Do you guys think this is too dark or just right

[ndwgolf]

I offered a photoshoot (family portrait) for a charity event and the family that bought it are friends of mine. I used my Chamonix 8x10 with ilford HP5+. After taking the picture and scanning it with my Epson V850 I was really happy with the results.
After bringing it into Photoshop I just used ACR to correct the exposure and touch up some dust spots

I printed it on Epson Hot Press Natural paper and to me it looks a tad dark but my wife seems to think it is perfect, so I am throwing it out to the gang to see what you think?

My mate hasn't seen it yet but his plan is to have it printed 60 x 44 inches as he has a large wall at his house to hang it. Photoshop says to print at that size it would have a PPI of 259 which I think will be plenty.

Comments remarks very welcome

Neil

 

[wyofilm]

Great family portrait! I guess one thing to consider is what the light is like where you plan to hang it.

Good luck! I bet your wife is very happy.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I too think it is a great portrait. The only thing that might bother you is that the whites are not pure white, but what I see is just right.

 

[Kino]

Consider where it might hang. If it is a pure white wall, your instinct that it is just a tad too dark might be right, otherwise I'd say you're pretty good!

 

[voceumana]

Big prints need more contrast than smaller ones, generally. Plus, remember that at the size you are talking about there will be a lot of reflected light thrown onto the image from the room. Have you tried a slightly lighter print and what's your thought about it?

To me the highlights in this image are right--the white of the dress and pearl earring are as white as you'd want to get, so if you want it lighter, it might be tricky.

 

[Truzi]

I think it looks great as-is, but I think I agree it could be a little bit lighter.

 

[Pieter12]

It's really hard to tell...what are you showing us? The digital image or a scan of a print? And how will the larger print match what we are seeing? I don't know what the skin tones of your subjects are, but I might make at least the faces a tad lighter so the features "pop" more, better for viewing at a distance.

 

[Ariston]

I think it is hard to tell when we are looking at it on an illuminated monitor. It looks great to me, though.

 

[Pieter12]

I would never do this, but you asked...faces just a tad brighter (quick & dirty).

 

[MattKing]

Please take this in the egalitarian spirit it is given.
I note that this is a mixed race family. In my admittedly dated experience as a portrait printer, I came to the realization that different people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds have different preferences with respect to how their skin tones should look in prints, and that those preferences seem to vary when they are shown with people who have the same racial and ethnic backgrounds than when they are shown in a mixed race group.
If you are going to make a print that big, I think you would be very, very wise to print up at least three smaller (8x10?){ versions - lighter, normal and slightly darker - and ask for their feedback.
You may very well receive feedback that the son looks great in one, the mother looks great in another, and the father looks great in a third. I would use the editing tools available to make everyone happy.

 

[voceumana]

I think Matt's advice is good.

 

[BrianShaw]

I know Matt’s advice is good!

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I stuck it in PS and lightened it a bit (grey slider in Levels). Looks much better! Great family portrait!

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

In regards to Matt's comment, the differences in their facial tones are very subtle. But it is a great point, and one that is often overlooked.

 

[wiltw]

I agree with OP, my first reaction is 'a bit dark'.

If you follow the Rule of Thumb that dry grasss (no sheen from moisture on the grass) is about mid-tone, the grass portrays as 'underexposed' per the shot posted.

 

[JensH]

Hi,

looks good, yes, I would do it a bit lighter, too. But that's just a matter of taste.
It looks you did not use a filter on the lens. Maybe you like a yellow filtered version better...

Best wishes
Jens

 

[jimjm]

This is a great portrait! It looks like you got a good exposure, so the resulting print will really just be a matter of personal taste. Sometimes you can't be sure until you print and view it in the room where it will be displayed.
I don't think it's too dark, but maybe try a slightly lower contrast print? That may help to even out some of the differing skin tones and reduce the hot spot of the man's head (my eye keeps going there).
You have a really good shot here, so the final result will just be down to personal preference.

 

[jeffreyg]

You mention making a large print. Will you be printing it on the same printer you printed the small samples? It may make a difference from what you see if it will be printed from another computer on different paper and different inks. If necessary there is an easy way to selectively lighten or darken large or small areas with PhotoShop. Make a new layer : softlight-fill with soft light and check neutral color (50% gray). Make a brush (feather) the size you want to change. White to lighten and black to darken. Then adjust the amount with the fill slider. Since it is a separate layer it can be modified or deleted. Different layers for different areas. A few months ago I had some large prints made for an exhibition (one was 6ft x 5ft). I brought the printer the files on a flash drive. Knowing his equipment and materials he made some slight tweaks. They came out great. He printed on Hahnemuhle paper with a very large Canon printer.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

http://www.sculptureandphotography.com/

 

[Donald Qualls]

Not sure I'll call myself either an expert viewer or a master printer (well, pretty sure I don't qualify on the latter) -- but to my eye, if you were to lighten the frame overall you'd have to burn in the man's head to regain detail. As others have suggested, showing a proof and asking how the subjects prefer to see their own skin tones, and then dodging or burning as needed to get to that condition (whether done under the enlarger or in Photoshop or Lightroom or equivalent) would seem like the optimum solution. For my own eye, I wouldn't touch anything but the faces, and if it were going on my wall, not even that.

 

[jtk]

Heavily over-sharpened ( halo-artifact on man's head).

Go back to the original scan and print straight, with no sharpening or other post processing, print that. Compare and contrast.

 

[mnemosyne]

You asked for opinions on the overall brightness/tonal range. As some have pointed out ... difficult to tell while looking at a reproduction on a computer screen. However, it doesn't look too far off. I think Matt's suggestions makes sense. In the end it doesn't have to please you but the people portraied.

While we're at it... I know you didn't specifically ask for it , but ... I find the overall composition a bit unbalanced. Mainly, the tilted horizon is distracting in my eyes. And the blurred feet stretching into the left corner are a bit irritating to me. In your place I would level the "horizon" and crop to get rid of the foreground. Please take my remarks as what they are. Reflection of my individual taste. I don't claim to know better. I am just another amateur photog.

 

[eli griggs]

I will say this looks perfect, though my personal preference is for more contrast for the skin tones, but this is b&w and mainly a grey tone print.

Do no overthink this one, its as good as any other photograph I've ever seen, and you (should) accept it as quality piece of work.

IMO.

 

[grain elevator]

For my taste, the faces are a bit dark and contrasty. Ideally that would have been changed with lighting, but working with this file, I'd make it a bit brighter and less contrasty. Ignore the gent's forehead while doing the global adjustment and bring it in separately, it is catching so much more light than everything else.

 

[pentaxuser]

My mate hasn't seen it yet but his plan is to have it printed 60 x 44 inches.

I do not wish to sound rude about this to other Photrio members who have posted but while our opinions are what you have asked for, none of us is the customer so I am unclear why any of our opinions matter. Only the customer matters and that is your mate.

I would show the pic to him and ask if he approves as only his opinion matters. For what it is worth and that worth is precisely nothing, I think your original is fine and any adjustments that we on Photrio have made are not as good.

Just out of interest can I ask that now you have seen a variety of our opinions, how this has helped you in your decision about what you do to the original picture before you show it to your mate?

Thanks

pentaxuser

 

[ndwgolf]

WOW............I just checked back this morning to see that there are more than 20 plus replies.........I have read them all and have made some adjustments.
First off I corrected the horizon as it was bugging me.........camera was 100% level when I took the picture so must have been a crooked garden landscape
I made an levels adjustment and brightened the midtones a little to the whole image
Then I burnt in my mates head to tone that down...........the rest is the same
I have now reprinted it on A3+ Cold Press Natural and it looks fine.........hopefully my mate will like it too

Thanks again for all the feedback......much appreciated
Neil