Thread: a brother and sister for CC

The little girl was TOUGH! I vow never to attempt shooting a 2y old again.

Looking mostly for cc on the processing, but feel free to comment on everything else. I already know about the chopped limbs. (booo-urns)
TIA

1. 1/200, ISO 1600, f 3.5--How is my conversion...I was trying for a 'chocolate' BW?


2. 1/320, ISO 640, f 5.6
i feel like the white area over her shoulder is blown and distracting...???



3.same as #2 but f/3.5

Sorry you had a tough time. It doesn't show in your pics at least.

1. I don't get a truly 'chocolate' feel when I look at this conversion, but I like it none the less. Contrast is nice. The hand chop is unfortunate, but otherwise composition is really good. I'll bet the parents will love this one.

2. The area over her right shoulder (camera left) *is* blown, but I don't find it overly distracting. Have you tried this one in a portrait crop? Maybe if you get nice and tight on her, the blown areas will be diminished. LOVE your conversion here. It's very clean and crisp.

3. LOVE the light in her eyes. The collar and cheek look blown on her right. I don't find the collar distracting, but the cheek might be a problem when printing. If you can mask that area and try to recover a bit, it might make printing easier. I love this shot. It feels very fresh and vibrant. The pink against all that green is really nice and I think you've done a great job of bringing out her beautiful brown eyes.

TFS!
GiGi

Thanks GiGi...
how can I make it a more 'chocolate' conversion? What's it missing/needing?

Originally Posted by Gehana

Thanks GiGi...
how can I make it a more 'chocolate' conversion? What's it missing/needing?

Honestly, I'm not sure. I don't do a good chocolate conversion. I just didn't see much in the way of browns in your shot. I like it. It has a slightly more 'edgy' feel to it than a standard b&w (like #2), but I just don't see enough browns for me to get that chocolately feel.

Hopefully someone who does a good chocolate b&w can point you in the right direction.

Best,
GiGi

I definitely see the browns compared to photo #2, but could it be hard to do a chocolate B&W on a photo with such a large solid-black background, and it not having many "midtones"? (between the BG and his b/w shirt) I'm thinking a chocolate conversion might look better on something with a lighter BG and/or more colors in the original? Just from my very limited experience...

Cute set! I really like #2's conversion, and the comp of #3--and her eyes look so pretty.

Maybe i'll try it on #2 when i get on my comp at home.
thanks ladies!

Great bokeh too!!

I only have a quick minute, but here's some thoughts for hat it's worth...
#1. Handchop is unfortunate, but the comp dosn't appeal much to me either. It feels like I am looking up his nose. The conversion is nice though.
#2. White area over the shoulder is blown, and a "little" distracting since she is so pale. I like GiGi's idea of a tighter crop.
#3 Her face and arm are blown and will be a problem with printing. Can it be recovered in ACR? Her eyes are gorgeous in this one! I might deepen the contrast on the rest of the photo to make it pop a little more.


As for chocolate conversions, I use lab conversion to B/W, switch back to RGB and add a Color balance layer, then up the reds and yellows in midtones. HTH

Two year olds are HARD, I know, I have one.

1. Can you crop this differently so the hand chop isn't as brutal? The conversion looks good on his face, but his shirt is too bright. I'm not seeing much "chocolate" in your conversion, but it's still nice. Love the bubbles!

2. yes, blown area is distracting, but this is an adorable capture. I'd like it color better, I think. GiGi has a good suggestion on the crop.

3. her cheek looks close to blown, just not sure how this would print. but focus looks good as does her skin. very sweet!

Just read your reply to GiGi - you need some more browns. Here's what I use for my chocolate conversions, then I tweak it -http://coffeeteaphotography.blogspot.com/2009/03/coffeeshop-creamy-chocolate-b-pspse.html