I was asked to show the before and after on my Free Study entry as well as the editing steps involved. Having done the editing almost a month ago, I didn't remember the steps as well as I thought. However, the steps are still very minimal as you can see by the before and after images:
Before: After:
Most of the setup for this image is really done with the camera and the lighting. Lighting used was a set of 3 strobes:
- a large 5' softbox on camera right
- a smaller 2' foot softbox behind the camera used for fill light
- a hair light which, in this image, isn't real obvious because she is so low to the ground (the hair light was meant to be used for dancers who were standing up so the light was calibrated for a shorter distance to the subject's head than is used here)
Using the Canon 24-70 lens, which is a pretty sharp lens anyway, I set my lights for f/8 which would give me the sharpest images possible. I think that is evident in her eyes even before sharpening.
Here is an unsharpened, unedited, 100% crop of the image:
In previous dance studio pictures I have laid a neutral muslin on the ground and had the kids stand on it. But I was rather fond of the "somewhat reflective" quality of the vinyl floor that they had, so I left the floor as it was.
The backdrop is mine. The props were borrowed (although in this image you only see a small corner of the prop).
Editing steps included:
- Converted from raw using Adobe Lightroom
- Cloned out a small string hanging from her dress
- Added a small amount of gaussian blur to give it a little more of a "dreamy" look.
- Small amount of dodge and burn on the background to ensure focus is on the girl
- Cropped, reduced size, sharpened and added a border
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Anyway, I hope this is helpful. I encourage others to share their Before and After images.
Could someone help me out. I want to load some actions into photoshop and its been so long since I've done it I've forgotten how! I know how to load brushes but the process for actions alludes me at this moment.
Could someone help me out. I want to load some actions into photoshop and its been so long since I've done it I've forgotten how! I know how to load brushes but the process for actions alludes me at this moment.
Dont worry, I found the side menu and worked it out.
