can't decide....

[adrian jordin]

OK, I'm relatively new to B&W having spent most of my formative years shooting colour transparencies (remember those?...).

I now have the new Topaz B&W filters and I've been going a bit mad with them.
In this case I think I may have gone a bit too far...what does everyone else think?

This is the original shot...


image2710002 by jordin57, on Flickr

and this is the B&W (-ish) version...


image2710003 by jordin57, on Flickr

Adrian

 

[Hamish Gill]

Spot on for the subject i would say!
As with anything, there is a time and a place for going overboard with effects... I would say this is the time and the place well found!

 

[Helen Hughes]

It is *very* like HDR, isn't it. However I guess with a bit of desaturation and colour selection in layers this could easily be achieved in CS5. I'm one of those folks who can't see the benefit in changing portraits into HDR style I'm afraid, though...although it looks good on landscapes/stone work etc. I see it overcooked all the time and I tend to shy away.

 

[Pete Askew]

I'm not normally a fan of selective colour but that works quite well I think as does the edge effect / enhanced contrast. As Hamish say, it suits the subject. I'd probably be tempted to soften the hair a touch to keep the focus on her face though.

 

[adrian jordin]

If she hadn't been wearing the facepaint and had the normal range of skin tones, I wouldn't have chosen this style.
I wanted to keep the artifical look and try to enhance it slighlty by using B&W.

Adrian

 

[Hamish Gill]

It is *very* like HDR, isn't it. However I guess with a bit of desaturation and colour selection in layers this could easily be achieved in CS5. I'm one of those folks who can't see the benefit in changing portraits into HDR style I'm afraid, though...although it looks good on landscapes/stone work etc. I see it overcooked all the time and I tend to shy away.

Your not alone in that view here!

http://www.realphotographersforum.com/content/444-hdr-photography-photography-not.html

I do think there is a time and a place for most things, but its often done for the sake of doing, and that when i dont like it ...
Its like this trend in popular music at the mo to auto tune everything ... sometimes it works ... a lot of the time its just done because its the "done" thing

I think, whatever the process here, it is effective for the subject matter ... and thats the key!

 

[Hamish Gill]

If she hadn't been wearing the facepaint and had the normal range of skin tones, I wouldn't have chosen this style.
I wanted to keep the artifical look and try to enhance it slighlty by using B&W.

Adrian

Yep, job well done IMO

 

[Dave Moss]

I think thats the key to most effects you can use these days there is a time and place for this it works but I have seen plenty not work

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Very nice - and appropriate to boot

What I like about filters such as Topaz, is that you can quickly realize an idea, and see if it has legs.

To get there from scratch in say Photoshop, would probably take longer than the idea lasted!

For those yet to try Topaz filters, I can thoroughly recommend both the B&W set, and the Adjust 4 set