Hi all, Let me first off all say i have looked for this answer in many searches of this forum so i suspect that know one knows and i also understand that what im asking involves photograpers who have great talent and equipment.
Now for the question !
Jasmine Star's images on her blog, They are awesome as are Jessica Claires, Becker etc etc but they look as if they have had noise removal done yet still appear really sharp(thats the only wway i can describe it)
I know that they shoot with a canon 5d,50mm f1.4 or 85mm f1.8 but is this a pp effect or is the canon 5d that good ?
Any ideas
scott.

Here'w the recipe - it's well documented:

Take one Hot bride
Put her in great light - soft, even, slightly directional (not harsh sunlight or full shadow) - if you can find a tan wall in the shade, shoot next to that - the light that bounces off it is nearly perfect.
Take a Canon 5D - set the iso to around 200
Put on an 85 1.2
Use evaluative metering on her entire face (expose for the skin only)
Shoot shoot shoot!
When the images are ready sprinkle with Some Kubota actions (magic sharp is essential) to taste.

Thanks Eric Hegwer, You it sound so easy ! if only. The light i think is the real reason here of course the 5d and L lens must help.
cheers.

seriously, give it a try - take your wife (or girlfriend) out for a walk one evening, and look for the perfect place. This time of year, the light is absolutely gorgeous about 60 minutes before sunset Take your camera, and your best prime lens (zooms are not quite as sharp), and take some shots - I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Eric, I've heard people say that the light in southern California is supposed to be "perfect"!! Someone get me a green card & a visa and I'm gonna move to O.C.!

Scott, I vaguely remember reading somewhere on Jasmine's blog that she uses the Boutwell's action set and specifically the Boutwell's Magic Glasses action. If there were one action that I couldn't live without, that would be the one!

NOT true! - my good friend Stacy Cross has this look Nailed, and she is here in Austin!

Hi Eric,

Would you mind elaborating on this just a bit?? What do you mean by using the eval metering on her entire face??

I've been spot metering on the skin, and then bumping my exposure up about a stop to get nice skin tones, but I'm not sure what you mean about evaluative metering on the face. Doesn't evaluative metering take into account the whole scene? Do you get up close and just have only skin showing in the viewfinder to get your meter reading?

Thanks in advance. I too, am after that amazing look!!

Thanks for the replys so far,When we see some sun here in the UK i will give it a try, Im off to walt disney world Florida on monday for 2 weeks so i think i will give it a try there !!
Amorphia i have been looking at getting some actions, I will go and have a look at magic glasses.
thanks
scott.

I too think the sun is the same in all parts of the world!
Maybe LA gets way mooore of the golden sun, but it also shows up the same elsewhere (yes, even here in cold Montreal!). Add to that beautiful green and colorful surroundings, and the location is perfect for a shoot =]

Which is why I cannot WAIT for the summer to finally arrive here
We STILL have snow on the ground in some places...uuggghhh.....but the sun is startin' to shiiiiiine!!

It's not the Southern California Sun -

See step 1 above

here is my attempt ! how did i do ? is the after better ?

before





after



please give me all your comments good or bad ! i can take it ! i think.
scott.

Hey Scott! I think it is great, but the second one is a bit too saturated for me. I am dealing with the same issues. Do you use layer masks?

Honestly... I like the "before" shot a lot more. The "after" shot seems a little bit more blown out and has rendered a red-ish tint to the mid tones in the skin. The first shot really is nice.

Thanks Lauren jennings and Shawn Kloster, for that image i adjusted the levels a little, make a small s shape in the curves to boost contrast and added sharpening.
I do use layer mask's now and then. I just felt the before image is a little flat ! how would you make it better ? or would you leave it as it is, I always find it hard to call an image done, I never no when enough is enough and thats why i joined this website to learn as much as possible.
Thanks again for your replys.
scott.

Hey Scott,

I use levels and curves ALL THE TIME. I love 'em! I do the same thing you are talking about. Usually after I apply the slight curve or level, I may use one of the boutwell's actions or a kubota action. Then I either adjust the opacity of the layers and/or paint over the skin, or whatever that may have gotten too saturated in the layer mask. Hope that helps!

thanks Lauren, I will try adusting the opacity and see how it looks.
Which actions do you use, I have been thinking about investing in the trd or kk actions ?
scott.

I use both TRA and all the Kubota actions. I have some favorites in each set, but you will just have to see which ones you like. I ended up purchasing all the sets of the Kubota. TRA is very reasonably priced and so is Kubota, I think, but I think a good starting point if you are just starting to use actions would be TRA.

Thanks again Lauren, here is another version which i have done a little re touching on, slightly less contast boost and i tried to get rid of the colour cast.
how did i do ?
Im still not in the same league as some of you guys on here but im trying really hard !
scott.

after

Scott, I think that looks great!! Much better than the first after picture. The skin tones look more natural and softer. Don't think you are in "another league"! We are all equal here at OSP, that's why we come here to post and get advice. I still struggle alot with color too, it just takes some practice and defining what YOU like.

thanks Lauren, You are too kind. Its funny until someone else said the colour wasnt right i didnt even notice, Then it was really obvious.
thanks again.

Your second try is MUCH better. She looks more natural than on your first try.

Thankyou very much Elena, Lauren i just checked out your blog, WOW you did a great job of your friends wedding pictures for them and the red photoshoot has some really really strong images in it, like the headshots early on in the slideshow very nice work.

That's definitely an awesome shot
Good job!

Hello,

This is a great topic to discuss! I will shamelessly plug some videos Vu and I did with/for Becker that add up to making the "look" that you are talking about:

Backlit portraits (Awesomeness tip!!!):
http://www.thebschoolblog.com/index.cfm?postID=42

Foolproof headshot:
http://www.thebschoolblog.com/index.cfm?postID=39

Sharpening:
http://www.thebschoolblog.com/index.cfm?postID=69

Shooting in manual mode:
http://www.thebschoolblog.com/index.cfm?postID=44

After you watch those videos you will have a very good idea what kind of work is needed to get the "look".

Eric...this is a PERFECT recipe!! And, yes, it is well documented on my blog!
I love this place and how open and giving everyone is...y'all rock!

This is all ya need...

hey Scott,

looks great....maybe just a little retouch near the chin and it's perfect. I must give that a try. cool photo's

Moni

I think you have the photoshop down, but next time try this:

Instead of having the bride pose inside, but the window - take her outside!

Hey ! thanks for all the reply's. I must keep alook out for more hot bride's ! ha ha !
Eric, the day we shot this wedding it was about -2 and neither the bride or groom was one bit interested in going outside, Which was a shame because the hotel is next door to a horse racecourse (Doncaster) and at the back they have stables for visiting owners/riders and we could have got some really cool/different shots, But i couldnt pursuide them.
Thanks again i shall keep on trying !
cheers all
scott.

I know that track! One of the photographers I look at for inspiration (Bill Frakes) shoots a lot of horse racing -

As far as persuading the couple to go outside - I am based in Austin Texas - Ain't 'nothin hotter than a Saturday Afternoon in Texas.

I just tell them - "OK - 5 more min and we will be done - let's just dart outside for a sec - I know this great place that has a fantastic background - I just want to grab 1 shot there and then we can come right back inside" Once outside, I shoot, show them a few shots on the back of the camera, and judge if we need to go in, or if it is cool to stay outside for a bit.

Keep at it!

e

Hey Scott, thanks for the comments on my blog! It was a very different kind of shoot for me.

LOL!!!you're such a nerd! eric said ONE HOT BRIDE...not one hot GROOM! One more thing...geesh, am I chatterbox today or what?! I don't use noise removal...or should I say I don't use A noise removal. I don't even really know what that is! I mean, theoretically, I know what it is but because I've never used it, I'm completely unfamiliar with the process.I hope this helps!

Hi Jasmine, First of all can i thank you for replying as i know that must be very busy. I wasnt implying that you do use any noise removal it was just my way of explaining what i meant. (does that make sense ?) I really love your style of shooting and the quality of your images is awesome, Silky smooth (buttery) and tack sharp all at the same time awesome !. P.s i dont wish to copy your style just trying to improve my photography and pp skills and i look to yourself and many others on this site as an inspiration.
Hope you don't mind !
scott.

Hi Scott!!
I would NEVER think that you were trying to do anything else but improve your skills!! That's what OSP is here for...to make us all better in one way or another! And I TOTALLY wasn't offended about the noise removal...I just wanted to make things clear and ensure you didn't go down a different path.
I wish you only the best!!

Thanks Jasmine, Im glad we cleared that up !

dont forget to unsharp mask the lowres file before posting online!

Your 2nd attempt looks way better.

Many thanks Jodi. I think it is way better too !

I just shot a wedding yesterday in Austin, Texas - The light isn't limited to Canons 85mm lenses or So Cal. Check out the details link on my webpage for complete EXIF info. This is straight out of the camera with only resizing for web and magic sharp (Kevin Kubota Action Pack 1) applied.

Hey Eric, that is a great shot and nice website, i must look into getting kk magic sharp everyone raves about it !
scott.