First post from a new guy

[WishfulPixel]

Hi all,

Ive been retouching for about 3 years and Im also a photographer.

I took this shot in Thailand and rather enjoyed it. This is the after and wanted to get another few sets of eyes on it.

If anyone is interested, I will post the before as well.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...o/_DSC5502.jpg

[palms1]

Looks good, a before shot would be great for comparison

Palms

[WishfulPixel]

I thought I would hear that. The only version I have with original color is a cropped version. I decided to go back to the non-cropped version because I thought the spoon helped place the figure in an environment.

Thoughts?

Thanks again

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1..._DSC5502v1.jpg

[palms1]

Well i like it and agree with you that spoon stays looks much better and gives a reason, would like to see some more and then maybe ask the dreaded question how ! ! !
by the way welcome to retouch
Palms

[Kraellin]

always nice to have a before, but actually not necessary in this instance. but, thanks

the only thing i dont like in this image is the smoke/steam. i just dont believe it. it looks a bit too painted in. it's close, but just not quite right to me. (not sure i could do it any better, mind you )

i do like this overall style. i like that you low-keyed the clothing and took it back into the background more. that puts focus back on the hands and arms and overall setting.

the spoon does sort of balance out the highs. so, that's fine.

and like i say, i do like the overall technique here.

and i like that you brought out some grain in the background portions. and that you put the background elements more into focus. it heightens the sense and flavor of the image.

[WishfulPixel]

Thanks for the comments and the welcome. Much appreciated.

Ive heard that compaint already once about the smoke and have some stock smoke I shot a while ago I intended on replacing it with.

Ill post another thread with the something I did with a similiar style. Ill post it now.

As far as technique is concerned, I found this link and used this as a baseline, and tweaked the image to fit my liking.

http://www.reviewzine.com/photoshop-...ur-photograph/

Hope this helps everyone.

keep the critiques coming.

[palms1]

Thank you for the link will be looking into it real soon

Palms

[Little Fisher]

That looks like an interesting technique with which to tinker. Thanks for the link. Here's a link for using difference clouds (if you haven't already). It's great for creating steam (or clouds, or electricity...) by changing the contrast or adding additional filters. It takes a bit of experimentation...
http://www.htmlcenter.com/tutorials/...123/Photoshop/

I like both versions of your dishwasher. I like the lighting and the muted hues in the original. I can tell that he is drying a metal cup, and he still seems to be moving.

Your manipulated version is much darker, and I don't mean just visually. It seems as though there is something sinister going on, but I can't put my finger on it. At first glance, my eye went directly to his hand and I thought he was wiping off a gun. If that spoon weren't there, I would think he was a hit man at dawn cleaning up after a night's work.

I think the dramatic lighting completely changes the feeling of the photo. It would be interesting to see a series of photos with the same context shift. Do you have more like that?

-LF

[WishfulPixel]

Thanks for the link, Im going to bring the layered file in and see if I can lay the smoke I have over. Ill try the new technique after that.

As far as other images go, this is a link the a contact sheet with all the shots with him.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...et-008copy.jpg

There arent many.

Also you are absolutely right about the dark feeling. It was intentional. Not for your reasons, more of a mysterious vibe, to be honest, your on the streets of Bangkok, walking around eating from street vendors and you really have no idea what your eating. It was really really good food, but unsettling at the same time.

I really wanted to create a "draw" into the frame and make people interested to look at the shot, and piece together what he was doing and where he was and what he was doing by the environment.

[Cassidy]

Impressive outcome, thanks for the info

[WishfulPixel]

This is the final.

I changed the smoke, Selectively sharpened the pants and fixed some other things I thought were annoying while I was in there.

Thanks for all your help! I love this site!!

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...SC5502fin1.jpg