Attempt #2

I tried again, and this time I think I got the lighting right. I had to keep reminding myself that the objective wasn't to get the exact same photo, but a better one. Though the hands aren't quite as contrasty as the original, I think the photo looks less over-processed. I'm pretty much happy with it. Happy enough, anyway, that I'm not going to try and top it.





click to enlarge, or see it on Flickr
Aperture: f/4
Shutter Speed: 1/40
ISO: 80
Tripod


The camera when taking this picture was aimed south-southwest. The window where the light came through for this shot is on the south side of the house, so taking the photo earlier in the day gave me a better angle. I was happy with the shot (this time I only took 6 shots before uploading to the computer), so I went to post-processing. I noticed that though the original photo had a lot of black, it wasn't really monochrome, so I skipped the Channel Mixer mask layer. I added a subtle 10% opacity Solid Color mask layer at a gold color to give it a warmer cast, lowered the brightness a lot, cranked the contrast quite a bit further than I normally would for any photo, and added a subtle bokeh texture. This texture came from my Christmas tree. I just turned the lights off in the house when it was dark outside, turned on the tree, and set my focus to the closest it would go. The lights on the tree gave me a nice multicolored bokeh, which I converted to B&W, and then Sepia in Photoshop before applying to this photo. After flattening, I added a small but strong vignette, and called it good. I'm happy with the results. My only regret is leaving my bracelets on in the shot. I should have taken them out of the frame by pushing them up my arm or something; I feel they distract from the feel of the photo.