Sandbox (2)

it may look like I goofed here BUT the baby's hand was in rapid motion so I masked it blur and all.

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Comments

bosquetango says:

You got this one perfect! I love getting to see this mom and babe. This cutout is just plain great.
Posted 62 months ago. ( permalink )

thepipes says:

Yes! I agree. This one is fantastic.
Posted 62 months ago. ( permalink )

chadmiller says:

Perhaps it's because I'm not a fan of the mask+desaturate gag, but of all of your photos, Special, this is the only one I don't like.
Posted 62 months ago. ( permalink )

" Perhaps it's because I'm not a fan of the mask+desaturate gag, but of all of your photos, Special, this is the only one I don't like."

That's certainly understandable and I do appreciate the feedback. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes. I'm not a big fan of cutouts that are obviously fake. Well, not like they aren't all obviously fake.. but I mean the ones that clearly do not retain any of the original coloring. I like using this method with objects sometimes to draw attention to the main focus.. and I use it on people sometimes because my subjects are quite fond of seeing themselves with a 'pleasantville' vibe.

I always leave the original color and then turn certain things black and white. I don't add the color, I strip it out. I think most people use the other method. I'm not sure.
Posted 62 months ago. ( permalink )

Art- says:

So there it is. The ugly stepchild of digital photography. Not that I can’t sympathize, after all I’m a purist. Film only, Leica rangefinder shooter. Sweat in the darkroom for the last thirty years... before I embraced the digital world. What I don’t understand is that when an image like this is produced in the darkroom it’s hailed as an artistic achievement. However when the same result is attained in a tenth of the time, thanks to digital post processing it becomes a "gag". Like you said, everyone has their likes and dislikes. The way I see it is that you use this technique the same way artists have since the days of selective hand coloring on monochrome prints. Nicely isolated, well done!
Posted 62 months ago. ( permalink )

sylvia@intrigue says:

I'm mixed feelings ... I often like the effect of this and have used it a couple of times to make a point. Having said that, the focus here is on the sand, which I'm not sure "makes sense" to my eye. I found the image intriguing (and followed it from the cutouts thumbnail) but it feels a bit odd.
Posted 62 months ago. ( permalink )

Special says:

The focus is on the sand and not the people so that the image messes with your mind but mainly because that is the way the effect worked best with the photo. This image was about people playing in a sandbox. To have the sand and toys black and white and the people in color would have been pointless. The people will stand out regardless. If they are in color and what they are playing with in black and white it becomes dull and loses it's focus. Trust me, I did do it both ways. This one was the better way.

Personally, I wouldn't care if no one preferred partial black and whites. I would still do them because I myself like them and I don't think I'm wrong in saying that I do the effect well. Whenever I see cutouts that's what I look for first quite honestly. The skill level of the masker. If the cutout is sloppy and awful then I am by no means impressed.. but if the cutout is dead on then i'm very impressed regardless of the photo itself.

It's my opinion that a good masking job never ruins a photo.. but merely adds to it, whereas an awful masking job obviously turns a photo into an eyesore.
Posted 62 months ago. ( permalink )

sylvia@intrigue says:

I do trust you and I didn't in ANY way mean to imply that you should only do what other people prefer (especially not me! I'm only just starting to explore this concept) but simply trying to work out why it felt "wrong" to me (which doesn't mean it isn't "right" ... the comments above mine already make it clear that it is very right for many people. And that's good :)
Posted 62 months ago. ( permalink )

mac steve says:

@special: "The skill level of the masker"

This is obviously a good masking job. How long did you work on this and did you use any special software in addition to PS?
Posted 62 months ago. ( permalink )

Special says:

This is obviously a good masking job. How long did you work on this and did you use any special software in addition to PS?

Thanks. Hrm.. it's been a few weeks. Don't really remember how long it took but surely it didn't take long. I would imagine it only took half an hour. I don't remember spending an obsessive amount of time on this one.

I don't use any special software in addition to photoshop or paintshop pro. This one was not done in photoshop.. but in paint shop pro 6 using the 'retouch" tool to 'color' the saturation out.
Posted 62 months ago. ( permalink )

Pete Mandik says:

I like it. The people look like statues. And the baby is all like, dude what's up with my hand?
Posted 60 months ago. ( permalink )

zen says:

I'm a fan of well executed cutouts like this, AND where the desaturated area adds to the feeling that color or lack of it makes the viewer address the color that's left. Simply a photo of a person and the red sweater is the only remaining color is so yawn to me.

A cutout isn't there to make a mediocre photo better, and in this case there's a startling aspect to it.

You do cutouts well!
Posted 60 months ago. ( permalink )

B. Botany says:

Creepy. I have bad associations with gray flesh in a colour world.

I don't know if that's a statement you were thinking of, but it's certainly powerful in it's own way.
Posted 52 months ago. ( permalink )

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Taken on October 29, 2004
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Sandbox (2)

Comments

bosquetango says:

thepipes says:

chadmiller says:

Special says:

Art- says:

sylvia@intrigue says:

Special says:

sylvia@intrigue says:

mac steve says:

Special says:

Pete Mandik says:

zen says:

B. Botany says:

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