HI everyone,

This is my first post to this form. I am a graphic designer (mostly web designer) and I use the Adobe Creative Suite. I am familiar with Photoshop but perhaps a bit weak on photo techniques.

Anyway, I have just done my first colorization of my grandparent's wedding picture and I would like some constructive criticism. Say what needs to be said. I am thick skinned from dealing with my web design clients :happy:

TIA for your advice. I am glad to have found this forum.

Dave

First of all I think you did an excellent job on your first colorization! Many times I see a first coloration being overdone with color, and your's was not. There are a few things I think you could do to tweak it to make it a little better.

First of all I think the faces could use a bit more saturation, second I think the wedding dress is slightly blown out and could use more depth. Lastly I think the photograph could be sharpened.

I attached my version in which I used:

1. a multiply layer at 20% to add more sauration/depth to the faces and dress.

2. Selected the dress to a separate layer and used a "color burn" blending mode at 20% to further give depth to the dress.

3. I ran an unsharp mask at with an amount of 40% and a radius at 1.0.

Alan

Your changes are certainly improvements!.

Thank you so much for replying to my post. Very educational for me. I will post my second attempt to see if I can duplicate what you have done. Doesn't sound like much more was done in PS, but what was done depended on the eye of the artist as he/you finished up the picture.

I really need the side-by-side eye training your edits gave me.

Thanks again,

Dave

Very nicely done. It's nice to see a subtle approach for a first try.
There are a couple of tips, and I'm just guessing on your methods....
Use more colors. Everything is made up of more than one color. If it weren't we'd be living in a Ted Turner colorized world.
Don't leave anything gray. Even gray has color in it (often from reflected surroundings). If the job looks tedious, apply a sepia tone before you start coloring.
Desaturate some of the color in the shadows. They have a tendancy to grab the color, and it can look artificial if it's too vibrant there.
Watch out for high intensity colors. Bright blues, pinks, and such, if not handled carefully can look garish.
Looks like you're off to a good start. Hope some of this helps.
Vikki