silver and cigarette

[nabilmust]

Hi,

Just wanted to get some C&C on B&W Conversion (primarily), composition, as well as shooting technique (aperture and ISO settings).

The idea behind the shot is similar to the classic cigarette smoking portraits from ages ago, the decadence of smoking, combined with the flash of silver. I tried to get the dreamy/hazy look.



Shot at:
Vi+ Mode (more vivid)
175mm (on a Nikkor AF-S DX 55-200mm f/4-5.6 VR)
1/400s - f/5.6 ISO 1600
0 EV
Auto WB
No flash
Overcast day, al-fresco seating

PP (in Lightroom):
Conversion to B&W
Increased sharpness,
Edited curve to be a more pronounced s-shape
edited saturation of colours in colour channel, giving it slightly more saturation.


Looking forward to hearing from everyone!

[tribal.snake]

interesting shot.
i like the space on the top right, makes for possible addition of words/logos
would like to see more smoke => hazy feel
also shift the crop to the left, the space beside the left finger feels too straight and awakard.

1 other thing, from a b&w pic, i wun know the ring is silver.

[fotoudavid]

whats the connection between the ring and the cigarette?

[ssping83]

more smoke will be good if you want the hazy feeling.. =)

[nabilmust]

Originally Posted by fotoudavid whats the connection between the ring and the cigarette?

Nothing direct, much like the classic B/W cigarette shots. they just form part of the picture, as a pose.

I guess the connection is not direct enough, for the smoke to contrast the sharpness of silver.

[nabilmust]

Originally Posted by tribal.snake interesting shot. i like the space on the top right, makes for possible addition of words/logos would like to see more smoke => hazy feel also shift the crop to the left, the space beside the left finger feels too straight and awakard. 1 other thing, from a b&w pic, i wun know the ring is silver.

yeah, i was hoping for more significant smoke trail, but it wasn't a posed shot so it was hard to get the right amount.

alternatively, i could have included more space on the top - which would show more chin and possibly a longer smoke trail.

thanks for taking a look and taking time to comment, appreciate it.

[nabilmust]

Originally Posted by ssping83 more smoke will be good if you want the hazy feeling.. =)

yeah, think so too now that i look at it more and more

thanks for commenting!

[nabilmust]

thank you to everyone for taking time to look and comment, it's all very appreciated!

[wildstallion]

I think its a fantastic shot, nice composition and good eyes!

[nabilmust]

Originally Posted by wildstallion I think its a fantastic shot, nice composition and good eyes!

wow.

heh, thank you very much!

[tkbonz]

I like the texture of the hands which were well brought out by using black and white! ISO 1600 helps too with its grains.

[clarence2116]

very nice and detailed shot!

[Draccoyap]

indirect connection between the ring and cigarette is good as it gives people rooms for imegination. but it will be better if the cigarette is in focus as well.....

just my 2 cents.

[nabilmust]

Originally Posted by tkbonz I like the texture of the hands which were well brought out by using black and white! ISO 1600 helps too with its grains.

haha my girlfriend absolutely hated it because she said her hands looked old and wrinkly, but I'm glad i disagreed.

thanks! funnily enough, i didn't pick my ISO value deliberately. It was an aggaration based on the light available. now i know... thanks! (again)

[nabilmust]

Originally Posted by clarence2116 very nice and detailed shot!

thanks!! one of my favourites.

[nabilmust]

Originally Posted by Draccoyap indirect connection between the ring and cigarette is good as it gives people rooms for imegination. but it will be better if the cigarette is in focus as well..... just my 2 cents.

coming up with a title was harder than i thought heh.

about the depth of field:
i went back and checked the metadata. the aperture setting was at f/5.6 - i could have stepped down (or is it up) to get a deeper depth of field. My metering was centre-weighted, and that could be partly the reason too.

hmmn. i'll keep that in mind.

thanks for the valuable input!

[Draccoyap]

Originally Posted by nabilmust coming up with a title was harder than i thought heh. about the depth of field: i went back and checked the metadata. the aperture setting was at f/5.6 - i could have stepped down (or is it up) to get a deeper depth of field. My metering was centre-weighted, and that could be partly the reason too. hmmn. i'll keep that in mind. thanks for the valuable input!

did you took it in color and convert it to B&W later? if so, I wander how is that like if you have the ring and the burning cigarette with color?

[nabilmust]

Originally Posted by Draccoyap did you took it in color and convert it to B&W later? if so, I wander how is that like if you have the ring and the burning cigarette with color?

I took it in colour, then converted to B&W in Lightroom. I've also posted the PP workflow above.

I'm not sure as to exactly how you keep certain colours but convert the rest; my guess is you play around with the colour saturation - i.e. desaturate the other colours but keep the colours of your choice saturated. I'm open to correction on this though.

Hope this helps!

[allsmilez]

I like your composition. Personally i'm more of a fan of high contrast b/w. Dunno if you'd agree but I feel this photo may benefit from contrast pushed higher and toning with curves. Maybe some dodging/burning to bring out the ring. Maybe you can try it and see how it turns out. Otherwise, great concept you have here.

[nabilmust]

Originally Posted by allsmilez I like your composition. Personally i'm more of a fan of high contrast b/w. Dunno if you'd agree but I feel this photo may benefit from contrast pushed higher and toning with curves. Maybe some dodging/burning to bring out the ring. Maybe you can try it and see how it turns out. Otherwise, great concept you have here.

thanks man!
i'll keep it in mind and work with pushing the contrast even higher on this photo.

about the dodging and burning, i'm still new with PP, could you help me out? specifically if that feature is available on Lightroom.

and thanks again for the input, much appreciated!