Via Request, New Color Setting Tutorial

I shared a few pictures online that used a new color setting and I received some really good feedback, even a few requests.  With that said, Im going to share this new color setting.





















This works in Aperture, but Im more than sure you can apply it in Lightroom or iPhoto if you wanted.  Im also sure that you could set this up as an action in Photoshop as well.

So those are the sample images to show you what the end results will look like.  Its a dirty and contrasty look.  Like every photograph, your results will depend on the lighting used.  If you slap it onto some crappy photo, its going to look crappy and vice versa.  

I originally only wanted to use this on street images that I shoot on Skid Row, but after the last shoot, I found it has applications with images of women as well.

So here we go.

Here is a screen shot of what it my image looks like unedited.  

First off is to underexpose the image a little bit.  Honestly you can adjust this to get the result you want.  What you want is in the Enhance section here.  Note*  I like to use the Definition slider to get a little more detail whenever needed.  Also, the White Balance is important to adding a little color.  We desaturate in the next step, so come back to this to get the desired color.

After that just a simple curves adjustment to add some contrast.  I also play around with the shadows in the Shadows and Highlights adjustor.  

After that a little bit of playing around with the levels.  Here is what I have that gives me the best results for this style of image.  Of course you need to sharpen and then I add a Vignette.  

Here is the final result.  It adds a bit more drama in the shot, I truly love this edit.  Whats good to reiterate is that every photograph is about lighting.  Dont take crappy photos and expect to fix it in photoshop.  Creating your image with light to give you the desired effects is by far much more interesting than sitting in front of the computer to give your desired result.  This why all the actions I use are simple adjustments for the most part.