How Does He Do It?....Part 3

[Kent C]

You have about 2 posts in the previuos thread. Of which neither
give any info.

You didn't look far enough:

Here’s my first post re: the subject that refers to an earlier thread, where someone posted Andrzev’s own words on his technique:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1006&message=9621928

“Some of my photographs presented here undergo a specific treatment: a digital manipulation I call 'a light retouch'. Apart from some straightforward color manipulations and tone filtering, the original technique doesn't make use of any automatic filters. Instead of that, it involves a unique for each photograph combination…

I receive a lot of questions concerning the details of the original technique, which is not very straightforward.”

IF you would have read this one, which outright refutes what you are asking for “something straightforward” perhaps you would be asking such stupid questions. And in Arndrzev’s note to Joe:

“From my experience it works best this way instead of giving strict
instructions to be copied without wondering.”

Again, exactly opposite of what you’re asking. Yet people have given plenty of advice, not just picture on these threads including me (you didn’t look too well, which is beginning to show ‘how you work’):

Here’s one of mine with loads of info if you would have taken the time to read it and the links:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1006&message=9646427

(why I’m posting this I don’t know. You won’t even read it now – lol)

More with info:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1006&message=9653417
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1006&message=9658315
Example with match color:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1006&message=9664154
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1006&message=9665494

Now for some specific instructions JUST for you Snook:

1. Load image
2. duplicate the background

3 Go to hue/sat check colorize, move the hue slider to a redish yellow tone, increase saturation set mode to 'multiply' and opacity to 50%
4. in the layers palette merge visible
5. Duplicate layer and run filter> other> highpass set at 7
6. Change layer mode to overlay -this helps darken the cracks

..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.



--
Kent
http://www.pbase.com/kentc

 

[DannyM]

When following steps i understand that you should
understand the process (no the steps),

Exactly!! Thats what I wanted to share with everyone!!!! I just got the feeling many did not understand this. If you got a different result, thats ok!!! Like I said, Its like handwriting, you somehow always have something that makes you different in style and thats a good thing.

but darkening an image is

easy and can be done a billion ways. Some are more destructive that
anothers...afterall, darkening with levels is different then
darkening with brightness or contrast, but they all will darken the
image...I dont think that someone asking you how you darkened
something is that unreasonable.....

I dont think its unreasonable. But not not appreciating my effort in sharing what I learned, and implying that I should rewrite all of it is unreasonable. No one ever posted something that said they did not appreciate it. However, the tone used on some posts was not kind. Yes, maybe most of the steps needed clarification, but that was not what I wanted to share. Let me give you an example:

Color Balance Adjustment Layer:
Pushed Blue to about 20%.

The point here was not that you should push blue the same way I did it. But rather, just to know that I added blue and for a reason (maybe I wanted to increase contrast, maybe I wanted to eliminate some yellow). From there you (the public, not you personally) could have added blue to your taste, or you could have skipped this step of the image demanded so.

.i understand someone should

FOLLOW steps..that can get you in a bad habit, but if you dont know
how to do something at first, it isnt a bad idea to have steps to
learn off of in the future....

I agree. But this is what I meant with Key moves. Actions I took that are very important to the final result. How I made those moves was a personal choice, not the necessary step.

For example:

I like to make Black and Whites a certain way. Others do it differently with better results.

The point was: I turned the image BW, I did it X way.

not: "You HAVE to use channel mixer, and go below 0 on red, and up high to about 50 on green and 75 on blue. Any different from this and your screwed."

.sometimes its taught through

practice practice practice...

I completely agree!!!!!

anyway...again...thanks for the effort...i know you put alot of
time into explaining and i thank you for that..

Thanks! I know most people appreciated it, and that makes it all worthwhile!.

-DannyM

By the way, do you know about another guy who has a great style in retouching?? Wouldnt it be fun?; "Here we go again!".

 

[BobMert]

Thanks, seems straight forward enoungh. I'll give it a try when I get home.
Thanks
Bob

Some did not understand my "How I did it". I will try to put very
simple.

1-2-3.

1. Make one copy in Black and White, blend it to an unedited
version of the original.
2. Colorize that image.
3. Polish it up.

thats it!!! You dont follow steps, you never do!! You get the key
moves (eg "1-2-3.") and approach them the way you know best.

I mention that the most important was the thought process, not how
I got there. Its: "What do you need?""What do I have", and knowing
the tools I know, "How do I get there."

If I suggest -Turn a background copy into BW and blend it with a bg
copy. dont just follow my steps, or others, blindly.
Turn the image to BW the best way you can. Its not easy. Never use
desaturate. There are several ways. I like using Channel Mixer. And
I never follow any combination to get a good image, I rather play
around with the bars until I see something I like. If you are still
having much trouble, just use the channel with best contrast, its
usually blue or green.

Colorize the image.
Do you know how to add (enhance) color to an image?
Do you know how to add color to a Black and White image?
Do you know the basics of color theory?

If you cant answer these questions, then you better go buy yourself
a tutorial, maybe a $40 book.

If you do, then apply that knowledge to your image.

There are several hundred ways to do this. On my first example I
used Color Balance Adjustments Layers. On my "yelling" image I did
it another way. you can also used a slightly desaturated image,
set it to blend in color mode, and just paint right over the image
(It will preserve luminance), then use a mask to clean up any mess
you have done. There are many more ways out there.

Polish it up:
With this I mean a COMPLETE understanding of Levels, Curves,
Brightness/Contrast, Color Balance, Hue/Saturation, etc.
But not only that, you have to know how to use them in layers and
how to use them with masks.
My God! If you get a dark image, please dont ask me how to lighten
it up! You should know how to already. And if you dont, which is
perfectly fine and acceptable, ask but dont ask me to tell you
everything about PS, something that needs a book not a thread.

I know this kind of sounds like I am being to mean, it is my not
intention. But I just keep seeing people wanting to follow specific
steps. Its not the way you go about creating images. Kent certainly
seems to understand this. Obiously Laura (freelancer54) understands
this, csspringer, and many others. Dragan said it himself, Al Ward,
author of PS Art of Photo Manipulation, teaches this as well. You
see, knowing the technique is knowing the tools and the key moves.
Maybe we still need to add or take a few key moves to best
represent dragans style, but thats beside the point.

-Daniel

 

[DannyM]

Why??

Why would he want to charge for it, especially knowing that without paypal, many people wont pay for it.

Why would such a genius be so secretive in his technique??

He is outstanding in photography.
Well known and published in a polish art mag.
he is doing a PhD.
He trained piano for more than 10 years.

He is a member of mensa (intellectual group of the people who have the top 2% in IQ of the worlds population). Note: Its not so difficult, its one in every twenty. That means there was probably 30 mensas reading the first thread.

anyway, he gave us enough clues to his approach. I am sure he knows that those who are strongly interested, agile, smart and talented, will get to something similar.

I am happy to see most reached something similar. But I think this was due to competition (a good and enjoyable one in this case.)In economics terms, competition produces a higher quality product.

Remember, he is an intellectual. He communicates, but many dont understand.

You want a pass to skip intellectual communication?? its $300. That by the way, it will only be decieving. That person will never completely understand.

-Daniel

 

[nuyah134164]

Cheers,

yirmon

I'm afraid i'm going to have to join everyone in this little
"challenge". I think this guy's work is absolutely stunning, and
the reason his technique looks so good is because the image he
starts with is brilliant... great subject with great lighting. I've
just been messing about with a picture i took a while ago of my
gran in the back garden. The lighting doesn't help this picture at
all, but i thought i'd see what you all think. I actually feel
slightly bad at posting such a terrible picture of my gran!

If anyone wants the details i'll glady explain...





--
Cheers,

yirmon

http://john.stuwee.org
http://john.stuwee.org/photography

--
Cheers,

yirmon

http://john.stuwee.org
http://john.stuwee.org/photography

--
http://www.pbase.com/nupbase

 

[MarkmyShots]

Thanks for the response Danny...time for me to go practice...Dammit, i want to be able to do this...hehe...sounds like its gonna be a long / fun night for me.

Exactly!! Thats what I wanted to share with everyone!!!! I just
got the feeling many did not understand this. If you got a
different result, thats ok!!! Like I said, Its like handwriting,
you somehow always have something that makes you different in style
and thats a good thing.

but darkening an image is

easy and can be done a billion ways. Some are more destructive that
anothers...afterall, darkening with levels is different then
darkening with brightness or contrast, but they all will darken the
image...I dont think that someone asking you how you darkened
something is that unreasonable.....

I dont think its unreasonable. But not not appreciating my effort
in sharing what I learned, and implying that I should rewrite all
of it is unreasonable. No one ever posted something that said they
did not appreciate it. However, the tone used on some posts was not
kind. Yes, maybe most of the steps needed clarification, but that
was not what I wanted to share. Let me give you an example:

Color Balance Adjustment Layer:
Pushed Blue to about 20%.

The point here was not that you should push blue the same way I did
it. But rather, just to know that I added blue and for a reason
(maybe I wanted to increase contrast, maybe I wanted to eliminate
some yellow). From there you (the public, not you personally) could
have added blue to your taste, or you could have skipped this step
of the image demanded so.

.i understand someone should

FOLLOW steps..that can get you in a bad habit, but if you dont know
how to do something at first, it isnt a bad idea to have steps to
learn off of in the future....

I agree. But this is what I meant with Key moves. Actions I took
that are very important to the final result. How I made those moves
was a personal choice, not the necessary step.

For example:
I like to make Black and Whites a certain way. Others do it
differently with better results.

The point was: I turned the image BW, I did it X way.
not: "You HAVE to use channel mixer, and go below 0 on red, and up
high to about 50 on green and 75 on blue. Any different from this
and your screwed."

.sometimes its taught through

practice practice practice...

I completely agree!!!!!

anyway...again...thanks for the effort...i know you put alot of
time into explaining and i thank you for that..

Thanks! I know most people appreciated it, and that makes it all
worthwhile!.

-DannyM

By the way, do you know about another guy who has a great style in
retouching?? Wouldnt it be fun?; "Here we go again!".

 

[Willie Lee]

Hi Danny, here's my try on the old man photo. Somehow I had problem with brightening up and colouring his eyes. Any idea? Thanks. You did an excellent job here.

Exactly!! Thats what I wanted to share with everyone!!!! I just
got the feeling many did not understand this. If you got a
different result, thats ok!!! Like I said, Its like handwriting,
you somehow always have something that makes you different in style
and thats a good thing.

but darkening an image is

easy and can be done a billion ways. Some are more destructive that
anothers...afterall, darkening with levels is different then
darkening with brightness or contrast, but they all will darken the
image...I dont think that someone asking you how you darkened
something is that unreasonable.....

I dont think its unreasonable. But not not appreciating my effort
in sharing what I learned, and implying that I should rewrite all
of it is unreasonable. No one ever posted something that said they
did not appreciate it. However, the tone used on some posts was not
kind. Yes, maybe most of the steps needed clarification, but that
was not what I wanted to share. Let me give you an example:

Color Balance Adjustment Layer:
Pushed Blue to about 20%.

The point here was not that you should push blue the same way I did
it. But rather, just to know that I added blue and for a reason
(maybe I wanted to increase contrast, maybe I wanted to eliminate
some yellow). From there you (the public, not you personally) could
have added blue to your taste, or you could have skipped this step
of the image demanded so.

.i understand someone should

FOLLOW steps..that can get you in a bad habit, but if you dont know
how to do something at first, it isnt a bad idea to have steps to
learn off of in the future....

I agree. But this is what I meant with Key moves. Actions I took
that are very important to the final result. How I made those moves
was a personal choice, not the necessary step.

For example:
I like to make Black and Whites a certain way. Others do it
differently with better results.

The point was: I turned the image BW, I did it X way.
not: "You HAVE to use channel mixer, and go below 0 on red, and up
high to about 50 on green and 75 on blue. Any different from this
and your screwed."

.sometimes its taught through

practice practice practice...

I completely agree!!!!!

anyway...again...thanks for the effort...i know you put alot of
time into explaining and i thank you for that..

Thanks! I know most people appreciated it, and that makes it all
worthwhile!.

-DannyM

By the way, do you know about another guy who has a great style in
retouching?? Wouldnt it be fun?; "Here we go again!".

--
Willie
http://www.williefoto.com

 

[Willie Lee]

Apparently I cant figure out how to attach a picture either. Anyway, here's my try after reading your post.

Some did not understand my "How I did it". I will try to put very
simple.

1-2-3.

1. Make one copy in Black and White, blend it to an unedited
version of the original.
2. Colorize that image.
3. Polish it up.

thats it!!! You dont follow steps, you never do!! You get the key
moves (eg "1-2-3.") and approach them the way you know best.

I mention that the most important was the thought process, not how
I got there. Its: "What do you need?""What do I have", and knowing
the tools I know, "How do I get there."

If I suggest -Turn a background copy into BW and blend it with a bg
copy. dont just follow my steps, or others, blindly.
Turn the image to BW the best way you can. Its not easy. Never use
desaturate. There are several ways. I like using Channel Mixer. And
I never follow any combination to get a good image, I rather play
around with the bars until I see something I like. If you are still
having much trouble, just use the channel with best contrast, its
usually blue or green.

Colorize the image.
Do you know how to add (enhance) color to an image?
Do you know how to add color to a Black and White image?
Do you know the basics of color theory?

If you cant answer these questions, then you better go buy yourself
a tutorial, maybe a $40 book.

If you do, then apply that knowledge to your image.

There are several hundred ways to do this. On my first example I
used Color Balance Adjustments Layers. On my "yelling" image I did
it another way. you can also used a slightly desaturated image,
set it to blend in color mode, and just paint right over the image
(It will preserve luminance), then use a mask to clean up any mess
you have done. There are many more ways out there.

Polish it up:
With this I mean a COMPLETE understanding of Levels, Curves,
Brightness/Contrast, Color Balance, Hue/Saturation, etc.
But not only that, you have to know how to use them in layers and
how to use them with masks.
My God! If you get a dark image, please dont ask me how to lighten
it up! You should know how to already. And if you dont, which is
perfectly fine and acceptable, ask but dont ask me to tell you
everything about PS, something that needs a book not a thread.

I know this kind of sounds like I am being to mean, it is my not
intention. But I just keep seeing people wanting to follow specific
steps. Its not the way you go about creating images. Kent certainly
seems to understand this. Obiously Laura (freelancer54) understands
this, csspringer, and many others. Dragan said it himself, Al Ward,
author of PS Art of Photo Manipulation, teaches this as well. You
see, knowing the technique is knowing the tools and the key moves.
Maybe we still need to add or take a few key moves to best
represent dragans style, but thats beside the point.

-Daniel

--
Willie
http://www.williefoto.com

 

[Kent C]

Some did not understand my "How I did it". I will try to put very
simple.

1-2-3.

1. Make one copy in Black and White, blend it to an unedited
version of the original.
2. Colorize that image.
3. Polish it up.

thats it!!! You dont follow steps, you never do!! You get the key
moves (eg "1-2-3.") and approach them the way you know best.

I mention that the most important was the thought process, not how
I got there. Its: "What do you need?""What do I have", and knowing
the tools I know, "How do I get there."

If I suggest -Turn a background copy into BW and blend it with a bg
copy. dont just follow my steps, or others, blindly.
Turn the image to BW the best way you can. Its not easy. Never use
desaturate. There are several ways. I like using Channel Mixer. And
I never follow any combination to get a good image, I rather play
around with the bars until I see something I like. If you are still
having much trouble, just use the channel with best contrast, its
usually blue or green.

Colorize the image.
Do you know how to add (enhance) color to an image?
Do you know how to add color to a Black and White image?
Do you know the basics of color theory?

If you cant answer these questions, then you better go buy yourself
a tutorial, maybe a $40 book.

If you do, then apply that knowledge to your image.

There are several hundred ways to do this. On my first example I
used Color Balance Adjustments Layers. On my "yelling" image I did
it another way. you can also used a slightly desaturated image,
set it to blend in color mode, and just paint right over the image
(It will preserve luminance), then use a mask to clean up any mess
you have done. There are many more ways out there.

Polish it up:
With this I mean a COMPLETE understanding of Levels, Curves,
Brightness/Contrast, Color Balance, Hue/Saturation, etc.
But not only that, you have to know how to use them in layers and
how to use them with masks.
My God! If you get a dark image, please dont ask me how to lighten
it up! You should know how to already. And if you dont, which is
perfectly fine and acceptable, ask but dont ask me to tell you
everything about PS, something that needs a book not a thread.

I know this kind of sounds like I am being to mean, it is my not
intention. But I just keep seeing people wanting to follow specific
steps. Its not the way you go about creating images. Kent certainly
seems to understand this. Obiously Laura (freelancer54) understands
this, csspringer, and many others. Dragan said it himself, Al Ward,
author of PS Art of Photo Manipulation, teaches this as well. You
see, knowing the technique is knowing the tools and the key moves.
Maybe we still need to add or take a few key moves to best
represent dragans style, but thats beside the point.

-Daniel

--
Willie
http://www.williefoto.com

--
Kent
http://www.pbase.com/kentc

 

[DannyM]

Please show your results.

I have a feeling you are going to do very good!

-danny

Thanks for the response Danny...time for me to go
practice...Dammit, i want to be able to do this...hehe...sounds
like its gonna be a long / fun night for me.

Long night?? If you see the time of my posts, you will see that it was the same for me. Like I said before, its addictive!!! I went to bed Friday at 5 a.m. can you believe it!!!

Exactly!! Thats what I wanted to share with everyone!!!! I just
got the feeling many did not understand this. If you got a
different result, thats ok!!! Like I said, Its like handwriting,
you somehow always have something that makes you different in style
and thats a good thing.

but darkening an image is

easy and can be done a billion ways. Some are more destructive that
anothers...afterall, darkening with levels is different then
darkening with brightness or contrast, but they all will darken the
image...I dont think that someone asking you how you darkened
something is that unreasonable.....

I dont think its unreasonable. But not not appreciating my effort
in sharing what I learned, and implying that I should rewrite all
of it is unreasonable. No one ever posted something that said they
did not appreciate it. However, the tone used on some posts was not
kind. Yes, maybe most of the steps needed clarification, but that
was not what I wanted to share. Let me give you an example:

Color Balance Adjustment Layer:
Pushed Blue to about 20%.

The point here was not that you should push blue the same way I did
it. But rather, just to know that I added blue and for a reason
(maybe I wanted to increase contrast, maybe I wanted to eliminate
some yellow). From there you (the public, not you personally) could
have added blue to your taste, or you could have skipped this step
of the image demanded so.

.i understand someone should

FOLLOW steps..that can get you in a bad habit, but if you dont know
how to do something at first, it isnt a bad idea to have steps to
learn off of in the future....

I agree. But this is what I meant with Key moves. Actions I took
that are very important to the final result. How I made those moves
was a personal choice, not the necessary step.

For example:
I like to make Black and Whites a certain way. Others do it
differently with better results.

The point was: I turned the image BW, I did it X way.
not: "You HAVE to use channel mixer, and go below 0 on red, and up
high to about 50 on green and 75 on blue. Any different from this
and your screwed."

.sometimes its taught through

practice practice practice...

I completely agree!!!!!

anyway...again...thanks for the effort...i know you put alot of
time into explaining and i thank you for that..

Thanks! I know most people appreciated it, and that makes it all
worthwhile!.

-DannyM

By the way, do you know about another guy who has a great style in
retouching?? Wouldnt it be fun?; "Here we go again!".

 

[DannyM]

Fantastic!!!!!!

Actually, I did not color the eyes on this one, I just made them stand out more. You can try copying the layer of the final image, adding a mask to to only let the eyes filter through , then setting blending mode to overlay, maybe soft light, I dont know, I guess you have to scroll down the blending options and see what looks good. Then maybe dodge the eyes, or adjust contrast/brightness. Try one, two, or all together to see what works. But to be honest with you, the eyes look very good in my screen. Congratulations!!

-danny

Some did not understand my "How I did it". I will try to put very
simple.

1-2-3.

1. Make one copy in Black and White, blend it to an unedited
version of the original.
2. Colorize that image.
3. Polish it up.

thats it!!! You dont follow steps, you never do!! You get the key
moves (eg "1-2-3.") and approach them the way you know best.

I mention that the most important was the thought process, not how
I got there. Its: "What do you need?""What do I have", and knowing
the tools I know, "How do I get there."

If I suggest -Turn a background copy into BW and blend it with a bg
copy. dont just follow my steps, or others, blindly.
Turn the image to BW the best way you can. Its not easy. Never use
desaturate. There are several ways. I like using Channel Mixer. And
I never follow any combination to get a good image, I rather play
around with the bars until I see something I like. If you are still
having much trouble, just use the channel with best contrast, its
usually blue or green.

Colorize the image.
Do you know how to add (enhance) color to an image?
Do you know how to add color to a Black and White image?
Do you know the basics of color theory?

If you cant answer these questions, then you better go buy yourself
a tutorial, maybe a $40 book.

If you do, then apply that knowledge to your image.

There are several hundred ways to do this. On my first example I
used Color Balance Adjustments Layers. On my "yelling" image I did
it another way. you can also used a slightly desaturated image,
set it to blend in color mode, and just paint right over the image
(It will preserve luminance), then use a mask to clean up any mess
you have done. There are many more ways out there.

Polish it up:
With this I mean a COMPLETE understanding of Levels, Curves,
Brightness/Contrast, Color Balance, Hue/Saturation, etc.
But not only that, you have to know how to use them in layers and
how to use them with masks.
My God! If you get a dark image, please dont ask me how to lighten
it up! You should know how to already. And if you dont, which is
perfectly fine and acceptable, ask but dont ask me to tell you
everything about PS, something that needs a book not a thread.

I know this kind of sounds like I am being to mean, it is my not
intention. But I just keep seeing people wanting to follow specific
steps. Its not the way you go about creating images. Kent certainly
seems to understand this. Obiously Laura (freelancer54) understands
this, csspringer, and many others. Dragan said it himself, Al Ward,
author of PS Art of Photo Manipulation, teaches this as well. You
see, knowing the technique is knowing the tools and the key moves.
Maybe we still need to add or take a few key moves to best
represent dragans style, but thats beside the point.

-Daniel

--
Willie
http://www.williefoto.com

 

[RebelWithoutACause]

http://www.bytephoto.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=25202&size=big&password=&sort=1&cat=500

--
Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

 

[Dkingkong]

 

[ToL189215]

I can only come up with the image below. I bet many talents here can do a better job so please give it a try and show your final results.



Here is the original.



--
ToL

http://www.pbase.com/taleoflens

 

[RebelWithoutACause]

http://www.bytephoto.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=25208&size=big&password=&sort=1&cat=500

My first two attempts were Dragan-ish but the last two have been Dragan inspired. So I have tried to put together my evolving method but there is no ONE method. The picture above was "roughly" done as follows:
1. Got and duplicated images.

2: With one copy I selected the best contrasting channel - in this case the blue channel. This channel was then set up as the grayscale image.
3: Then I selected Duotone mode (actually quadtone in this case)

The first tone was black - The second a "yellowish pantone" The third a "pinkish pantone" and lastly a "bluish pantone" The curves were adjusted to suit along with the shades of pantone.
4: This layer was then highlight and darkened by dodging and burning.
5: Then the layer was sharpened.
At this stage the image looks OK as a toned B&W
6: Then the original image was moved across and the colours saturated.
7: Also the image was blurred a tad.

8: added were a few adjustment layers like hue&Sat, Selective Colour and curves, mainly to give me something to play around with .

9: The two layers were blended - cannot remember what I finally ended up with as I kept experimenting.

The background of the original was quite light and distracting so I put in a black layer at the bottom of the stack and over that a layer with grey rendered clouds and blended in with the rest.

There was also a top layer of a yellowish-orange colour applied over the top on an overlay blend and a mask sprayed over to get rid of this colour where not needed.

10: Flattened the image (didn't save as a PSD cos I don't like reworking only starting from scratch - I seem to learn more that way) Then duplicated the layer and applied High pass filter on the top layer and blended with overlay at about 40%

--
Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

 

[freelancer54]

I've thoroughly enjoyed participating in this challenge. Everyone has done great work. Some have done outstanding work. I'm in awe. I've learned and been challenged too. Thank you all.

Thank you to those that liked my attempt at copying Dragan's style. I've been working hard at learning how to manipulate/restore/retouch and this one was a huge learning experience for me. It's a good feeling when one gets positive feedback. It gives me confidence that if I continue to work hard at this, I may be able attain the skill level I desire.

My apologies to everyone for being absent yesterday, I had a very busy day and fell asleep early.

After reading the requests for more information, I feel compelled to try to write a more detailed instruction sheet.

Honestly, I'm not sure if it will help more than the .psd, because, as others have noted, I believe there are infinite ways mimic Dragan's style.

My approach is to paint on layers. The decisions made as to where to paint and how much was purely subjective. Everyone will get different results.

Sometimes, as in darkening the wrinkles, it was detailed work. Patience was a key factor... continually making decisions as to whether I had done enough or too much.

As a side note: The reason I approached my version the way I did, was from analyzing Dragan's style. I stared at his work and asked myself what is it that makes it so different than just a well composed and well taken photograph. I'd then enlarge it and look at the details and ask myself if I thought this could be done purely photographically. My conclusion was no and Dragan's has alluded to that himself.

I read and re-read the little snips of information he posted on his site and other sites and came up with the painting on layers direction and the use of the smudge tool.

I don't think that Dragan paints as much as I did on his work because he starts off with his own well thought out portraits which need less manipulation.

And as a last thought, like an artist painting on canvas, creating a painting on digital canvas is a long process with many alterations and evaluations along the way. I doubt that Dragan post processed any of his artwork in a few hours. IMO, there is no easy or quick way.

Thank you for all your comments. They all have helped me learn and improve.

I'll work on a detailed instruction sheet today and post it later.

Thank you,
freelancer

most popular thread I've seen....

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1006&message=9653479

 

[Willie Lee]

Danny, you were right, this thing is addictive.

I tried the technique on different skin color people, like oriental. I'm very satisfied with the result, although I skipped a lot of your STEPS. #3 and #5 are my favorite. I think the glow around the subject in #4 is a bit too much. Let me know what you guys think.
All originals are from gettyimages too.

Actually, I did not color the eyes on this one, I just made them
stand out more. You can try copying the layer of the final image,
adding a mask to to only let the eyes filter through , then setting
blending mode to overlay, maybe soft light, I dont know, I guess
you have to scroll down the blending options and see what looks
good. Then maybe dodge the eyes, or adjust contrast/brightness. Try
one, two, or all together to see what works. But to be honest with
you, the eyes look very good in my screen. Congratulations!!

-danny

Some did not understand my "How I did it". I will try to put very
simple.

1-2-3.

1. Make one copy in Black and White, blend it to an unedited
version of the original.
2. Colorize that image.
3. Polish it up.

thats it!!! You dont follow steps, you never do!! You get the key
moves (eg "1-2-3.") and approach them the way you know best.

I mention that the most important was the thought process, not how
I got there. Its: "What do you need?""What do I have", and knowing
the tools I know, "How do I get there."

If I suggest -Turn a background copy into BW and blend it with a bg
copy. dont just follow my steps, or others, blindly.
Turn the image to BW the best way you can. Its not easy. Never use
desaturate. There are several ways. I like using Channel Mixer. And
I never follow any combination to get a good image, I rather play
around with the bars until I see something I like. If you are still
having much trouble, just use the channel with best contrast, its
usually blue or green.

Colorize the image.
Do you know how to add (enhance) color to an image?
Do you know how to add color to a Black and White image?
Do you know the basics of color theory?

If you cant answer these questions, then you better go buy yourself
a tutorial, maybe a $40 book.

If you do, then apply that knowledge to your image.

There are several hundred ways to do this. On my first example I
used Color Balance Adjustments Layers. On my "yelling" image I did
it another way. you can also used a slightly desaturated image,
set it to blend in color mode, and just paint right over the image
(It will preserve luminance), then use a mask to clean up any mess
you have done. There are many more ways out there.

Polish it up:
With this I mean a COMPLETE understanding of Levels, Curves,
Brightness/Contrast, Color Balance, Hue/Saturation, etc.
But not only that, you have to know how to use them in layers and
how to use them with masks.
My God! If you get a dark image, please dont ask me how to lighten
it up! You should know how to already. And if you dont, which is
perfectly fine and acceptable, ask but dont ask me to tell you
everything about PS, something that needs a book not a thread.

I know this kind of sounds like I am being to mean, it is my not
intention. But I just keep seeing people wanting to follow specific
steps. Its not the way you go about creating images. Kent certainly
seems to understand this. Obiously Laura (freelancer54) understands
this, csspringer, and many others. Dragan said it himself, Al Ward,
author of PS Art of Photo Manipulation, teaches this as well. You
see, knowing the technique is knowing the tools and the key moves.
Maybe we still need to add or take a few key moves to best
represent dragans style, but thats beside the point.

-Daniel

--
Willie
http://www.williefoto.com

--
Willie
http://www.williefoto.com

 

[nuyah134164]

I think there is good raw material here.
my mother & her brother. both in their 90's.

 

[DannyM]

You have done some great work!!

I loved #3 more than the others, but all of them are very good. I think it shows a bit more character. Maybe its because I like hands, and it show hands very well.

just a question,

On what thread did you base your source of info on my technique? On "How I did it" or on "My tip". I am curious to see what works best in explanation. Just so I know next time how to explain myself best.

Oh, and by the way, what did you skip?? Some colorization??

Thanks

Danny

Actually, I did not color the eyes on this one, I just made them
stand out more. You can try copying the layer of the final image,
adding a mask to to only let the eyes filter through , then setting
blending mode to overlay, maybe soft light, I dont know, I guess
you have to scroll down the blending options and see what looks
good. Then maybe dodge the eyes, or adjust contrast/brightness. Try
one, two, or all together to see what works. But to be honest with
you, the eyes look very good in my screen. Congratulations!!

-danny

Some did not understand my "How I did it". I will try to put very
simple.

1-2-3.

1. Make one copy in Black and White, blend it to an unedited
version of the original.
2. Colorize that image.
3. Polish it up.

thats it!!! You dont follow steps, you never do!! You get the key
moves (eg "1-2-3.") and approach them the way you know best.

I mention that the most important was the thought process, not how
I got there. Its: "What do you need?""What do I have", and knowing
the tools I know, "How do I get there."

If I suggest -Turn a background copy into BW and blend it with a bg
copy. dont just follow my steps, or others, blindly.
Turn the image to BW the best way you can. Its not easy. Never use
desaturate. There are several ways. I like using Channel Mixer. And
I never follow any combination to get a good image, I rather play
around with the bars until I see something I like. If you are still
having much trouble, just use the channel with best contrast, its
usually blue or green.

Colorize the image.
Do you know how to add (enhance) color to an image?
Do you know how to add color to a Black and White image?
Do you know the basics of color theory?

If you cant answer these questions, then you better go buy yourself
a tutorial, maybe a $40 book.

If you do, then apply that knowledge to your image.

There are several hundred ways to do this. On my first example I
used Color Balance Adjustments Layers. On my "yelling" image I did
it another way. you can also used a slightly desaturated image,
set it to blend in color mode, and just paint right over the image
(It will preserve luminance), then use a mask to clean up any mess
you have done. There are many more ways out there.

Polish it up:
With this I mean a COMPLETE understanding of Levels, Curves,
Brightness/Contrast, Color Balance, Hue/Saturation, etc.
But not only that, you have to know how to use them in layers and
how to use them with masks.
My God! If you get a dark image, please dont ask me how to lighten
it up! You should know how to already. And if you dont, which is
perfectly fine and acceptable, ask but dont ask me to tell you
everything about PS, something that needs a book not a thread.

I know this kind of sounds like I am being to mean, it is my not
intention. But I just keep seeing people wanting to follow specific
steps. Its not the way you go about creating images. Kent certainly
seems to understand this. Obiously Laura (freelancer54) understands
this, csspringer, and many others. Dragan said it himself, Al Ward,
author of PS Art of Photo Manipulation, teaches this as well. You
see, knowing the technique is knowing the tools and the key moves.
Maybe we still need to add or take a few key moves to best
represent dragans style, but thats beside the point.

-Daniel

--
Willie
http://www.williefoto.com

--
Willie
http://www.williefoto.com

 

[DannyM]

I visited your site.

Why dont you set up a porfolio where people can see examples of your work.

I saw the football series, but not a portfolio.

Maybe I missed it(?)

also, Where did you find those images?? I saw the first one in gettyimages. I havent look for the rest. Im just wondering because you dont have a logo. maybe you PSed it out. Maybe you took them.

-Danny