Looking up

[Mike Buckley]

Continued thanks to everyone!

[chauncey]

That there cloning brush, and other adjustment tools allow non-photographers like myself to cough
out an occasional acceptable image...gotta love that PS CC.

[Mike Buckley]

That there cloning brush, and other adjustment tools allow non-photographers like myself to cough out an occasional acceptable image...gotta love that PS CC.

I'll be the last person on the planet to consider you a non-photographer. Even so, my thinking is that the cloning tool and other tools have their place and time. Fortunately, each of us gets to decide the place and time. I chose that this photo is neither the place nor the time.

[Manfred M]

Even so, my thinking is that the cloning tool and other tools have their place and time. Fortunately, each of us gets to decide the place and time. I chose that this photo is neither the place nor the time.

Interesting comment, Mike and a thought that always goes through my head when I open an image for the first time.

I always try to shoot with PP in mind, so I generally have an idea of what I want to do with it. When I first review the image on my computer I try to figure out if and how I should treat it. A camera viewfinder is far more forgiving than a large computer screen, so every so often there are some surprises that I did not see in the viewfinder.

Ultimately what drives my decisions is the overall look and feel of the shot. A nice, natural looking shot like this one gets only the minimalist treatment; sharpening, contrast, perhaps a touch of colour correction or straightening. Cleaning up every stray hair or loose thread would look really strange and would not add to the image. This shot works and works well, so why tamper with it?

Great call on the image, Mike. It works really well, stray hairs and all. As they say, "less is more". The minimalist view is often the best approach.

[Loose Canon]

A beautiful shot of Lucas captured as he really is and not some ' PS-ed punced up' image of what it is felt he should look like in order to placate the 'cloning cop purists!'

Is this a special elite unit of the International SOOC Police?

InterSOCPol?

She did a great job on the cover shot Unkie Mike!

Not a bad likeness of you in the bottom corner either!

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks to Manfred and Terry!

Not a bad likeness of you in the bottom corner either!

The skin tones aren't quite right.

[Loose Canon]

The skin tones aren't quite right.

It does kind of look like you took a sip of wine that had turned!

[NorthernFocus]

That's awesome, Mike. Nice effect of the backlit hair and the eyes are wonderful. Congrats on the cover shot.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Dan!

Now that I have time to follow up on Manfred's comment...

A nice, natural looking shot like this one gets only the minimalist treatment; sharpening, contrast, perhaps a touch of colour correction or straightening.

That was also my approach. My post-processing steps for this photo:

1. Applied standard curve and sharpening
2. Applied standard treatment of the eyes (slight increase in brightness, contrast and sharpening)
3. Used a clone tool to get rid of some food on his chin
4. Cropped to an 8 x 10 format (eliminated only part of the top and bottom, not the sides)
5. Added a vignette
6. Darkened his left ear lobe to separate it from his cheek (would normally do that before cropping)