Been doing it all wrong - what should I do?

[BrentC]

Have you ever come to the conclusion that you have been doing something all wrong? I have in the last couple days. As you may or may not know I am very new to photography, about three months to be exact. Right from the beginning I have been using LR to import all my photos. So basically I have always worked with the raw files.
Learning new techniques as I have gone along. But what I have realized recently is that I have produced an awful lot of crap, over processed images. And if I just looked at the JOOC's I would have realized that in a lot of instances there wasn't much, if any editing that should be done. In too many cases I have just realized I made the images worse. Too over exposed, too much contrast, etc, etc. I had it my mind that I always need to 'give it some pop' (that dreaded word) making the image unrealistic. In doing so I realized I lost a lot of the sharpness in my bird photos. Returning to those images and comparing to the originals almost wants to make me cry because I realized all the work I put in was unnecessary and just little adjustment would have been fine.
At the beginning I could have made the excuse that the monitor I was using wasn't calibrated but the last month and a half I don't have that excuse. Although they are better still over processed in general.

Is this something a lot of newbies go through? I have to try and hold back to much editing and give the JOOC images a chance and not try to improve something that already looks good.

 

[OGsPhotography]

Yes. Everyone does experience this in some way with probably any task with a steep learning curve.

Good thing is you can just press " reset"! Because you did the right thing and non destructively edited i. Lr.

Nothing to worry about.

 

[Derrel]

Ah, Brent, it's not the end of the world. You're gonna be alright, dude! I went the opposite way for a long time: not adding enough to the raws! These days however, it's much faster and easier than it was back then to add Ooomph! Either way, there's a process of learning how much to do and of what parameters to adjust--but it gets better as one goes along. One's tastes and ideas change over time as well. Quite commendable of you to write up your experiences, and I think we can all learn a bit from them. In answer to your question, "Is this something a lot of newbies go through?", the answer is a resounding YES, yes it is.

 

[john.margetts]

It is perfectly good for a beginner to make beginner mistakes - it is how we all learn. You have learnt so can no longer call yourself a beginner.

 

[astroNikon]

When I first started post processing my images were more skewed towards HDR processing because it was neat looking. Now I try for more "realistic" what you see, unless you are doing something artsy then the sky's the limit on the type of processing.

Also, don't worry about it too much. Look at what people post to Instagram and Facebook using those "filters" or whatever they want to call them.

 

[407370]

Have you ever come to the conclusion that you have been doing something all wrong? I have in the last couple days. As you may or may not know I am very new to photography, about three months to be exact. Right from the beginning I have been using LR to import all my photos. So basically I have always worked with the raw files.
Learning new techniques as I have gone along. But what I have realized recently is that I have produced an awful lot of crap, over processed images. And if I just looked at the JOOC's I would have realized that in a lot of instances there wasn't much, if any editing that should be done. In too many cases I have just realized I made the images worse. Too over exposed, too much contrast, etc, etc. I had it my mind that I always need to 'give it some pop' (that dreaded word) making the image unrealistic. In doing so I realized I lost a lot of the sharpness in my bird photos. Returning to those images and comparing to the originals almost wants to make me cry because I realized all the work I put in was unnecessary and just little adjustment would have been fine.
At the beginning I could have made the excuse that the monitor I was using wasn't calibrated but the last month and a half I don't have that excuse. Although they are better still over processed in general.

Is this something a lot of newbies go through? I have to try and hold back to much editing and give the JOOC images a chance and not try to improve something that already looks good.

Dont sweat it.

You will eventually get your own levels of processing. You will also find that different pics need more or less processing depending on composition, lighting or when YOU think that over processing gets the image closer to what YOU think it should look like.

The important thing is to have a look at what other people are doing and make your own mind up about how YOU think the image should have been processed.

For the record, I have no limits on levels of processing. I dont like to be limited by any philosophy that robs me of the freedom to process how I think it should be done. I have been branded a heretic (not on this forum) by some photographers for mixing 3D imagery and photography and yet I still manage to sleep at night.

I dont use RAW files either!

Enjoy the photography.

 

[BrentC]

Thanks guys!

 

[pendennis]

It's called "the learning curve". We all tend to overthink the process at first. It's part of our crusade, if you will, for the "perfect image" (tell me when you find it). It's also part of our inner critic, which believes nothing is good enough; just one more tweak, contrast increase/decrease, sharpening, etc. It provides us with the "step back" we need.

You're indeed, fortunate to operate in the digital age. When I started in the film era, I shot rolls and rolls of transparency and print film, spent hours in the dark room and on the slide sorter, seeking the ideal image for that particular effort. Like everything, it's a compromise between contrast, highlights, shadow detail, etc.

In film, compromise was everywhere, no matter the medium. Now, with digital, I can choose how much shadow, highlights, etc., I want to edit. The algorithms are ingenious.

I bought a scanner, and reedited some scanned negatives and transparencies. What a difference! Compromises in printing have disappeared in many instances.

The forethought you've shown in keeping the "originals" is very admirable.

 

[fmw]

If you get it right in the camera, there is less need for post production.

 

[407370]

If you get it right in the camera, there is less need for post production.

See this is what I am referring to by "philosophy". Implicit in the suggestion is that all photographs can be near perfect in the camera. I would respectfully refute that.
Whereas I could post a lot of pics that I have taken that SOOC was good enough for me I also can post a gazillion photographs that I have taken with a specific processing technique in mind while I was taking the photograph. No matter how well I capture an image "in camera" my creative juices get flowing when I have access to an unlimited number of processes that could affect the final outcome.

One fine example is posted below. This was a pic taken with the single purpose of creating a baseline for the end result. I added several bits of several pics together to get the dolls face I was looking for:

As Morpheus would say "Free your mind"

 

[greybeard]

Photography is a wonderful journey and you will be learning something new until the day you die or loose interest. Lucky for me, I've been hooked since 1977 with no sign of burning out yet.

 

[fmw]

If you get it right in the camera, there is less need for post production.

See this is what I am referring to by "philosophy". Implicit in the suggestion is that all photographs can be near perfect in the camera. I would respectfully refute that.

I didn't say anything about perfection. I said that, if you get it right in the camera, everything falls into place more easily. That is just as true with the red faced girl as it is with any other subject.

 

[nickgillespie]

You've only wasted 3 months? I don't even want to think of the years that I spent fiddling with lr and capture one. Editing is the bane of my existence.

What I can suggest is to have a reference image open (one from you or someone else that you have long deemed perfect), next to your image you're editing, so you can quickly compare everything. It makes it much easier to see color, contrast, wb, etc. I wish I would have learned that tip 10 years ago.

 

[BrentC]

You've only wasted 3 months? I don't even want to think of the years that I spent fiddling with lr and capture one. Editing is the bane of my existence.

What I can suggest is to have a reference image open (one from you or someone else that you have long deemed perfect), next to your image you're editing, so you can quickly compare everything. It makes it much easier to see color, contrast, wb, etc. I wish I would have learned that tip 10 years ago.

My biggest problem was that I used LR right from the beginning. I was shooting raw + jpg but when importing into LR I was only seeing the raw. So I wasn't even comparing it to the jpg. Now I have it set so I see the jpg and raw and I have found in my latest shooting that there was very little if at all any processing to be done. I think the only post processing I have done lately is cropping and the odd exposure adjusting when I have over or under exposed. Obviously that wont always be the case but I am realizing that more often then not, if I get my settings right, no processing is needed.

 

[nickgillespie]

You've only wasted 3 months? I don't even want to think of the years that I spent fiddling with lr and capture one. Editing is the bane of my existence.

What I can suggest is to have a reference image open (one from you or someone else that you have long deemed perfect), next to your image you're editing, so you can quickly compare everything. It makes it much easier to see color, contrast, wb, etc. I wish I would have learned that tip 10 years ago.

My biggest problem was that I used LR right from the beginning. I was shooting raw + jpg but when importing into LR I was only seeing the raw. So I wasn't even comparing it to the jpg. Now I have it set so I see the jpg and raw and I have found in my latest shooting that there was very little if at all any processing to be done. I think the only post processing I have done lately is cropping and the odd exposure adjusting when I have over or under exposed. Obviously that wont always be the case but I am realizing that more often then not, if I get my settings right, no processing is needed.

That's great, but I meant that I take other shots (from the past... or from another photographers) and compare my image to that one. I choose photos that I'd hang on my wall... ones that I think are perfect and compare my edit to that.

You're right, though. Generally, less is more.