How to achieve this...

[EDGE1]

Hi all,

I was wondering if someone could tell me how to recreate this style of photo:

NOTE: All photos used in the examples below are taken from http://www.davehillphoto.com







To be honest, I don't even know where to begin when describing this style. It's kind of a low contrast hazy effect or something. I think the effect looks fantastic for portraits, especially candid ones.

Just to compare those 3 above, with a style I am more familiar with, to really highlight the effect. Notice in this example the colours are really vivid and there's no "hazy" effect.



It would be great if someone could point me in the right direction here. Books, tutorials etc etc

Thanks in advance,
- Rob

[kintatsu]

I'm sorry I can't point out books and such, but one thing I would recommend is getting some warming filters. The Wratten 81 series will warm things up quite a bit, and then allow some flare to decrease contrast and increase shadow levels. I'd say don't use a hood on your lens, and place the light at about 45 degrees to the front axis of your lens. That's what things seem to be showing here. Especially in the first 3 images.

[FrankMi]

Looks like you need to start with a girl and a car. Then take the car away?

[Donald]

I'd work my way through the suite of filters in Nik's Color Efex Pro 4. Quite possible that it's in there somewhere.

[Black Pearl]

Looks like a 'film' style has been applied.

Lots of plug-ins will do it but you could start with VSCO or Replichrome.
Not quite the same as you're shooting in very different light but you get the idea - this was done with VSCO for LR.

[Geoff F]

There were several ways of achieving this dreamy soft focus look, back in the days of film. Such as filters or I seem to remember some people smeared a form of gel thinly over the lens.

Your image has a lot of colour saturation particularly on the reds.

So as a very quick example, I have used a little Gaussian Blur to reduce the sharpness then reduced the saturation in two stages. One to desaturate just the reds (about 20%) plus a second overall desaturation of around 5%.



And there are other options which can be used.

Mind you, with models like these some of us oldtimers will naturally go a little misty in the eyes!

[mknittle]

that type of photography will only get me into trouble.

[ajohnw]

The gel was often Vaseline smeared on a uv filter. Soft focus filters of various styles were and are still available I believe.

John
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[kintatsu]

This was accomplished in PSP Photo X4.

1. Download the charecteristic curves for Kodak's Old Portra range of films.
2. Open the image.
3. Invert the image into a negative.
4. Create a new curves adjustment layer.
5. Edit each color's curve to match the curves in the document above.
6. Merge all layers.
7. Invert to photo.
8. Set Vibrancy to -30.
9. Adjust levels for desired contrast.
10. For added softness reduce clarity instead of blurring.

I hope this helps. My original post was referring to achieving this look with minimal PC use by doing it with your camera.

[Manfred M]

Shot 3 looks quite desaturated. It wouldn't surprise me if this were part of the workflow.

[kintatsu]

Shot 3 looks quite desaturated. It wouldn't surprise me if this were part of the workflow.

It looks like the by-product of decreased contrast. With the warmer nature of the images, the blue light is reduced in saturation and contrast. It looks like the Portra xxxNC range of films from Kodak, which have a medium to low contrast and saturation, especially in uncontrolled light.

Controlled lighting, like that of the image can be used to create similar effects.

[Manfred M]

It looks like the by-product of decreased contrast. With the warmer nature of the images, the blue light is reduced in saturation and contrast. It looks like the Portra xxxNC range of films from Kodak, which have a medium to low contrast and saturation, especially in uncontrolled light.

Controlled lighting, like that of the image can be used to create similar effects.

Not sure if I agree with you. The decreased contrast images look washed out. Dave Hill's images do not look particularly washed out.

[EDGE1]

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback. I'll start looking into the filters and tools that were suggested.

I'm not sure any of the examples have quite captured the effect, but I get the idea. Just to point out again, that all images used in the original post are from Dave Hill, http://www.davehillphoto.com. There you will see many more photos, like the examples I have given, on a single page. Take a look, they're great.

Here, take a look at this one too. This is an image from a wedding photographer from Fife, Scotland called Zoe. Again, it's a similar effect, and quite close to the look I am trying to achieve.



I was playing around with photoshop last night too. It looks like I can get something quite close when I use gradient maps. Would it be correct to say that this style of image has a bit of a vintage look?

- Rob

[Richard Lundberg]

You could just print and leave in sunlight for several months.

[kintatsu]

Not sure if I agree with you. The decreased contrast images look washed out. Dave Hill's images do not look particularly washed out.

Notice the increased warm saturation VS cool saturation. The lower blue levels and ranges allow a warmer fade to the local contrast. In the first shot, the warming is easier to pick out, as there is more to reference with regards to color. The second image is basically warm in general, and the third has little in the way of reference colors other than warm tones.

I hope this makes sense, as I know what I'm saying, but may not be saying it properly.

My sample is definitely washed out, I didn't do a levels adjustment on the final image. I probably would have tweaked the darks, lengthening the toe of the curve as a result. It would still look soft, but not so washed out.

[RustBeltRaw]

I would grab a trial version of Nik Analog Efex and look through the "Classic Camera" presets. You may find something very close, and be able to tweak it to a level you like. I have an example, but unfortunately I can't post it since the client has control of the image. It may also be a cross-processing effect, as explained in this tutorial. Basically, you set different S-curves in the R, G, and B channels to create the effect you want. The interaction is complex, so there's no substitute for experimentation.

[kintatsu]

I probably would have tweaked the darks, lengthening the toe of the curve as a result. It would still look soft, but not so washed out.

Here's a quick sample of what I meant. I didn't adjust the clarity, as I like a clear image.


Before


After


This is the set of curves applied

I hope this is clearer than my previous explanation.

[Manfred M]

Okay; my attempt at the look:

1. Used the Nik Analog Effects Pro Camera 8 for the film-like look;
2. Reduced the saturation (-37) to reduced the colours a bit more'
3. Added Warming Filter - LBA (41%) to warm things up; and
4. Reduced the levels to 0.92 to darken the image up a touch.

[EDGE1]

Hi guys,

I've had a look through some of the techniques you've provided. Thanks for all your help. It set me on the right track and I've found something quite close to what I'm trying to achieve. I need a little more time to refine the effect, but here's what my attempt looks like...



I played around with curves, levels and gradients to achieve this look. I think I'm getting close...

- Rob

[Colin Southern]

From what I can see, a large part of it is not clipping the blacks (so the image is slightly flat), and applying a blur (probably something in the order of a 20px blur on a full resolution image with vastly reduced opacity) (perhaps in the order of 15 to 20%)

Hope this helps.