Pimp My Portrait: March 2011 Selections

PORTRAITURE

Pimpin four portraits last time was too much so I decided on doing two this time. The two I finally selected were photos that actually worked well on their own. This made it quite interesting for me to figure out what direction I would go with each piece.

Once again thank you to all who submitted portraits for me to pimp this month. This will be a regular monthly thing so please be encouraged to submit again. Happy viewing.

Tara from New York submitted this photo

This beautiful photo was taken in Haiti during a recent missions trip. Upon first seeing it I really was not sure what to do. It was already black and white so I did not see myself trying to make it color. I decided to enhance the black and white with some layering, texturing, and contrast to help bring out the details in the guy's face. By adding definition to his face I wanted to bring the viewer closer and quicker into his reality.

The edgier background and the light vignette help draw the viewer's eye right to his face. I wanted his eyes to pop out of this image.

I also added a little light to the little boy's face to help us see his head better while still keeping the viewer's focus on the man's face.

My desire was to create a stark contrast to highlight the somberness, pain, and urgency of this moment in Haiti.

Michel from Bronx, NY submitted this photo.

This photo was taken during a theatrical performance. The colors and pose of the actors were so strong I immediately decided to push the envelope on both. Initially I enhanced the contrast and saturation, and then added in some texturing. I then placed a silver glowing tone over the entire image which really made it look good. But I was not satisfied with the image. It needed something more.

After some time I decided to posterize it hoping it would give me something remarkable. With a little time and tweaking I was able to find that right look.

These are the photos for the March 2011 "Pimp My Portrait".

Stay tuned for the next round of submissions at the end of April. Thanks for enjoying the blog.