Another How Do You Do That?

[Instantclassic]

http://www.jeanyveslemoigne.com/


Any help is really appreciated.

[Boneappetit]

Those works are High Contrast process, something very similar to what Dave Hill uses...
Here's a link with nice tutorials to achieve this look... Composition plays a very important part in these works thou.... http://www.lookit.be/

[Instantclassic]

Okay, thanks a lot!

[eraanexact]

Dude was an art director for years before becoming a full time photographer. I just found a pretty great interview with him:

http://www.thefstopmag.com/?p=1255

The retouching for that particular image was done at this place in Paris:
http://www.sparklink.fr/client/

[moroj82]

Originally Posted by Boneappetit

Those works are High Contrast process, something very similar to what Dave Hill uses...
Here's a link with nice tutorials to achieve this look... Composition plays a very important part in these works thou.... http://www.lookit.be/

that guy has some fantastic tutorials...
but he leaves out some very useful steps in his "high contrast # 1" tutorial.

he has a triple sharpening group (smart sharpen, unsharp, highpass) that he only applies to the edges of the objects/model in the photo. but he never explains how he selects the edges.

Is this simply something tedious that he does by hand, or is there a more accurate and efficient way to only sharpen the edges?

also, he has a noise reduction layer that targets everything but the edges. I'm assuming it's an inverted selection of the sharpen edges layer?

care to share some insight?

[Boneappetit]

Right moroj: He doesn't go in depth in some steps there, but if you check some of his other videos, you'll see some more info that he didn't tell on the first one, a bit complicated thou... There's where we need to create the composites and use the imagination. I guess that you can get how he does the edge sharpening, again watching the other videos...I know it is kind of difficult because of the language limit.

I'm going to paste here part of another thread, it can also help... The links are broken, but the important points are there... Where it says create a difference mask, you can just create a luminosity mask, with Difference blending mode, add a curve and play with the opacity... good luck...

"Quote from Robert Randall tutorial"

Notice how nothing I’ve said so far has anything to do with any fairy tale dragon filter.

Now, how he does it…

First of all, forget all about any dumb ass High Pass techniques you’ve been thinking of, because from what I can see, he doesn’t use them. Nor does he use a huge amount of Unsharp Mask. He uses local contrast controls through selections and masks.

For instance, look at the back pack on the other guy camera a right. Normally that item would be blocked up and lacking detail. Make a lasso selection around the back pack and ask for a layer curve. Brighten to taste. Next go to the same guys pants and do the same thing over for the pants. Now go to the sweater. Now go to the next guy and do the same thing to his little blue bag, then his sweater. Cross the hall to the guy and his leather jacket. Curve that, then his pants and then his hair. Do this local selection curve technique to anything you feel like, when finished pumping up the local contrast, go get something to drink. Come back and judge whether you’ve gone too far or not far enough, and then fix stuff to taste.

Next, make a Highlight mask like this…

http://www.robert-randall.com/MM/HL%20mask%201.jpg

Load it to make it active, and then ask for a layer curve. Bring highlight up slightly.

Next, make a Highlight Mask like this…

http://www.robert-randall.com/MM/HL%20mask%202.jpg

Load it to make it active, and then ask for a layer curve. Bring highlight up slightly more. Notice how the picture starts to take on a sense of depth and life that you’re not familiar with. Fun, huh?

Next, make a Shadow mask like this…

http://www.robert-randall.com/MM/shadow%20mask%201.jpg

Load it to make it active, and then ask for a layer curve. Bring shadow down just a little bit, don’t get carried away here, it isn’t the right time for it.


Next, make a Shadow mask like this, or darker yet…

http://www.robert-randall.com/MM/shadow%20mask%202.jpg

Load it to make it active, and then ask for a layer curve. Now play with killing any detail you might have in this local select area of the shadow. This move sets up the down side of the picture just like the HL mask sets up the upside. By now you should be experiencing a sense of depth that will keep you off the porn sites for at least an hour. We’re not done yet!

Next make a difference mask like this…

http://www.robert-randall.com/MM/diff%20mask%201.jpg

Load it to make it active, and then ask for a layer curve. Now you can play with adding or detracting density from the midtone area to help create the illusion of more density. Usually this is a darkening move, but it can go the other way too.

Now ask for an empty layer and change its mode to softlight. Note that you can also use hard light or overlay if you prefer. Wherever you see a highlight that you want to embellish, start painting white with a brush, wrinkles, teeth, cheeks, lips, what ever you like, paint until you’re eyes bleed. My way of doing this is to then blur the painted layer and add a Highlight Mask from the selection I gave you above. This is why my pictures don’t look like Jill Greenberg’s or Dave Hill’s. I use control over my painting emotional out bursts. Paint those arm and leg highlights too, don’t miss a thing!

Now do the same think with black paint on another softlight layer. Use a mask, don’t use a mask, it’s completely up to you.

If you still think there is room to screw the pooch a little harder, create a compound layer of all you have done and de-saturate it. Change the mode to soft or hard light and watch your contrast go through the roof. Still not enough? Make another compound copy and de-saturate it. Change the mode and ask for a HP filter. Give it a number of between 2 and 250 and watch that picture go thermo nuclear on you. Go to the closest mirror you can find and say the words “Fuck Dave Hill, you’re the man!�.
"close Quote"

[=)JC]

Interesting quote, but unfortunately, i cant imagine what are the highlight and shadows masks he was writing about.. English is not my native, so i will be very grateful if someone rephrase in simple words what the quoted guy was talking about, or better, show some masks and results of that processing.

[Boneappetit]

Hi JC, what is your main language? Here are a couple of links that can help, if you are in China you won't be able to access the videos... anyways, here they are:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Chx...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khnXwk-WW8s

[=)JC]

Boneappetit, native is russian and ukrainian. Actually, i can understand english well, especially when it going with video or screenshots, at least (i'm talking about ps tutorials).
But reading lots of text create mess in my head, and i become unable to understand what article is about of)
So thanx for the videos, i hope they will make those mysterious masks clear to me

[Boneappetit]

haha, glad to help!

[=)JC]

Okay, i guess i get it, the guy uses both highlight and shadows luminosity masks, with at least two grades of strength (via contrast of mask) on each. But i still can't be sure of what he means at "Difference mask". Is it the midtone luminosity mask? It seems like it, but then why it is the "difference" mask? Maybe it something going from the difference blending mode with combining with luminosity masks? Too bad we can't see the links =(
Ah, by the way, an interesting move with adding one of the luminosity masks on the dnb softlight/overlay layers. I like it, gonna try someday

[julianmarsalis]

From Mr Randall I give you his concept of a difference mask both he and Katrin Eismann use the term for sure lol..

Originally Posted by Robert Randall

A difference mask is exactly that; the difference between two sources. You know that PS uses pretty simple math to make its default gray scale conversion. I believe its a combination of 40% red channel and 60% green channel. So when you get that gray scale and you think its flat, you shake your head and say WTF, I thought PS could do a better job. Well, if you made a difference mask that gave you the results of the difference between the red and green channel, you could use that mask on a curve to affect a contrast change that would make your conversion sing.

Calculations...

Source 1 is the red channel

Source 2 is the green channel

mode is difference

Create a new channel

load/select the new channel

ask for a curve in the layers pallet, it will automatically put the mask on the curve.

adjust the difference to suit your taste.

http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/pho...ence-mask.html

[Boneappetit]

Originally Posted by =)JC

Okay, i guess i get it, the guy uses both highlight and shadows luminosity masks, with at least two grades of strength (via contrast of mask) on each. But i still can't be sure of what he means at "Difference mask". Is it the midtone luminosity mask? It seems like it, but then why it is the "difference" mask? Maybe it something going from the difference blending mode with combining with luminosity masks? Too bad we can't see the links =(
Ah, by the way, an interesting move with adding one of the luminosity masks on the dnb softlight/overlay layers. I like it, gonna try someday

JC, you are correct on your observation... Difference mask is what some people call it, although there is no such thing within Photoshop. So it is exactly what you said: "Is it the midtone luminosity mask? It seems like it, Maybe it something going from the difference blending mode with combining with luminosity masks? ".

[moroj82]

I've read all of the the above and still have no idea how the retoucher on the lookit.be website creates those masks that he uses for sharpening.

anyone care to share how he's getting those masks? they look way too accurate to be hand drawn/selected. so he must be using a more efficient method...maybe combing several luminosity masks?

[julianmarsalis]

So many ways to generate masks automatically in ps it isnt funny especially combinations of masks. Many use calculations for this very purpose it is one of the most powerful under used tools in ps for sure.

http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/...askToolkit.htm

http://www.cookseytalbottgallery.com...ecordNumber=38

I use these as starter points then u can play forever and a day with calculations learn that baby and the sky is the limit...

[Flashtones]

Originally Posted by moroj82

I've read all of the the above and still have no idea how the retoucher on the lookit.be website creates those masks that he uses for sharpening.

anyone care to share how he's getting those masks? they look way too accurate to be hand drawn/selected. so he must be using a more efficient method...maybe combing several luminosity masks?

Check out the LCE video on page three of his tutorials.

BTW, this is not the same "difference" mask Robert Randall spoke of.

[julianmarsalis]

http://www.lookit.be/ man they do have some great tutorials even one on calculations pretty sweet I seen it before I just started watching them again lol.

[Luke Kaven]

The highlight and shadow "luminosity masks" are made by using the RGB image itself as the mask source, or one of its channels, and using "load channel as selection". The resulting greyscale mask will approach white for anything above 50% gray, and approach black for anything below 50% gray. That can be your highlight mask. To make the shadow mask, just invert it.

[moroj82]

Originally Posted by Flashtones

Check out the LCE video on page three of his tutorials.

BTW, this is not the same "difference" mask Robert Randall spoke of.

good deal...I didn't know there was a page 2 or three of the tutorials.

still, he doesn't explain how you get the shadows mask. I get the highlight mask. I tried inverting it and then adding it via apply image to the bg copy, but didn't have any luck.

are the edge masks he shows in the page one contrast tutorial made from the highlight and shadow local contrast adjustments?

[amica999]

Originally Posted by moroj82

good deal...I didn't know there was a page 2 or three of the tutorials.

still, he doesn't explain how you get the shadows mask. I get the highlight mask. I tried inverting it and then adding it via apply image to the bg copy, but didn't have any luck.

are the edge masks he shows in the page one contrast tutorial made from the highlight and shadow local contrast adjustments?

Try this: Duplicate background, desaturate, run Filter -> Stylize -> Find Edges, blur a tiny bit for softer transition and invert

[julianmarsalis]

another way dup image filter -> other High pass -> can desaturate - > select -> color range -> midtones add curve or whatever adj delete high pass layer.

[Flashtones]

BTW, on page two of his tutorials: http://www.lookit.be/ in the Calculations tutorial he shows yet another way of making a midtones "difference" map. You find the difference between the image luminosity and mid-gray, then invert it.

[Instantclassic]

Sorry for the bump but can someone upload a picture of randalls masks, cheers.