After noticing that many professional studio portraits not only have soft light, but also a certain glow to them, I tried post-processing with a technique I recently discovered, which more or less mimics what one can do with a soft-focus lens or filter. You can take the effect as far as you like, but I prefer a moderate application where I play with opacity, curves and even some light masking to customize the look for each photo’s needs. What do you think?

Original	With soft focus glow

A while back I posted a skin tones comparison featuring the Nikon D300, D700 and D7000. I was told I needed to use a real Caucasian subject, and after much searching, I finally got one to agree to pose for me. At issue here is whether the Nikon D7000 struggles to render accurate or complimentary skin tones.

To get started, let’s see how these cameras compare under controlled, constant lighting, using the same exposure and lens. All three shots were captured using each camera’s Auto White Balance (WB) and Portrait Picture Control, then converted from RAW in ViewNX, which essentially results in a JPG the camera would have produced with those settings.

D300

D700

D7000

Next, since each of these shots conveniently features a Colorchecker chart, a WB adjustment by sampling the middle gray patch is possible. These next 3 versions of the photos reflect the adjustment.

D300

D700

D7000

At this point, any sane person would stop, noting that the differences from one camera to the next are trivial and hardly worth the trouble. Just for kicks, though, let’s see what we get in Lightroom, using each camera’s Portrait profile — an emulation of the Portrait Picture Control.

D300

D700

D7000

Since Lightroom might not bring across the Auto WB setting from the camera, we can once again sample the color chart’s gray patch to adjust the WB, giving these 3 versions of the photos. Curiously, it is the D700′s photo which now deviates most pronouncedly from the others.

D300

D700

D7000

For the final set of shots, I used Dual illuminant profiles I generated a while back using the same Colorchecker chart and DNG Profile Editor. After applying the same tone curve to all three shots and adjusting exposure for the D700 shot, we get the next 3 shots.

D300

D700

D7000

I’ll let you decide on whether these improve on the previous results (the jacket is supposed to be purple rather than red), or whether the D7000 struggles to produce pleasing skin tones. I’m going back to doing the sane thing.

During the Christmas season, I always hope to capture moments of simple Christmas joy. When I do, I count myself among the blessed. Here’s one such moment, where the simplicity of both gift and setting communicate for me far more than a technically executed composition often fails to convey.

Snapshots get a bad name. But with a little care to tell a story or portray a subject effectively, a snapshot can turn out well. Here are some examples from a recent Thanksgiving family gathering where that little care, which in this case included augmenting and balancing the light with bounced flash while maintaining a warm, homey look.

Should this photo be color or black and white? I often ask myself this question while shooting and later during post-processing I ask again.

Some take issue with the question. It’s up to you, they would say, and your intent. I have discovered however, that no matter how much one pushes both in the field and/or later during post-processing, there are some shots that just seem better suited to one treatment over the other. Other times, you can go either way. Here’s one shot I originally intended for color.

I still think it wants to be color, but wondering whether I am missing something, I decided to give it another go. This time I opted for a different color treatment that brightened the greens selectively (they felt somewhat dull in the original) without turning the clouds pink. The green swath vs. the upper 2/3 sky section of the photo makes for an interesting graphical arrangement, and somehow that tiny tree still draws the eye.

The tree tends to get lost in a straight B&W conversion, so special attention to local contrast is needed. Still, the photo may now flatten too much for some. The nice warm vs. cool dimension of land vs. sky in the color treatment is now gone. On the plus side, we are left with some nice forms and textures which if properly emphasized may make the B&W treatment worthy on its own account.

Whether this image wants to be color or black and white will probably come down to several considerations, all of which may well boil down to preference and personal mood. Down deep I still think the color version works best, but my recently renewed passion for B&W is drawing me nearer to the third version.

What do you think?

Sometimes it’s good to take a second try at a favorite photo with a different approach in post-processing. Here, I tried some a B&W conversion on one of my favorite shots from this year’s trip to London. The gold and blue combination is nice in color, but patterns and lines really take over in B&W.