Ultra High-Key Desaturation

[dalphoto]

Looking for some commentary on what I might have done differently, what works and what doesn't. Trying to branch out from vanilla treatments without straying too far from reality.

[fryday]

thats awsome. can i ask how you did it. also i think it would look better on a color background.

[edgework]

Originally Posted by dalphoto

Looking for some commentary on what I might have done differently, what works and what doesn't. Trying to branch out from vanilla treatments without straying too far from reality.

The only thing I can see that might be improved is to show just a bit more definition in the hair. It feels like the blown out areas are just too large. Overall, really nice work.

[DannyRaphael]

Here's a slightly different take to chew on. To me her eyes are the key, so I tried to emphasize them by de-emphasizing other areas.

[DannyRaphael]

Originally Posted by fryday

thats awsome. can i ask how you did it. also i think it would look better on a color background.

A great photo shot against a white background helps one get off to a good start.

There are probably multiple ways to achieve this type of effect. For the base effect in the example I uploaded above I used a combination of adjustment layers applied by a Photoshop action. If you're using Photoshop too, click my name above and send me an e-mail. I'll send you the action.

[BillFrey]

I like it. You've retained nice skin tone and a hint of color. Well done.

[dalphoto]

To start, I overexposed the background by about 1 stop to get that nice even blown out look. Then in photoshop, I duplicated the background and desaturated it with a hue saturation layer until I got the hair looking how I wanted it, with a hint of color still there. Then, I added another hue saturation layer to bump up the eyes a tad.

[Baby]

This is nicely done. I don't mind the lack of definition in her hair, but I think because even the black eyelashes are light, the whole thing has a look of being washed out. You can still have this same look but with some black blacks if you either run a defog or a curves adjustment where you pull the black point in a bit.

[Baby]

here's what it does:

[leuallen]

This picture belongs in another thread but seems as an appropriate example here.

To bring out the eyes and add some contrast while keeping the high key effect try copying the red channel and then pasting it in above the background. Change the mode to luminosity and reduce the opacity to taste.

If you examine the red channel, you will see that almost eveything is washed out except the eyes. By pasting this over the background it darkens the eyes and gives a nice effect. Check the other channnel also to see if one emphasizes the areas that you want.

Photo by Jacz

Larry

[Alison]

Hi Dal,

I copied and pasted the red channel into a new layer then used the screen blending mode. Added layer mask and brought back her eyes, lips, earrings and fasteners on her shirt. Also brought back some of the hair colour around her face.