Disclaimer: I am not making fun of, but educating those that do not know any better.
So I started photography almost 4 years ago (this March). I was 25. I had already received a certificate in Wedding planning as well as planned a few weddings. (Not my own!) I came from a decorating/ vintage/ artsy background by trade.
I'm trying to say, I had a pretty good idea of what was in good taste and what wasn't as well as where I wanted to go professionally and what I wanted to say with my work.
At that time "selective color" photographs were big. I think in some areas they still are. As a professional, it is extremely cheesy. If you want to be SEEN as a professional, I would not do them because you're basically screaming to others that you aren't. This is not just my opinion, but the opinion of most photographers I know.
In other words, if you're looking to hire a photographer, and while flipping through their portfolio you see a selective color edit--- I'd probably RUN.
I refuse to take other photographers work to use as an example for this sort of thing, so I did my best to BADLY edit my own work. (LOL- it was surprisingly hard!)
Lets start with the original:
Because this was shot in RAW, the image is "muddy". It is supposed to be this way. RAW images are used so that the photographer has complete control of what the final image looks like. (JPGS sharpen, saturate and make all the decisions for you. Also, JPGS are smaller files).
You can see how much red is in his skin. This is pretty common with babies. Almost ALWAYS with newborns it requires a little extra work.
A GOOD representation of what a color baby photo might look like: Please keep in mind I did not sharpen or smooth the skin at all in these images.
I did not do my normal skin process on this image because of time, but simply used the "selective color" slider and took all the black out of the skin. This doesn't always work on skin but this time it did. See how there's not only good color in his face, but he 'pops' a little more? I Simply used some contrast and masking.
Also, keep in mind ALWAYS that no matter what printing service you use (for amateurs- I highly suggest mpix.com. Good prices, great products) the images will always need to look a little lighter/ brighter on your computer so that when they print, they will be close to where you actually want the print to be. I will explain more in another blog if someone is interested.
This is a BAD edit:
This is an example of SELECTIVE COLORING. THIS IS BAD. Like I said before, if you want to be considered a professional, DO NOT do this. Also, see how the image looks "flat" meaning its more of a gray scale image and not a true black and white. This is another beginner mistake. To avoid the image looking 'gray scale' have a true white and true black point, or close to that.
This is a Good Black and White edit:
In this image, I used ton of layers. I used contrast in the eyes, lips and overall in the image. I added a vignette around the image to bring the focus back into the center.
Also, you can see the brightest point is on the blanket, which is not ideal. IMO the face should (9 times out of 10) be the brightest point, but this image just wasn't going to work that way. The bright point on the blanket draws your eye in and then your eye circles to the face. Its all about flow.
You can see the quality difference from image to image and how a little extra time is worth it.
Just for fun, I edited an old image from years ago that had LOTS of color. YES, I have seen images from 'Photographers' that are this obnoxious. PLEASE do not do this. The image are so much better on their own in color or black and white. Enjoy!
Hopefully you've learned a little, and maybe even gotten a chuckle.
Scarlett J
All images are the property of Scarlett Jewel Photography,
and sole owner is Scarlett Jewel Photography.
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