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| Figure 1: Original Scan |
Reprinted from Photo Techiques Magazine (Mar/Apr 2001)
June Bride, Louisiana
DIGITAL MASTER PRINTING CLASS
By Ron Harris
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Worried that their digital cameras wouldn't have enough pixels to capture the fine detail needed for an important event-a June wedding in Louisiana-an all-digital photography studio asked me to shoot a full-length, outdoor bridal portrait with my Hasselblad and 80mm standard lens. The setting was a live-oak grove at a private home. The selected photo would be scanned and digitally enhanced, and the finished portrait displayed in a fancy frame on a pedestal at the church entrance.
I selected Kodak Portra 400VC color negative film, opting for an f/stop halfway between f/5.6 and f/8 to soften the background. I used a manual flash to create a soft flash-fill. The flash head was covered with four layers of linen cloth to produce an exposure of f/4 at 10 feet, as determined by my flash meter. Direct sunlight was diffused with a large white cloth, which provided soft, uniform light on the bride.
After processing the film, the selected frame was scanned at 1,000 dpi using a Lino Saphir Ultra (Figure 1). Various scans were made, with the image's potential explored using Levels and Curves in Photoshop 5.5. (Figure 2). Cropping to 11x14 strengthened the image, bringing more attention to the bride.
Image Optimizing in Photoshop
More than 50 Layers and Adjustment Layers were used
to produce the final image (Figure 3). Using layers to correct various parts
of the image allows you to turn off or delete corrections, or make changes
to them.
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Sky
In the original image the sky was white. I used Color Range to select the
sky, and the Lariat tool to remove other image parts from the selection.
After creating a new layer, a light-blue gradient was applied. A Hue/Saturation
Adjustment Layer reduced saturation and increased lightness. The clouds were
rendered on a new layer. The final effect was a very light blue sky with
subtle white clouds. Small branches and leaves were cloned onto a new layer
eliminating "holes" in the sky area for a more pleasing background.
Dress color
The dress color was not consistent. Originally, I tried to choose particular
regions of the dress, using Levels to separately adjust the RGB channels,
but later discovered that selecting the dress using Color Range, and making
a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer to decrease saturation and increase lightness
produced a very white dress.
Bouquet
The flower bouquet originally held by the bride appeared somewhat skimpy
(see Figure 1). I cloned additional flowers on a new layer, using other images
taken in this sequence. A Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer was used to optimize
the flowers' hue and saturation.
Tree Pruning and Dress
Alterations
The left edge of the dress is too straight (Figure 2), and the large intruding
limb is undesirable. The Pen tool, with Bezier curves, allowed me to make
curved selections at the main branch and at the edge of the dress. Once closed,
top and bottom, I placed the selection on a Layer, then used the Clone tool
to fill the region with grass. Next, a Hue/Saturation Layer was used to blend
the color with the surrounding grass. (Note: if the results are unsatisfactory,
you can delete the layer and start over.)
The curved edge of the pruned limb was a little too smooth. A new layer was created and using the small brush, other parts of the bark were cloned along the edge, roughing it up to make it look more natural.
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Branch Color and
Texture
The main branch in Figure 2 was somewhat bleached out, particularly at the
top, curved section. Unfortunately, there was a very small light leak in
my film holder, which reduced the contrast of this region.
I selected several different sections of this large branch and its major limbs separately, and used Levels, Curves, and Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layers to enhance their beauty.
Flowerbeds
The studio had no budget for flowers and plants. I dragged a small section
of a flowerbed snapshot onto a new Layer, repeating several times to create
a small flowerbed at middle right (Figure 3). These layers were merged; a
new Layer was made for "pruning" the flowerbed with the Clone tool. New Layers
were made to clone flowers along the tree line. The size and saturation of
the flowers along the path was adjusted to create a natural perspective.
Grass
The yellow/orange sections of grass were selected with Color Range, and a
Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer was used to blend the regions.
Retouching/Finishing
Numerous image areas required retouching with the Cloning tool to remove
unwanted ground debris and other imperfections. Sometimes it helps to select
an area prior to cloning; for example, to restrict the area near the edge
of the dress. The Magnetic Lasso tool helped with this task. The bride's
skin and face also required some retouching. Using the Clone tool with the
Lighten option and about 30% opacity worked well. Different Layers were used
for each area. If too much cloning is apparent in one area, it's easy to
correct with the Eraser tool. Unsharp masking produced a sharper, crisper
image.
Final Print
The final print (Figure 3) was made on 13x19 Epson Heavyweight Matte Paper
with an Epson 1270 printer. The settings were: Space: RGB Color, Matte Paper,
1440 dpi, High Speed unchecked, Color Control checked; Mode: Automatic; and
Gamma: 1.8. (Note: My Photoshop RGB settings were AdobeRGB, Gamma 2.2.)
It would have been difficult to achieve the final image without using the digital process. A chainsaw, real flowers, props, lights, dyes and much more planning would have been necessary with conventional processes.
Postscript
Since this article was published, Epson has changed it's ink formulation.
Please see my Printer Tips on the main page.
| Ron Harris is a Louisiana-based photographer. |
e-mail Ron: harris@sprynet.com
