new technique

[michaelafoley]

Could you help me figure out the color process they use in the attached image to get this look. I think it might be a 3 color process or Camera Raw light fill adjustment with HD.
Let me know! Thank you so much in advance.
best,
Michael

http://models.com/work/massimo-dutti-massimo-dutti-ss-13-nyc-collection

[AKMac]

Re: new technique

I'm sure there are lots of things happening here, but my initial impression is that discrete areas have been colorised with a degree of disregard for the ambient light (atmospheric colour), and this gives the image a slightly "Hopperesque" painterly feel.

[grossmisconduct]

Re: new technique

HI! To me this seems more like good art directing choosing a location with only 4 colors (red green blue and yellow). Seems to me like some kind of outdoor Hollywood studio, and the greatest effect is the total lack of detail, meaning all the props and people have been removed and only the surfaces remain. As AKMac says some of the colors may have been changed, but I think maybe the artifical studio backdrop makes for lot of the limited color pallet, but thats just me guessing..

[erikhatt]

Re: new technique

Shoot film and scan great.

[eraanexact]

Re: new technique

Erik, nice work! Are you scanning your images relatively flat and low contrast?

[erikhatt]

Re: new technique

I scan as linear (flat) as i possibly can up against the contrast in the film. Often i photograph targets in the light i want to render perfectly and make my own scanning presets who i again fine adjust when scanning.

[jbedford]

Re: new technique

My favourite photogs, Mert & Marcus, did the same thing for this editorial in W Magazine a few years back - Selective colour tinting +/or something else...?

http://www.wmagazine.com/fashion/2010/09/red_hook_fashion#slide=1

[michaelafoley]

Re: new technique

Thanks for the insight it is helpful. I agree it is hopper like in the layout and the imagery is like Mert & Marcus, using: fluorescents in a large soft box for shadow with the sun behind, then 2 relectors right and left and color gels. There seems to be a lot of PhotoShop post production also, technique like color fill and HDR because of the overall flat color and the amount of mid tones. Not sure though.

[eraanexact]

Re: new technique

I scan as linear (flat) as i possibly can up against the contrast in the film. Often i photograph targets in the light i want to render perfectly and make my own scanning presets who i again fine adjust when scanning.

Awesome. Scanning is an art unto itself.

[michaelafoley]

Re: new technique

It is nice work, I have never done any scan work before. Why do you like it better than something taken digitally then post process in Photoshop? Is it for the detail of film? Is the quality that much different to justify the extra step of development? Is it a color scan?

[eraanexact]

Re: new technique

It is nice work, I have never done any scan work before. Why do you like it better than something taken digitally then post process in Photoshop? Is it for the detail of film? Is the quality that much different to justify the extra step of development? Is it a color scan?

Not sure if this is addressed to me, but I'll go ahead and answer it anyway!

When I started retouching, digital photography was still in its infancy and drum scans were the norm. I had a cursory knowledge of scanning and could do them in a pinch, but it was usually done by a dedicated, knowledgeable scanner operator. Just a few weeks ago, my studio took a job from a photographer who still shoots film primarily, and it was nice to see that again. Though looking back, I can see how the way a person scans is a crucial first step in the way the final image will look when it's completed. There is a definite art to it, and I think it's a large part of why guys like Pascal Dangin rose to such meteoric heights.
Don't get me wrong, I both like to and work on digitally captured images 98% of the time. I do try to impart some "film" quality to raw processing by processing them relatively flat so that I can dictate the amount of contrast with curves layers in photoshop.
I have personally never completed a job, printed it, and then scan the print as a workflow, but if it yielded great results, a little experimenting never hurt anyone!

[michaelafoley]

Re: new technique

My last post was addressed to you! When you say "process flat in camera raw" are you using light fill and recovery to accomplish this?

[eraanexact]

Re: new technique

No, I usually do this by taking the contrast down to -5 or so and adjusting exposure to maximize the amount of information (if it's too blown out, take the exposure down; if it's too dark, take the exposure up). I prefer to process in CaptureOne, but if I use ACR, I always take the settings that aren't exposure and contrast down to zero. Contrast can be set to -15 or so before the image starts to degrade. Point being, I don't want to introduce contrast at the processing stage, I'd rather do that with curves in photoshop.

[michaelafoley]

Re: new technique

OK, I know that you are saying. Every adjustment in Photoshot messes with the light, so it makes sense not to try to adjust ACR to exactly what you want by keep it on the darker side and make a beautiful cure or level for tight adjustments. thanks

[Shoku]

Re: new technique

Thanks for the insight it is helpful. I agree it is hopper like in the layout and the imagery is like Mert & Marcus, using: fluorescents in a large soft box for shadow with the sun behind, then 2 relectors right and left and color gels. There seems to be a lot of PhotoShop post production also, technique like color fill and HDR because of the overall flat color and the amount of mid tones. Not sure though.

The only way to know for sure is to see the original photo. With the right image to start with this could have been accomplished just using curves.