Forums > Digital Art and Retouching > another 'how to get this tone' for low contrast Q?

Photographer

Sausage69

Posts: 125

Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

Can anyone tell me how to get this look

https://twitter.com/____hulka/status/901785871111733250


I know the fundamental is raising the blacks, but there's still something missing. What else needs to be done?

Aug 28 17 05:54 pm Link

Retoucher

3869283

Posts: 1464

Sofia, Sofija grad, Bulgaria

Like with all looks the right question is "what do i see".

Obviously the neutrals are not neutral but quite blue-greenish and all tones look shifted in the same direction. Additionally some terrible tone mapping seems to be applied and hence the halos around trees, buildings, shoes etc. So after seeing this you can do it with tools of your choice.

Aug 29 17 01:13 am Link

Photographer

TMA Photo and Training

Posts: 1009

Lancaster, Pennsylvania, US

You can raise the blacks by using adjustment layers so they are truly transparent and totally adjustable.  Yes... in a curve adjustment layer you can pull up the bottom left part of the curve to bring up the blacks...but in this case there is a cyan overcast to the dark areas as well.  So, in the same curve layer...in the properties panel...click on the "RGB" pulldown near the top.  These are the red, green and blue channel curves.  The "cyan - greenish blue"  color you are after is in the red channel...the opposite of red is cyan.  So, go to the bottom left part of the Red curve...click there... and then pull it right and it will add a cyan color cast to all of the image... especially in the dark areas.  If you pull it left it would add a warming red color cast to your image.  If you click in the center of the curve it would make all of the middle tones that color cast.  You can try that too.  Somewhere along the adjusting process you will see the image become what you were hoping to see... or you could experiment with the other curve channels and get different colors of cast or contamination. 

Remember that the "opacity" slider on that curves adjustment layer can reduce the effect to some degree that you might like...so experiment with that too... to get the look that meets your vision.  Right next to the opacity slider is the blending modes... it says Normal right now... but pull down... and try the other 26 blending modes...they will give your adjustment a new look that you might enjoy in some different images.

In all cases...these adjustment layers are meant to be used with the white layer "mask" that is also on the layer.  A white mask means that you are seeing the effect you want across the whole screen...BUT... if you hit Control or Command  " i " for invert...that white mask will turn black and the global color cast you created will disappear! UUGH!  But wait... If you select that mask with your mouse... and then paint with a soft 6-12% white brush...then you can paint your color cast selectively only on the parts of the picture that your creativity tells you are the best.  You can selectively paint that color cast...or any other color casts on different layers anywhere you want.  Paint in the shadow areas with one color cast, paint on the sky with another cast, paint on the skin with a magenta cast or a yellow cast.  The harder you paint in that specific part of the image area...the more visible the color correction will appear.  This is how to get multiple color changes made to an image that are completely transparent and totally creative.  Enjoy your unlimited potential!

Aug 29 17 08:48 am Link

Photographer

Sausage69

Posts: 125

Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

Thank you! I'll try.

Aug 31 17 05:36 pm Link

Retoucher

MJRetouch

Posts: 62

Norristown, Pennsylvania, US

Or shoot film.. if you examine his/her Instagram, it's more likely he/she shoots film which is pretty common in Japan..

Sep 03 17 09:41 pm Link

Retoucher

3869283

Posts: 1464

Sofia, Sofija grad, Bulgaria

MJRetouch wrote:
Or shoot film.. if you examine his/her Instagram, it's more likely he/she shoots film which is pretty common in Japan..

I am 99.999% sure this is not film. The halos around objects placed against the bright sky are typical for wrong digital processing. The 0.001% I leave for the unlikely case that the photographer deliberately destroyed the image in post. But film photographers usually don't do this.

Sep 03 17 11:57 pm Link