Color

[skydog]

I've seen a number of photos lately, that I like, where the color "pops". Very bright and brilliant. How much is this from the light used and how much from photoshop. If it is the lights..what type. If it it is photo shop what is being done? The photos I have are copyrighted so I can't post. There is one similar example on this site:
http://www.vitalydruchinin.com/
Click on Beauty then Click on The Four Seasons.

So the two pics on the left...I like the richness of the color...again lights or photoshop or both?

[jam1212]

I really think that it's a combination of the two. Obviously a skilled photographer will be able to get a good amount of "pop" in-camera. However, I've yet to see a picture that wouldn't benefit from even a slight amount of photoshop work. Unfortunately, it's very hard to say exactly how much of either goes into a particular photo. Perhaps if you contacted Vitaly he would be able to tell you more.

[Swampy]

Highly saturated and lots of selective sharpening. Not to say a good camera lens and lighting.

[punkjumper]

I quick basic trick I use to pop colors: in LAB mode apply image to the a and b channel using overlay blend mode. of course do it on a duplicate layer so you can blend with the original to taste.

[AdamZx3]

One thing I noticed about those kind of portraits is that they usually have something colorful in the background or on the model, they always have vivid skin tones that are spot on and not over-saturated. A colorful simple background thats sharp and in focus as well as the model seems to be the ticket.

In my opinion, the ones that caught my eye where well lit, and properly exposed and sharp, with other elements that where vivid in color, as well as nice clear vivid skin.

As far as in camera or not....well I would bet at the least a vivid or increased saturation color profile was selected, which in my mind is just like post processing except the camera is processing it.

[Mucker]

Find out from the source: http://www.digitalphotoshopretouching.com/order.htm

[skydog]

Thanks for all the feedback. I did write Vitaly and he said he uses hue/saturation, but unfortunately my methods don't come close to his...which means I still have a long way to go. I still don't believe it is all photoshop...good white lightning and a good Professional Camera is required.

[skydog]

Ummm...I stand corrected...go to the video site: http://www.digitalphotoshopretouching.com/order.htm

and clicked on the top choice "retouched work by the author" and then look down at number 13...and then move your cursor over the pic...the color richness is all from retouching...but I've seen other pictures from other photographers (probably done by their under acknowleged retoucher) with the same brilliance of color...

Are the colors painted?

Any other thoughts???

[CaptainHook]

Skydog, can you post a before and after of your attempt(s)?

It looks like selective color/hue/saturation/etc moves to me...?
Lots of D&B too.

[grannysdc]

Originally Posted by skydog

How much is this from the light used and how much from Photoshop. If it is the lights..what type.

skydog,
IMHO "Type" of light really doesn't matter as much as the Proper lighting placement/setup.. they probably should be the same type and color balanced and the scene should have no spill over from extraneous lighting.. You can get excellent results using fairly inexpensive lights as long as you have enough of them and they are set up properly using snoots, barn doors, background light(s), umbrellas, reflectors.. etc... .. It is also important to have all the important focal objects properly exposed as well as lit properly..
With a good, sharp, well lit photo that "POPS" in camera, it stands to reason that the same photo manipulated in Photoshop will also "POP"
I think the term "GIGO" (garbage in garbage out) would apply here... Even in the right hands, a mediocre picture will generally look forced because of the additional work required, whereas, an excellent picture will look more natural after being Photoshopped because there is a lot less work to do on a good, well lit, sharp exposure

Of course I come from the OLD school where, if you wanted something to "POP", everything was supposed to be right "In Camera" before going to print and a lot of the studio work was done with modeling lights before the large hot lights were turned on... and this was WAY before Photoshop..

Either way, good Photo techniques usually result in good photos whether in camera or in Photoshop.. Quality is observable but sometimes hard to achieve...

Practice Cubed

Happy Holidays

[skydog]

Right now I haven't attempted...I'm just sharing some other artists I like.