The demystification of... Vogue colour?

[Andrew B.]

Originally Posted by kav

Sorry but this is an absolutely awful approach.

Not really. Giving someone one bread and butter method to get started with does more good than endless messages about how it's impossible in one thread to teach someone everything they need to know. We all already know there is no magic switch to throw; and I stated as much when I recommended one place to get training.

[kav]

Originally Posted by Andrew B.

Not really. Giving someone one bread and butter method to get started with does more good than endless messages about how it's impossible in one thread to teach someone everything they need to know. We all already know there is no magic switch to throw; and I stated as much when I recommended one place to get training.

It's not a "bread and butter" method. What you suggested is something I've seen used before, and it can produce some really ugly results. There are much better starting points than that.

[Andrew B.]

Originally Posted by kav

It's not a "bread and butter" method. What you suggested is something I've seen used before, and it can produce some really ugly results. There are much better starting points than that.

I'm not interested in having a methods pissing contest, so I'm dropping out of this thread now.

[mr.f]

Originally Posted by oneredpanther

Hi guys,

Let me share with you my principal, number one, sleepless-night inducing, thorn-in-my-side, aching, frustrating retouching problem.

Colour.

Vogue colour.

It's my last bastion between happiness and self-loathing, if you will. What I'm talking about is The Look. The look that magazines like Vogue have, and everyone else's photos do not.

You know what I mean. It's not about lighting (we all know how to light) and it's not about dodge and burn (we all know how to do that) - there is something going on with the colour in these magazines that defies my explanation.

Have a look here, here, here, here or here for example. Heck, do a google image search for vogue italia and look at the colours.

What is this? I cannot seem to logically explain it. I'm not even necessarily talking about individual images. Wouldn't you agree that there is something common between them in colour grading, something separate from your everyday retouching skillset that is purely colour?

It's not just your common yellows-in-highlights/blues-in-shadows split toning trick either, but I can't put my finger on it. Everything has some kind of sheen, as if you can tell it's been printed on glossy paper. I find this notion ridiculous because pixels are pixels, and anything that looks a certain way after having been scanned-in, can necessarily be made to look that way beforehand. It's all just pixels. after all.

In my imaginary perfect world, there is some precious nugget of colour grading information that I'm missing. Something universal that explains what the heck is going on here, because I just cannot seem to replicate this look or feel in post, and I've been photoshopping for 12 years.

Before you leap in with comments like "oh, that one is just a warm white balance" or "oh, that one is just some cross processed sky", step back and look, feel... think about the examples. There is something self-similar between them all...

What is it?

Panth
www.barringtonrussell.com

This may sound a bit...silly at first. But here me out.

I moved from Australia to New York about 7 months ago now and the one thing I notice more than anything is that New York gets a different sunlight. I'm talking about the colors here.

Almost all of the photos you've linked to were shot in NY.

I've traveled to quite a few places and I've never seen such a warm yellow sunlight before.
In contrast, Australian sun is much brighter and whiter. But there is no 'yellow' to it...

Could be something to think about.

that..or maybe I'm home sick

[sehmuzb]

I guess I was busy during Christmas I did not see this thread until now. Fashion is all about the color palette. It is all about how everything goes together. Someone pointed out in the thread as well. Fashion shoot is all about the production. And the production manager/assistants number one job is to make sure color palette of the production is clear for editorial shoots. Clothes, make-up, models, background, lighting, movement and gestures all have a purpose and usually planned before the shoot itself.

Almost all the shots in the OP's post are natural light type shots, if there is any flash it is a fill flash that does not take over the ambient. There are 3 layers you should look at:

1. Clothes: This is a fashion shoot, the hero is the clothes and the accessories. Most of the shots you can see they are masked out and processed separately. You need to keep the color and texture and accentuate them as much as possible. Most shots have them separately sharpened and colored.

2. Skin: Skin is toned based on the ambient or the mood. You can see separate skin masks and coloring. Also skin is softened and sometimes blurred/diffused compared to the clothes

3. Everything else : Background is naturally soft or artificially blurred and desaturated not to take over the clothes, they are usually similar, complementary or opposite colors to bring attention to clothes.

You can see all of the above in the photoshoot : http://fashiongonerogue.com/maria-palm-adina-s-moda/

It is one of the worst editorials I've seen, retouching is very clear, and not very consistent. I wonder who shot and retouched it. Although styling is very cool. BTW it is not for Vogue.

[erikhatt]

Originally Posted by oneredpanther

Hi guys,

Let me share with you my principal, number one, sleepless-night inducing, thorn-in-my-side, aching, frustrating retouching problem.

Colour.

Vogue colour.

It's my last bastion between happiness and self-loathing, if you will. What I'm talking about is The Look. The look that magazines like Vogue have, and everyone else's photos do not.

You know what I mean. It's not about lighting (we all know how to light) and it's not about dodge and burn (we all know how to do that) - there is something going on with the colour in these magazines that defies my explanation.




What is it?

Panth
www.barringtonrussell.com

I looked at the pictures you linked to. Some was, for me, just plain digital photos with no special colour look. But some was very pleasing, and when i go for colours like that, i shoot Portra film and expose a bit over and carefully colorbalance in my drumscanner and a new balance in post prod. I have added two snapshot of how quick colorbalance of filmshot is. One is outdoor in extreme hard and not pleasing nordic light....

[Finn]

Hi All,

Interesting thread. I'm a photographer (not fashion but commercial/adverts) and can attest to what fraiseap and sehmuzb said when they mentioned all the other things that go on before, during and after the shoot to make sure that colors work together and are planned.

Ideally (but not always) in the commercial sphere the photographer, art director, production guys, retoucher and sometimes the client get together to discuss the look and feel of the shot (not to be confused with the earlier process of deciding WHAT should be in the shot). Magazines, artwork, films and TV Ads are pulled in, dissected, digested, argued about and hopefully at the other end, a mood board is born. This becomes the look and feel 'gospel' of the pre-production, shoot and post-production and ensures everyone is working towards the same goal. Art directors often stress the importance of matching the 'lovely subtle deep purple shadows in November's Vogue cover' or similar!

P.S. @mr.f: I totally know what you mean about the colour and quality of light in NYC. I always put it down to all the tinted glass and reflective metal adding fill and colour to the shadow areas. That was what I thought at the time anyway. It is truly unique though.

[salivashake]

Originally Posted by Flashtones

What's with the water color in this one (hard line on right)? It's like someone screwed up a mask.

http://imagesgonerogue.com/images/20..._whiteley3.jpg

I'd assume most colors in these images are not there by accident.

John did a nice job revealing how limited the pallet is in most shots.

The hard line might be the "step" or the seat of a swimming pool. The raised part of the pool where you sit on it or dance.. whatever haha.

[kav]

Originally Posted by salivashake

The hard line might be the "step" or the seat of a swimming pool. The raised part of the pool where you sit on it or dance.. whatever haha.

I agree with you there, but I'm unsure how anyone considers these colors a mystery. If you can get the lighting correct, and you know how to mask, you can get an image to look like this. The water shouldn't provide any kind of challenge. There are many ways to adjust it separately, even via selective color given the lack of other similar colors. It should be obvious that the colors don't really span 0-255 as they need to eventually fit within the appropriate cmyk profile. There really is no mystery here. Adjust overall lighting, create masks, balance background elements, balance skintone and hair, make final color tweaks. Getting perfect masks and properly matching the lighting are likely to provide a higher level of challenge than the other stuff.