Yesteryears: Final Project pt. 2

After the feedback from the previous previous session, I tweaked my direction.

Feedback was:

Switch up models
Make the story more authentic
Have a focal point

Concept: Nostalgia

Based on this, I decided to still pursue the theme on nostalgia. This time, I decided to capture my models with items that were dear to them in the past. The series aims to visualize the non-tangible element that is nostalgia, by using these items as a conduit to the past.

“You always keep going back to the past to find something real; and so that’s part of a much larger conversation about how we consume and see the world.”

Art Direction: Models are dressed in vivid colors evoking the past. Backdrop is comprised of party streamers and wrapping paper, harkening back to simpler days.

Technical Decision: To keep a consistent look, I kept kept the settings constant throughout.

Aperture: 4.5

Shutter Speed 1/200

ISO: 1200

Equipment:

Set Design:

The space constraint limited my shots to mostly mid shot and close up portraits. I assembled a makeshift retro backdrop with crepe paper and party streamers, taped to the wall.

For lighting, I used a single source of light, from a Yong Nuo video light, as seen below. The lighting helped me separate the subject from the backdrop, and lit the subject more evenly. That said, I was able to shoot at a higher fstop, get clearer and sharper images, which is important for the kind of portraits I was shooting.

Process:

The main retouching I applied on to my images pertain to colour balance and curves.

Main Changes

Manipulating Backdrop Color.

In order to achieve this look, I used Hues and Saturation and Colour Balance, as shown below.

2. Manipulating Overall Exposure

For a vintage effect, I used the Curves tool. I did this by raising the shadows to achieve the matte effect and squashing the highlights, as shown below. The S curve is an effective way to do this. The more packed together they are, the stronger the effect.

3. Separating Subject from BG

Simply but cutting in.

4. Using Gaussian Blur to achieve Soft Look

To enhance the retro look, I used a stamped layer with gaussian blur applied. 10px and then changing the opacity to 50% to get the look.

Frequency Separation

As usual, the same SF techniques are applied to each portrait. An oversight on my part, with my project being heavily focused on portraits, the cleaning up the facial features in every image took a crazy amount of time. Did not anticipate it. I used SF mostly to clear bumps and acne on the skin, and stray hair lying all over the place.

In retrospect, a softer source of light would probably have made the retouching a bit more efficient. Also there was still an unhealthy amount of stray hair around even after excessive combing and purposeful hair arrangement. But after using SF for 11 portraits, I managed to get used to it and work more efficiently, by using keyboard shortcuts.

Before and After SF: