Tanzanian Street Vendors

[GB1]

C&Cs welcome.

Gb

[Grandpaw]

You did a very good job with a very tough lighting situation, Jeff

[GB1]

Jeff - Thks. It probably would have been better to use a fill flash set at 1/2 or 1/4 intensity, but that takes time to set up.. It's hard to when these guys are right in your face 99% of the time. I guess everyone's trying to make a living......!

G

[MB1]

Their expressions don't work and I think you should crop a little tighter from the top as the blown out sky doesn't add a thing.

I agree on just a touch of fill flash would be nice.

[GB1]

Mb - What do you meant that their expressions don't work? I'm not sure what expressions would work and not work here.. They're obviously guys trying to sell things and make a living, so to me it's more of a documentary-type shot. I also don't see much at the top to crop - if that little bit there goes it would be like putting the poor guy in a box (he's already hunching down so his stance it would amplify that feeling).

GB

[zen]

Crop.
Filter>sharpen (just once here, if you sharpen too much it creates little white spots called artifacts)
Image>Adjustments>Shadow/Highlight......}tweak{
Image>Adjustments>Brightness +3, contrast +11,..........}tweak for image needs{
Image>Adjustments>Hue /Saturation>Saturation +8 (or so, careful not to go crazy with it, turns into very colorful digital-doo-doo)
For the vignette (which is completely a personal preference, but it does help with some of the blown out sky, which in this type of shot is not that big an issue)
Select>select all
Select>modify>border--9px
Select>feather--26px
Then I just use a round brush with hard edges, and ink color set to black, I paint in around the edges, if you paint once it does this, if you go round more times, by letting off the mouse, and then re-click-dragging, it gets darker each time, depending on how dark you want it. You can also change the ammount that it comes in from the edges by changing the feather by number.

[GB1]

Thks for taking the time to edit it Zen. Unfortunately, it looks a little odd to me. I think there's only so far you can go in post processing and here the lightening of the shadows has created a weird color effect (too warm maybe) and a surreal look (not sure how to explain that, it just does). I think it's too tight up top but that's debatable. Also not sure the vignette works in this particular scene - those may be better in a glamor or related photo.

Like I said, there's only so much that can be done in PP.. plastic surgery just can't cure bad genes I suppose.

G