Convert from RAW
Crop
Photomatix (Mask out background)
Lucias Arts (First button)
B&W layer, bring back some color with color layer.
Dodge around eyes
Selective color on scarf to get rid of yellow on right.
Screen layer on eyes for the greenish part in his eyes.
Solid white layer masked out for just the whites int the eyes.
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Sharpen
Borders
Save for Web
Statistics
Place: 81 out of 454 Avg (all users): 6.0556 Avg (commenters): 7.9000 Avg (participants): 5.8505 Avg (non-participants): 6.4545 Views since voting: 1560 Views during voting: 309 Votes: 162 Comments: 12 Favorites: 0
Hey from the Critique Club:
The intensity of the stare is the first thing I notice. The eyes have lots of definition and are very keenly focused on the camera/viewer. Since this was for a Free-Study, you of course met the criteria for the challenge. To be honest, I’m not normally a big fan of portraits, feeling that they largely comprise the money making aspect of photography and not much else. They just sorta seem boring to me sometimes. Your photo, on the other hand, does not fall victim to this. Though the processing is pretty heavy, it works very well with the subject’s face. The sharp, angular lines of the chin, the slight stubble, the pensive expression… all work extremely well together. The extreme HDR you’ve done brings out every rugged aspect of his face, amplifying the expression and facial structure. I don’t mind the busy background, myself. The reason I don’t, is I have a hard time picturing this fellow in a nice studio for a nice portrait. It doesn’t mesh with where you’ve taken the processing, the pose, or the person, and I think having an outdoors environmental portrait is a much better choice.
In short, I very much enjoy this and think you did an excellent job using lots of processing without going over the top, and have created a portrait with added interest in the process.
-Derek
The processing is interesting. I have a bit of a problem with the proportions of his face and head. Maybe it's just my eyes (I've been accused of that before) or my monitor. It definitely is an image that makes you look hard. Well done.
Holy tonemapping, Batman! I like the look, but I miss some sharpness. I can't really tell if the focus is off or if there's some motion blur or something, but it ain't quite right for me. Still, pretty cool looking.
Looks like someone you dont want to make mad lol. Love the sharpness... just curious how DO you get the sharpness like that? I'm still fairly new lol. 9
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