Friday night I decided to challenge myself with a different genre - concert photography. They say it's good to step out of your comfort zone. For me it was a pleasant distraction, from my usual landscape photography. Below is an image to demonstrate how post-processing can really change the look, feel and mood of a photograph. I envisioned this look and feel as soon as I saw the photo, then it was just moving the sliders in Lightroom to create my vision.
Gordon Fellis, The Crown Vics, The Grand Auditorium, Ellsworth, Maine
Here's the shot straight from the camera. A typical shot, well lit with nice composition - but honestly nothing very special/dramatic.
All edits were done in Lightroom. I wouldn't really know how to improve the image with the Nik software - it would take just too long for me to figure it out. First I removed the microphone with the Spot Removal Tool.
Now turn everything dark, dark dark. In Lighroom:
- Increased Contrast (+50)
- Dereased Blacks (-84)
- Decreased Highlights (-12)
- Decreased Shadows (-17)
- Decreased Whites (-100)
- Decreased Exposure (-0.85)
Onto the skin tones for a more natural look. In Lightroom:
- Decreased Saturation (-47)
- Increased Vibrance (+20)
- Increased Clarity (+12)
The finishing touches, in Lightroom:
- Warmed up the bass with Brush Tool
- Cloned out white dot near the elbow
- Added a heavy Vignette
EXIF data: Nikon D800, 300mm, f/4, 1/200 sec, ISO 1600, 11/8/13, 8:48 PM