MPPC#5: RAW PP Challenge - Model Time (April 25 - May 5)

[gholman12]

MPPC#5: RAW PP Challenge- Model Time (April 25 - May 5)

The idea: learn from each other by processing the same RAW file and posting our different results for judging by the original photographer.

RULES:
1. Photos do not need to be taken within the time period of the contest - feel free to submit something with forgotten potential that you think others might be able to bring life back into.
2. You may submit up to 2 finished versions of the RAW file for judging.
3. If the moderator would like to emphasize a certain end result, such as B/W conversion, they must state so at the beginning of the contest; otherwise any and all interpretations are valid.
4. Submitted final images should be JPEG, with a max size of 800px on the longest side. Try to keep in the sRGB color space, for web uniformity
5. You are free to use any RAW processing software (a decent free one is UFRaw/GIMP).
6. The contest moderator will choose 5 versions to be voted on.
7. The winner will get a happy feeling in his/her pants (required, not optional)
8. Winner will be the contest starter / moderator for the next round.
9. The winner has 3 days to start a new contest or 2nd place becomes the new winner.

As this contest is designed to share knowledge, the winner is strongly encouraged to share a preset file or thorough description of their post-processing technique. This could include a PSD with layers if significant additional adjustments were made beyond the RAW processing plugin.

****IMPORTANT****
Copyright - By submitting a RAW file and participating in this contest, the contest moderator is effectively placing their photograph in the public domain. Be mindful of what you submit since you are letting it go and who knows where it might end up....and if you sell images for a living, it's probably not a good idea to submit something you might want to sell later!
_____________________

Shot this lovely lady in the studio a week ago and processed the hell out of the image and ended up with something I really like, so have faith, it's possible!
Canon 40D, 1/320s, f/2.8, ISO 320, 17mm focal length

Here is the Raw - http://public.me.com/abk
FILENAME is - IMG_7102.CR2

Have Fun!

[gholman12]

original (but download the .cr2 file to work on it, as this is jpeg compressed):

[mtcham]

Edit: Spent a little more time but that background sheet really should dissapear but my skills are lacking.



Bad attempt at changeing backgrounds and dress modification.

[gunit130]

I didn't use the raw file.........

[simonmccurdy]

Here is my quick take at an edit. Don't generally do any model shots; but this gave me a chance to play with CS5 and see what it can do.

[Lane Meyer]

So is this dead?

If so, cool, if not, I might start off another one by posting a CR2 for you guys to have a go at, I suck at low-light noise removal and whatnot and since I can't afford a 5D (yet) I really need to get better at it.

Anyone want to have a crack at this file to see if they can improve upon this:

I HATE the pattern noise banding my 50D puts in files of long exposures.

[gholman12]

Shit - I suck. Got totally caught up in busting my ass on my thesis (which I just turned in at noon today!!!! WOOOO!!!) and totally forgot about this thing.

Anyway since simonmccurdy did a great job I'd say he won, and can feel good and all.

Lane, since you took the initiative, start up a new one. Or you can let simon do it. I need a few days on a tropical island right now. Or my girlfriend to come back from France. Either way. Bueller?

[gholman12]

Oh and btw, here's my edit of your photo. I love lightroom (and it's a sweet photo in any case).

[EarlyWood]

not even sure what you're talking about, but I love this

[simonmccurdy]

Thanks for the kudos Geoff - happy feeling achieved. I'll post up the .tiff file later if people are interested (or just post the steps I took?), but truth be told I didn't do much.

I vote that Lane's image be the next one for the MPPC as he took the initiative and I'm just a jong hack (it will also be nice to play with someone else's image rather than one of my own for a little while).

[simonmccurdy]

A quick run down on how I made the edit shown above. Everything done in camera raw and photoshop.

1. Some basic raw conversion stuff to the color photo. I knew I was going to trash the background so I kept the focus on the model and let the background do what ever it wanted.

2. Expanded the canvas to the crop shown so that the model was more off center.

3. Created a new layer and removed everything except the model. I used a combination of selection tools (don't remember exactly which ones but I usually start with color range and then go from there) and the improved masking in CS5 to get the selection I wanted.

4. Dropped a pure white layer in behind the model.

5. Rotated the model slightly so that the posture looked more natural to me. I think at this point I also removed some 'skin blemishes'.

6. b/w conversion and one curves layer to get the tonality of the image where I liked it.

6. Border and photo/edit credits.

Not very complicated - probably about 25 minutes of work. A layered tiff file is here that shows the original with crop and the layers I used. I'll leave the file up for a couple of weeks then take it down.