DIYPhotography.net Photography and Studio Lighting

To be honest this doesn't really work for me. The original picture with some more contrast and sharpening would be a much better result IMHO. Of course it could work for other pictures, but not in this case.

Although this looks good and free, I don't think it tops LucisArt with some masking and additional local contrast enhancement for that style.

I just try and use it sparingly because this enhanced local contrast or "Lucis look" (which is more accurate to me than the "Dave Hill look") is becoming as big a fad as HDR has become. It does work beautifully for dramatic skies however.

I have been wondering how to create this effect simply for ages without combining multiple exposures of the same shot.

I will give this a try and let you know what I think!

It's important when using this technique that you watch for darkening or lightening at high-contrast points in the photo (such as the shoulders of the girl in the pink shirt). using layer masks and just painting over these points to hide them will get rid of the dark halos, giving the image a less forced look.

Awesome. I actually found the same steps from the flickr group.
A lot of purists will give flak because Dave Hill uses lighting to achieve his distinct look (he's said as much himself & for a few brewskis he'll divulge his secrets), but without the $$$ to spend on a lighting set up like his, this is a great way to emulate a similar look; I've gotten compliments from others (read:non-photographers) on my attempts at it.

Every time I try this, I get blown out highlights on the cheeks. I followed this tutorial EXACTLY. What could be the problem?

is there a place on the we b that i can get this action without all the red tape

way, way too sharp, my man. too many halos

Isnt this from "The Strobist" group on Flickr?? I saw this same exact tute there last year... is it yours?? great pic!!

guys ... these steps are made for VERY high quality pictures
try it of .... big sized pictures and things would look much better

If you guys would like to actions for this all you have to do is click record when you are going threw the steps. Done then you have a action tool you can use on any photo. My next photo I will be doing the same so that I will have this handy tool at my leisure. Awesome tutorial, Thanks a ton!!

Yes, clever mister anonymous, he says in the article it is from the Flickr thread and he linked to the author's photostream, and to the Strobist thread twice.

Great tutorial, but i think there is a final step missing.

One trademark of a Dave Hill image is the skin, it doesn't look gritty like in a HDR photo, it looks smooth and cartoony.

As a final step, i suggest applying a surface blur (Filter > blur > surface blur)
Radius between 7 and 10 and threshold between 12 and 15 dependant on the image.

One final note is that when you are thinking about attempting to recreate the Dave Hill Effect, taking separate shots is the key. The things about his work is that everything is in sharp focus which requires him to photograph each element individually. So one photo of your best mate will not work if the background is out of focus because your camera has auto focussed on the subject.

great tutorial none the less!