I shot this photo from a moving bus on the first day in Havana, Cuba. It was one of the first pictures I took while in Cuba and might well be one of the best shots I got while in Cuba. The look of the boy standing with a straight stance and the framing made it come together but it lacked that pop to make it stand out. When I loaded the photos from the day and seen this I couldn’t help but think he looked like a kid in training. That today he was standing their like a solider and in 15 years he would more then likely be standing their again, only this time in his uniform and weapon. All males must join the Cuban military after graduation.
Before & After- Future Cuban Solider
As you can see below there is a big difference from original to the edited version. I wanted to show how rugged the wall he was standing next to was so that it would highlight him more. There was so much going on in that wall and wanted to make sure all the shadows, tears and multi-colors were the second focus spot for the photo. The boy would be #1 for sure but if you look at the before photo the wall doesn’t really draw the eye much does it?
So, I started with clicking on the “Adjust Brush” in Adobe Lightroom and selected the wall to add more contrast and clarity. I then selected the background to darken the street behind him some. Not a lot but just a little to make it feel more moody. Last, I highlighted everything except the boy and upped the contrast and clarity.
You can see the histogram on the upper right and the overall adjustments below it on the sidebar. I upped again the contrast and clarity, plus raised the black level some. I’ll sometimes do the same thing 3x in one section to get the feel I want (ie; raising the clarity levels over and over). I thought about turning the tempature down some but liked the feel of it just the way it was.
If you have any questions or suggestions please let me know. All tips are welcomed!
Follow Me:
Subscribe to FOGG Odyssey Email Updates
by T-roy
View Comments comments
link to this post email a friend