Exercise 23: Selective processing and prominance

For this exercise I had to look at producing two versions of the same image.  In one version the the person needs to be less prominent than the other.  I can achieve this by using the various software processing tools available.

I chose this image which I shot for an earlier exercise because I wanted to explore the presence of the people in the shot more.  In its original format this focus is more on the buildings in the shot rather than the people.  I felt this exercise would give me the opportunity to make the people more prominent.

I converted the image into black and white which I felt would be useful when looking at form in the shot.  I didn't want the colours to provide a distracting level.

In this image the high contrast allows the people to blend into the background.  When you look at the shot it is difficult to see exactly where the focus lies.  Is it the buildings or the couple?

To make the people stand out more I opted for a lower contrast image and a more faded background.  I also reduced the clarity to make the background more out of focus.  

By using post processing tools the focus of this image can be changed to the couple looking at the buildings.  We can also use processing techniques to blend the couple into the other elements in the shot.  

I think that these techniques can affect the way in which the people are seen to be interacting with the place they are in.  In the first image and the original image they are part of the scene.  In the last image they are isolated from it.  

It is interesting to work with the focus elements in the shot and to see the ways in which certain processing techniques alter the outcomes.