Selective processing and prominence

The first image shows a boy lying on a beach. The first image shows the original image as created in camera. I converted the RAW file to JPG without any alterations.

In order to make decrease the prominence of the boy, I flattened the entire image by reducing the contrast, also decreasing highlights and whites and making the shadows and blacks darker. This had the effect of making the entire image very dull and lifeless.

To make the boy more prominent in the image, I increased the contrast and enhanced the highlights and shadows, whites and blacks in the RAW window. Once in Photoshop, I lightened the entire image using a duplicate layer and used the history brush to restore the boy to the original lightness. I used the same brush to create a subtle triangular shadowed area, leading up to the boy. I felt that this would draw the eye towards him.

My second image is of a man lighting candles in a darkened room. The first is the original image.

To decrease the prominence, I darkened the entire image, the decreased the contrast, highlights and shadows.

To increase prominence, I lightened the image in the RAW window but by increasing the contrast, shadows and blacks, I darkened the rest of the image. I increased the highlights and whites to further brighten the man’s face creating more prominence.

Balancing figure and space

The focus in this image is on the chequered fence, characteristic of the many features on this pathway lining the entrance to some houseboats in Shoreham. The figures in the image add a human element, while their soft focus retains the fence as the focus of the image.

In the second image, the fence is too small in the image to retain attention as the eye is more drawn to the people. A further issue with this is that because the people appear to be the subject, it looks like the main focus on the fence was accidental.

The tall cliff lined with trees above creates a dramatic scene for such a small child to be climbing into. In the second image, much of the drama is lost due to the omission of the cliff top and trees.

Making figures anonymous

When a place is the main subject of an image but it would look better inhabited, sometimes it helps to make the people anonymous, to prevent them from becoming the subject.

A crowd can dominate a scene but individuals in this image are unrecognisable, on and off stage.

The people add interest and a human element to the wet festival scene, however the environment remains the subject.

The activities are the subjects of these images rather than the place. As above, making the individual anonymous prevents any person from becoming the subject.

The graffiti artist is not the subject of the image but her presence shows that it is a newly created piece.

The images below all show different elements of festival life while retaining the anonymity of the people; this is achieved by photographing people from behind.

 

A silhouette ensures anonymity by removing all detail from the person, leaving only the setting as the subject.

By partly obscuring the people in an image, focus is then drawn to the environment or the activity.

A slow shutter speed to create motion blur can prevent the people in an image from being recognised.