Self Portrait

This is the 3 original photos that I took:

 

 

And this is the what I did to them:

What I basically did is:

 

 

The photo that I am sitting is the top layer, then the black and white one, then the pinkish one.

I first adjust the brightness/contrast and the level of the three photos due to the fact that my camera chooses different amount of exposure for each photo. I then turn the color of the photo that I am pretending to smoke to a black and white one, and change the hue and saturation of the photo that I was in my halloween costume (which I am a dinosaur) in to an extreme pinkish color. After that, I make the black and white one into an oil painting texture, and liquified the pinkish photo. By finishing all of these steps, I carefully erased the first layer; therefore, I can have the other two pictures appear in the whole frame. I also mosaic the girl that is sitting behind me.

Morgan Norman

Morgan Norman is a professional photographer for fashion. What makes Morgan outstanding among other photographers is he choice of exposure, white balance , and selection of colors. It is said that the scenes that he works at actually inspire him the choices of exposure, white balance and colors that he choose, and I think this is why the color choices matches the background and clothing of the models perfectly.

   

For the choice of colors, the photos has a large color variety. I think this is very unique because usually when you take portraits of models, people usually choose warm tones. However, he uses different themes like black and white, cold tones and warm tones in his projects. With different type of color choices and white balance, he can match the models clothing naturally in the whole picture. For example, in black and white photo bellow, the suit that the male model wears fits perfectly in black and white theme than warm color tones or cold color tones, which contrasts the suit and the shirt.

      

In addition, Morgan’s pictures have a really nice exposure and light choice. When the photo is taken in the outdoor, the exposure of the background is bright enough but not overexposing the models face. While the scene is shot in the indoor, the light that Morgan lays on the background is dim, but the light on the model is good enough to see the model’s face and clothes clearly (this is because dark backgrounds can make people see the model more clear).
   

Beside Morgan’s light and color choice that make him a great photographer, the models in his projects also have extreme expressions that make his photos look impressive and sharp. For example, the smoldering expression of male makes them sexy looking, and the fierce expression of female, makes them seem powerful looking.

    

 

Overall, I really like the color and white balance choice that  Morgan chooses, and the expression that he makes the models do. These are all powerful portraits not only for magazines but also for art.

All photos are originally from Morgan Norman: http://www.morgannorman.com/#.