now better with PS that I was with CNX2, but yes it takes time and practice. If Nikon continued to support CNX2 I would have not purchased a license to CC and would have not taken the trouble of learning more about PS but ...
To convert the RAW files, I still can not get the same results that CNX2 provides, in general I get pretty close , but for images where I care about the IQ specially for an image with high ISO or where I want the best skin tones, the results I get in Lr or ACR look crude in comparison to what CNX2 does.

[tommiejeep]

Thanks Armando,  I sold the D610, supported by CNX2, to get the D750.  I offered my wife the D610 but she is firmly in the EM1 camp these days.   In playing with the files from my various Nikons, which are supported by CNX2, and then looking at them in PS, I am really surprised at the  WB temp and tint applied by Adobe.  I rarely get a file from ACR that doesn't have the magenta cranked up pretty high.  I was going to use the month that my wife and son were in Rome to really work on PS but seems that anything that could go wrong in the house , did 

I'm using PS for the Sony and plugging in the camera profile I want.  Since I've never shot Sony before I'm not as disappointed.  I still use CNX2 for the Df all of the time and may move to PS or NIK.  The Df is still giving me the best skin tones of all of my Nikons and I have many different tones to worry about  .

I shall persevere or try a different program 
Tom
ps my brother is selling his house in San Miguel de Allende.  I really wish I had the cash to buy it!  My Spanish is one heck of a lot better than my Hindi 

[Frank Fremerey]

I do not see any image except for the one posted by Mongo in #14

[tommiejeep]

Sorry Frank, I'm trying to work out why the disappear
smaller versions:



Tom