Re-working an old favorite

[srwatters]

Some of you may remember this image from my very early days here on TPF. It was shot with my D70 & 28-70mm f/2.8 lens.



Since it was shot RAW, I took the opportunity to go back and re-process it from scratch using my current workflow and tools. Although the older image has been in my online portfolio for two years, this new version has been awarded a showcase status on One Model Place. I know the red channel is maxed in the skin highlights on the jpg, but that appears to be from the web resize. The full size tiff image does not exceed 250 in the red. BTW, my intention was to make the image brighter than the original.



I'm interested in your opinion on the old vs the new...

[Debbi]

I really like the new crop and the brighter image really puts the emphasis on the subject. For what it's worth, I really like the new version.

[JMI]

What Debbi said. I like the new version better as well. But the skin seems overly warm to me. (Probably just the fact that I'm looking at it on my "day job" monitor and it's only about a year out of calibration. )

[huxley]

the tighter crop seems to have made a world of difference. it puts her at the front without having to fight with the red colors (although very lovely i might add). her eyes are now more vivid and have been brought out of the dark. funny how subtle changes make a difference. overall an upgrade to an already solid photo.

[rogerfsmith]

I prefer the original, especially the crop.
cheers,
Roger

[Jake]

I kind of like the original better. They are both nice, but I still like the first crop more.

[Duffy Pratt]

Another vote on the original. I like the crop better. I like keeping the darkened greens on the right hand of the frame (possibly a vignette?). I like the black border better than the borderless, and the old copyright notice alot better than the superimposed one.

In the new one (and I'm exaggerating) the lips have gone too far, the eyes are almost scary, and the fur collar seems to have lost some texture. The hair on the new one, however, seems improved.

By the way, I actually like them both. It's just that the older one seems warmer and more inviting to me.

Duffy

[semperaggie]

I prefer the first as the hair and face seems lighter on the new one, thus losing some of the contrast so she doesn't jump out as much to me.

[CaptainTom]

knowing that the .jpg screen size we see is not fully representing the image it is hard to make a recommendation.

But, given that they are the only ones we can go by, I like the first processing better.
The colors pop and the the contrast is more appealing for a portrait.

This is like telling Titian that his paintings were too red. The artist makes the final decision.