First attempt at B&W - kind C&C welcomed

[KimC]

This is my first attempt at B&W. Inspired by the many beautiful B&W I see here. Would appreciate any input. I used PS Essentials 12.

[juznobsrvr]

Kim, this is wonderful. Your first attempt is very good. Btw, I had meant to respond to your inquiry about what software I use for B&W conversion but forgot. Like some here in CiC, I use Silver Efex Pro 2. A lot of what the software does can be done using the tools and layers adjustments in PS. Except it's more convenient with SEP2.

[Mark von Kanel]

Kim all C&C on CIC is kind and constructive you will never get anything else here its a good convertion and the detail in the tree bark is great, i might be tempted to try a letter box crop without the rider, so that just have the head of the horse and the tree, i also think you may have missed your focus as id have liked the horses eye to be sharper,

Hope that was kind enough for you.

[KimC]

Yes Mark, thank you very much. Your crop idea was very helpful - is this what you were thinking? I do seem to keep missing my focus, and it need to figure out why that is happening.

Kim all C&C on CIC is kind and constructive you will never get anything else here its a good convertion and the detail in the tree bark is great, i might be tempted to try a letter box crop without the rider, so that just have the head of the horse and the tree, i also think you may have missed your focus as id have liked the horses eye to be sharper,

Hope that was kind enough for you.

[KimC]

Thank you Rob. Your B&W images are just amazing. Thanks for letting me know which software.

Kim, this is wonderful. Your first attempt is very good. Btw, I had meant to respond to your inquiry about what software I use for B&W conversion but forgot. Like some here in CiC, I use Silver Efex Pro 2. A lot of what the software does can be done using the tools and layers adjustments in PS. Except it's more convenient with SEP2.

[Manfred M]

Kim - the biggest problem I see here is the sky. Our eyes tend to head to the brightest part of the image, and if it is not the subject, it tends to be a bit problematic. In this shot, I don't think you can do much, just because of the positioning (nicely said, the horse is taller than you , so you have to look up at it).

This is something to keep in mind when composing.

[Mark von Kanel]

Hi Kim yes that works better for me but it your image, Manfred is right about the sky but i think it looks less messy this way.

[Geoff F]

Yes, I was wondering about some sort of crop which would remove some of the 'distant' area and therefore have the effect of bringing horse and rider closer together. Maybe a 5 x 4 ratio, or even square? Which would include both horse and rider's face.

But if leaving it at the existing size, I would clone or very slightly crop to remove the horse's hoof which is just visible in the bottom left corner.

Maybe you could get away with a fraction more highlight brightness on the rider? But the sky is a limiting factor unless you use a mask on a layer and selectively apply the effect.

The basic shot is fine, we are just looking at some very slight alternatives here.

[Mike Buckley]

This is one of the very few times you'll find me disagreeing with Manfred, but the sky is not a problem for me for the same reason that Richard Avedon's white background isn't a problem with his portraits. I realize that this scene and his portraits are not completely analogous, but hopefully the comparison helps make my point.

If you think the sky is too bright, simply darken it and/or convert using a different color filter that darkens it a bit.

Regarding composition, I would clone to remove the horse's hoof; I don't like that the leg exits the frame and that the hoof reappears with no connection between the two.

Regarding the characteristics of monochrome, this is a marvelous first try and far better than almost everybody's first attempt.

[Manfred M]

This is one of the very few times you'll find me disagreeing with Manfred, but the sky is not a problem for me for the same reason that Richard Avedon's white background isn't a problem with his portraits. I realize that this scene and his portraits are not completely analogous, but hopefully the comparison helps make my point.

If you think the sky is too bright, simply darken it and/or convert using a different color filter that darkens it a bit.

Regarding composition, I would clone to remove the horse's hoof; I don't like that the leg exits the frame and the hoof reappears with no connection between the two.

Nor do I Mike; same goes for Peter Hurley's use of white background for his headshots or Yousef Karsh's use of white backgrounds in his work; because in all of these cases, the white essentially frames the subject. That is not happening in this shot and my eyes go straight to the top left corner.

I use the aforementioned techniques too; hard not to do winter shots where I live without getting some white in the scene.




The issue is the distraction, and unless white is used carefully, it can be problematic.

[Mike Buckley]

in all of these cases, the white essentially frames the subject.

For me the white sky frames the horse enough that it draws the eye to it, not past it. If the horse was really sharp, I think that aspect would be more effective.

[juznobsrvr]

This is one of the very few times you'll find me disagreeing with Manfred, but the sky is not a problem for me for the same reason that Richard Avedon's white background isn't a problem with his portraits. I realize that this scene and his portraits are not completely analogous, but hopefully the comparison helps make my point.

I'll have to agree with Mike's point on this. The white background does not bother me. And maybe it's just me, but I think the white streak on the horse goes well with the white form of the background. Of course, if all of us shoots like Avedon then it might just be the end of the discussion on this issue.

[Mike Buckley]

And maybe it's just me, but I think the white streak on the horse goes well with the white form of the background.

Nope, it's not just you.

[Bobobird]

Apart from the compositional and crop factors that others have mentioned, which I have scant knowledge of, I think this is a wonderful first attempt.

[KimC]

I find the comments about the sky very interesting. In my opinion, the sky stands out more in the image,with just the horse, than the image that includes the rider. I just looked at the original colored version and the sky was rather washed out as it was a very hazy day. It's always helpful hearing how others see things... So thank you.

[KimC]

It like that crop Mark, so thanks for suggesting it.

Hi Kim yes that works better for me but it your image, Manfred is right about the sky but i think it looks less messy this way.

[dabhand]

Kim - if your intention was to show a strong relationship between the horse and its rider then I wouldn't bother with any cropping, but I agree with Mike re cloning out the horses hoof - other than that, a good image.

steve

[Mike Buckley]

I just looked at the original colored version and the sky was rather washed out as it was a very hazy day.

You could change it to a blue sky before converting and a darker color would result in the conversion unless you use a blue filter, which one would normally not use for this type of scene.

[KimC]

Thanks Mike, I am going to give that a try and will def remove the hoof. :-)

You could change it to a blue sky before converting and a darker color would result in the conversion unless you use a blue filter, which one would normally not use for this type of scene.

[bnnrcn]

Nice shot Kim, +1 to Steve's comment, just remove the hoof and leave the rest as it is