Porter - slightly different pp 2

[dubaiphil]

A bit more dramatic this time as the background was so distracting - again, feedback greatly appreciated:

[chauncey]

The gentleman's face could be a tad lighter.

[deetheturk]

Great image Phil,but i'm with Mr Boyer,i'd like to see him a little lighter.

Cheers David

[John 2]

Quite like the low key treatment Phil but it might be worth lifting the whites of his eyes very slightly.

[FootLoose]

That is a great face, Phil, but I agree with the others, it needs a bit more light to make it pop.

[Polar01]

Phil: me I like it the way it is.

Cheers: Allan

[dubaiphil]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I thought this may polarise opinion.

I'm not a great dodger and burner - I may have to attack a little more...

[Shadowman]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I thought this may polarise opinion.

I'm not a great dodger and burner - I may have to attack a little more...

Be subtle, you don't want to overpower the eyes. Nicely done as is.

[chauncey]

I'm not a great dodger and burner - I may have to attack a little more...

As a side note...I don't use the dodge and burn tools.
I prefer to use adjustment layers, as an example...open curves to brighten image then take the brush with a feathered edge and erase with black all the areas that you were happy with. In your case, everything except the face. I use this method when I want to create light when it was absent in the image.
But, always be aware that there are a ton of ways to accomplish the same thing in Photoshop.

[RustBeltRaw]

I think the low-key look works well. Matches his pensive expression.

[dubaiphil]

Well here's a comparison. Original vs, V2

Original



V2

[deetheturk]

Hi Phil,for me,the second one is better,not much better as the first one is a cracker anyway!

Cheers David

[Downrigger]

Phil: me I like it the way it is.

Me too. Works for this great old visage. Different story if it was an image of an ingenue.

[IzzieK]

I like the first one better, Phil...I agree that the eyes should be a little (just little) bit lighter. The first thing that I noticed apart from the darkness of the mood is that my eyes keep going to the single hair on his forehead...maybe, just maybe if you lightened the eyes a little bit, it might detract the hair on the forehead to go to the popping feature of the whole photo (see Greg's 'Footloose' comment). In my opinion, the second version has a yellowish tinge in it...especially on the beard that is why in the comparison, I much prefer the first one.

Hope this helps..Izzie

[mknittle]

I'm with Isabel on this one I like the first one better. Both are good though. nice work

[ClaudioG]

LOL..you'll never make everyone happy...i like no2 ,BUT... i'd prefer the just the beard and whites of eye highlighted, hat as well..not the frown lines and wrinkles ie, his face.. great image though, wish i could even get close to that.

[Polar01]

I'm still with the original, then and now.

Cheers: Allan

[rpcrowe]

I'm not a great dodger and burner - I may have to attack a little more...

Phil...
You might investigate NIK Software. Using the Viveza Module and control points gives you exceptional control of varying facets of the image. I especially like the structure slider for doing things like drawing attention to the eyes and I like the shadows slider which will open the shadows but leave the highlights alone.
Certainly, all this can be dome in Photoshop but the NIK Software makes the job quicker, easier and for me - better...
http://www.google.com/nikcollection/

[Rob Zijlstra]

V2 for me also Phil!

[jcuknz]

The original face is wonderful but I take the point about the white of the eyes and a little lightening there make all the diffrence.