Title • I know something you dont

This is the second portrait of Harmony I mentioned, and I don't have a great deal to say about it from an aesthetic point of view other than that I really like her smile in this one :)

From a post-production point of view though, it is worth discussing in a bit more detail ...

As with a lot of my portraits, this one was converted to black and white using the channel mixer. For portraits of the kids I often bias the conversion towards the red channel (e.g. this one), as this lightens and smooths skin tones. In this case though I biased the conversion towards the blue channel. This is a technique I normally use for 'gritty' male portraits (e.g. this one), as it tends to darken and exaggerate detail, but in this case it just adds contrast, darkens her hair, and lightens her blue/grey eyes.

For older children, or women, this isn't a technique that works especially well, at least not if you want the portrait to be flattering, but for young kids it can be a good choice. If you're interested, this is a topic I cover in a lot more detail in my Black and White: part one tutorial.

Oh, and the original is here:

.../archives/I_know_something_you_dont.php

I suspect that most of you will prefer the previous shot of Harmony I posted, but I'd be interested to hear how you think the two compare.

On a totally different matter: when I was out in Dubai recently I met up with Will Pattison. If you're interested in seeing a few more shots of the city and its people, take a look at one of his recent entries:

http://www.barpfoto.com/blog/?p=897

They're all good shots, but I think my favourite is the one of the man sipping his tea from his saucer.

And finally: I'm heading back to the UK today, and will be there until the 17th, so expect some seascapes and shots of dull, grey skies at some point soon :)