B&W Barn - Tonal Range?

[rwebbart]

I agree that contrast is a personal taste. rwebbart, do you mind if I post an edit to show what I was thinking?

Yeah, anyone is welcome to edit it.

Oh, and thanks everyone for the overwhelming response so far...

 

[markc]

Thanks.

It doesn't take much of an s-curve. It wasn't that I didn't like the original. I just prefer a little more contrast.

I think this gets the barn to pop a little more while still keeping the background a bit ethereal.

 

[ladyphotog]

Great shot, it looks better with the bump in contrast and could stand a little burning here and there but overall I like it.

 

[mysteryscribe]

or

 

[Flash Harry]

my take on it:

 

[LaFoto]

Well, while I am very much a barn person myself, too, and while I immediately liked this photo as the frame it is WITH its subject, also my IMMEDIATE thought was: grey ... it wants to have more contrast. I am glad I feel with Mark and Andrew, so I am not alone.

Some edits go too far, others I like and prefer over the original ... those could have been mine ... but I now no longer feel it is necessary I edit the photo, too.

 

[mysteryscribe]

I like it as the artist saw it.....I did the first time I commented and I still do lol.

 

[newrmdmike]

i think histograms are fine, but remember they are not accurate if your shooting raw.

also, i've had histograms show no white at all, but moving over to highlights have areas blinking.

just somthing to keep in mind.

 

[markc]

i think histograms are fine, but remember they are not accurate if your shooting raw.

If you mean in the camera, then yes, I agree with that, and sometimes you actually want to have highlights show as blown in order to take full advantage of the linear curve that's weighted towards the highlights. As far as I can tell, the histogram the camera shows is often what the default conversion would be. I wish it would show what he actual RAW data is and not assume that we can't learn. (This is an assumption, as I haven't gotten around to testing it yet and haven't found info to the contrary).

They are accurate at time of conversion though. They are dynamic and change as you adjust the sliders while in the conversion software, and once converted, they are accurate in PS to what the data has been converted to.

also, i've had histograms show no white at all, but moving over to highlights have areas blinking.

If there is very little of a color, it can be hard to tell that the line is coming above the baseline. Using the ALT key in Photoshop can be very useful when moving levels as it will show you what areas will be blocked up into white or black (depending on what slider you click on).

 

[newrmdmike]

good info, and yeah, i just meant in camera.