I'm just trying to gauge the general board consensus on photo-manipulation here (if indeed there is one) as I have only recently joined UER (hi!). I belong to a British UE forum where I have been posting for a while (as I mostly explore in England), where HDR is not tolerated. As it happens, I agree with that in my personal opinion. Most European explorers/sites love it, however. Not just a tiny touch either, but eye bleedingly over-cooked.
Is this a 'straight out of the camera is best, possibly with minimal tweaks' kinda place, or 'play around with it, and make it look epic in photoshop' crib, or somewhere in between? Obviously there are both posted, but I'd like to find out if there is there a preference one way or another. Personal opinions very welcome.
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Re: Photo processing < Reply # 4 on 2/28/2014 6:07 PM > | Reply with Quote
Posted by Mister Owl Ya do what you want. But I will bust peoples balls for going to a great location and murdering it clarity, saturation, and HDR.
Yes! This is my pet hate. I basically never process photos, beyond the occasional slight contrast adjust and straightening. I am glad I'm not the only one here who can't stand awful cartoonisation of sites.
Re: Photo processing < Reply # 5 on 2/28/2014 6:21 PM > | Reply with Quote
It can be tough to get optimal highlight and shadow detail in digital photos. This detail can be salvaged by combining in HDR but unfortunately I think that becomes more of a 1 click go to option for some rather than really looking into how to tweak curves, layer blend, ect, ect...
Like others have said, do whatever you want. Really, it makes more sense to take the photos for yourself anyway, rather than for others unless it's for a paid job or something.
Re: Photo processing < Reply # 6 on 2/28/2014 6:38 PM > | Reply with Quote
I think that if you have to do that much work to a photo then maybe it wasn't that great to begin with and it's really the person behind the camera that can't capture things right.. I tend to just do small tweaks here and there. But like all the above.. you do what you feel is necessary.
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Location: High Park, Toronto Gender: Male Total Likes: 524 likes
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Re: Photo processing < Reply # 7 on 2/28/2014 7:50 PM > | Reply with Quote
HDR can be nice if done the right way, the overblown clown vomit shit is horrid. I'd still rather see proper bracket and blends then full out HDR.
Zen and the art of infiltration... http://www.flikr.com/photos/zenslens Zen is an uber explorer, a demi god of craning and purveyor of the finer things in life.
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Re: Photo processing < Reply # 9 on 2/28/2014 8:47 PM > | Reply with Quote
I process a bit for color and sharpness and straightening. I want my pictures to feel timeless, so when I go back and look at them in 20 years I will still like them.
Everyone has their own style. Shoot and process for your own approval, not someone else's.
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Re: Photo processing < Reply # 10 on 3/8/2014 1:53 AM > | Reply with Quote
Posted by skatchkins Processing photos is just wrong
You do realize that processing a digital photo is basically the same as processing film? It's just using a different method.
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Re: Photo processing < Reply # 13 on 2/10/2018 9:38 PM > | Reply with Quote
Posted by skatchkins Awww, should I have added /s or an eyeroll smiley at the end of my post?
Lol, digging up the dead. I sensed your sarcasm HDRs... NO!
If the WB is right most times I only tweak the contrast curve maybe crop it. On RAWs pic styles, sharpen, noise reduction etc to dial it in and sometimes lens correction. If I can't do it with DPP I don't.
Less is better... most times.
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Re: Photo processing < Reply # 14 on 2/11/2018 5:14 AM > | Reply with Quote
I usually will correct for exposure, contrast, and WB if it wasn't right when I'm doing sports.
Obviously if your doing UE your pry taking your time (hopefully not in too much of a hurry) where you can compose a little better and get your settings where you want them. It definatly makes life easier when you go to edit.
It obviously helps to know the limits/ins and outs of your gear.
But above all, like most have said here, edit for what you like, what looks pleasing to your eye. That is the beauty, we all have different tastes and likes. Sure you might get a comment you don't like here and there. But the only way to figure out what you like is to mess around with settings. Go for your own style.
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Re: Photo processing < Reply # 15 on 2/11/2018 4:36 PM > | Reply with Quote
I usually add a little bit of contrast and brightness where needed, just to bring out the clarity of my photos. Here's a "before" and "after" example.
I also sometimes rotate and crop to correct for an angled photo, and sometimes I'll make some photos black and white or sepia where it works best. I also occasionally superimpose two photos atop one another to create a ghost effect, but those are always obviously edited. HDR just isn't my thing, so my edits are usually always to either touch up a photo or create a certain look.
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Re: Photo processing < Reply # 16 on 2/11/2018 4:46 PM > | Reply with Quote
Posted by Aran I usually add a little bit of contrast and brightness where needed, just to bring out the clarity of my photos. Here's a "before" and "after" example.
click to view
click to view
I also sometimes rotate and crop to correct for an angled photo, and sometimes I'll make some photos black and white or sepia where it works best. I also occasionally superimpose two photos atop one another to create a ghost effect, but those are always obviously edited. HDR just isn't my thing, so my edits are usually always to either touch up a photo or create a certain look.
Color in the second one looks way over saturated to me... Adjusting the contrast curve is the easiest and most fluid way to dial in light/dark zones. If needed you can individually adjust the R/B/G contrast curves.
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