Brightness

[ZERO]

Anyone care to judge which of these two copies has the better brightness level.


#1

#2

 

[ksmattfish]

#1 has better contrast (IMHO)

#2 doesn't seem to have any true black, and overall seems a little flat and low contrast.

Both have similar highlights. I'm looking at the lichen on the rocks. In both photos it's almost white with a hint of texture. To me this means that both are equally bright, it's just the shadows that are different. But I may not know the technical definition of "brightness".

 

[markc]

I like the top one, but I would dodge the lower right corner.

BTW, its best to set your levels first and use curves to adjust contrast instead of using brightness/contrast. It tends to loose information.

 

[ZERO]

thanks guys.
#2 is just a red herring really - i'm fixated with peoples monitor brightness
at the moment lol. after i made #1 i just adjusted brightness +20% in
'BRIGHTNESS CONTRAST' just to lighten it up, hence my topic
tagged "Brightness. I figured if (my preferred) #1 is said to be too dark,
people would maybe comment on #2 being not as dark...anyway..

so everyone's process, say ...for a scanned monochrome neg data

1 open TIFF.
2 fit to screen (black background) - crop any light edges.
3 (grey background) - crop any dark edges.
3 channel mix: monochrome, R+G+B balance.
*Save .PSD*
4 burn & dodge (undo + fade%).
5 adjust image size and or canvas size.
5 KPT equaliser. (undo+ fade%).
6 curves (which usually is just manually locating the cursor
near-as-dammit back on the central-point).

(7 with grainy exposures it can improve things a bit to use Apply Image
with modes: multiply , overlay, soft light - to a % degree).

any good reasons to rearrange or expand this sequence, are appreciated !

I find myself 'mixing down' my short listed images several times over
a series of days to discover what makes them what they are.

what im seeking is the very best process which i can develop to give
quality detail and finish with some inviduality of production, but within a
profitable and quantified turnaround time vis commercial projects.

I'm getting CDs of my negs to review. I work what i can into
somekind of offerable product. i dont want to churn things out as such,
but im trying my best to perfect and efficient and quality process which
allows me to prep 10-20 images in 6-8 hours.


:0)

 

[ZERO]

Lichens
yeah ,The sun was low opposite and behind me to the right. it's a winter sun situation with that cold high cloud.

I try not to bother with 'contrast' adjusters as such. It's too often used
a bit harshly.