Live Caricature

[Jim A]

Was struck by both the man getting his caricature done and the artist. Unfortunately the table is quite cluttered.
I did think of tackling that, which would be a lot of work, so am still pondering on whether it would be worthwhile?

[ST1]

Jim I would leave the table as is, unless you also decide to remove the people in the background too.


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[DanK]

Jim,

I think this is an interesting capture, but the problem that probably led to your asking about the table affects much of the image. The eye is drawn to things that are bright and high-contrast. In this image, the things that are bright and high-contrast are mostly distractions. The key parts of the image--the subject, and to a lesser degree the face of the artist--are dark and low-contrast and don't stand out from what is around them. In terms of where the eye goes first, this is in effect a photo of the table and the artist's sleeve.

I think this would take a lot of local adjustments--a lot of dodging and burning, but also some localized blurring and, if you use ACR/Lightroom, some negative clarity (which is a form of blurring, coupled with a reduction in mid-tone contrast). I'd work to bring out the subjects and make everything else less prominent, including the artist's sleeves. It would be a good bit of work, and I don't know how well it would come out.

I don't have a lot of time today, but I gave this a quick try. Here's what I did:

--brightened the image by dropping the midpoint in a levels adjustment
--reduced contrast on the sleeves
--increased contrast on the artist's face and the entire subject
--burned the background, the table, and the sleeves to varying degrees
--dodged the faces

Only the first was a global adjustment.

This isn't polished or complete, but it shows the directions I would go.

I hope this helps

Dan

[Geoff F]

My first thoughts were along the same lines as Dan's reply. Probably several slightly different ways of achieving a similar result.

[Jim A]

Thanks Peter, Geoff and particularly Dan. Great and very useful feedback!

[billtils]

The table is part of the story so leave it, likewise the man at the top left, but the person in the 'U' made by the easel and artist is distracting.