This is my mother, Renate. She'll be 71 on May 6. This was taken using a single strobe shot through an umbrella. Black and white was done using Photoshop CS3 beta's new Black and White adjustment layer - it's great! You can adjust the tonal range and brightness of individual colours, so that here, I was able to really darken the bright pink shirt she had on so it wouldn't detract from her face. I also did a selective adjustment layer for her eyes to make them appear lighter than they actually are. Some dodging to bring out the side of her face that's in shadow.
Thanks so much for the great comments and the votes!
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Place: 21 out of 491 Avg (all users): 6.5860 Avg (commenters): 7.7600 Avg (participants): 6.5672 Avg (non-participants): 6.6000 Views since voting: 1637 Views during voting: 422 Votes: 314 Comments: 39 Favorites: 7 (view)
This is a superb portrait, truly masterful and confirms my original vote of 10. I don't think portraits get any better and your mother is a very strong subject. Thanks for providing the workflow and congratulations to you and her.
I had this pegged for the front page. I gave it a 9 (I only gave 1 10 in this challenge). I think it was one of the best lit & edited shots in the competition. I know that some may think that it could have used more contrast, but I thought it was a very insightful and "natural" decision not to overdo it. Well done & congratulations on a great shot.
One of the very best black & white portraits I have ever seen.
I truly hope this brings you a blue ribbon, as it is of the highest quality.
Adding to my favorites as well. Superb photography!
This has great potential. The lighting is good. I'd work with some levels adjustments or possibly even a filter of sorts to enrich the overall tones. Maybe a contrast adjustment as well. 6
Very nice b&w treatment. I like the lighting a lot, though I wish the overall exposure was just a tiny bit lighter as I think a "lighter mood" would fit her better.
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