How to make a picture pop?

[wet]

I am new to photography. I always ask myself how do people take such good pictures.

Q1. I was wondering how do you make a picture pop? I saw a lot of picture, they are so rich with color. How do you do that? My sky is never that blue. Do you use filters etc to make you picture pop or do you use digital software to alter your pictures?

Q2. How do you get sharp, rich & vivid picture when taking shooting under the bright sun? I tried polarizer, 0.6 ND & flash fill, doesn't seems to be effective under the mid afternoon sun.

Q3. It is a sin to digitally post processed your picture?

Thanks.

 

[scooter916]

very nice i was also wondering i am 13 and love to take pics of me and my friends at the skate park for are team i need a very good beginner camera and a good price that is reasonable for my budget around 250 300 or maybe a little more

 

[blue9993]

It makes a lot of difference when you use filters and after that, the photo can be enhanced using a digital software. Post processing is definitely acceptable. I tried to edit your photo... See the difference

 

[Sherman Banks]

I am new to photography. I always ask myself how do people take such good pictures.

Q1. I was wondering how do you make a picture pop? I saw a lot of picture, they are so rich with color. How do you do that? My sky is never that blue. Do you use filters etc to make you picture pop or do you use digital software to alter your pictures?

Q2. How do you get sharp, rich & vivid picture when taking shooting under the bright sun? I tried polarizer, 0.6 ND & flash fill, doesn't seems to be effective under the mid afternoon sun.

Q3. It is a sin to digitally post processed your picture?

Thanks.

Think of post processing your photo like treating film in a darkroom. In PP you can tweak your photo to your liking just like somebody developing film and printing pictures. There are those who choose to do as little PP as possible (if any), and there are those who like to do extreme amounts of changes to the photo. In the end, it's all up to you, and the end result is all that matters.

If you want your colors more live, adjust the saturation of the photo as well as the contrast. Using a simple curves adjustment in photoshop can work wonders on a photo. There are numerous other things you can do but these are usually the easiest and most effective.

 

[Sherman Banks]

very nice i was also wondering i am 13 and love to take pics of me and my friends at the skate park for are team i need a very good beginner camera and a good price that is reasonable for my budget around 250 300 or maybe a little more

??? This doesn't have anything to do with the OP's questions, but get a Canon XS or a Nikon D40 if you need a good camera on a budget.

 

[Markw]

Good luck scooter, stick with P&S for your budget (JMHO).

For the photo, levels, contrast, saturation, sharpen. As a general rule, use those in post and your picture will generally turn out much better.

Mark

 

[Dao]

Q1. I was wondering how do you make a picture pop? I saw a lot of picture, they are so rich with color. How do you do that? My sky is never that blue. Do you use filters etc to make you picture pop or do you use digital software to alter your pictures?

Q2. How do you get sharp, rich & vivid picture when taking shooting under the bright sun? I tried polarizer, 0.6 ND & flash fill, doesn't seems to be effective under the mid afternoon sun.

Q3. It is a sin to digitally post processed your picture?

Thanks.

A1. Same location but different time, filter such a CPL and of course Post processing (film or digital)

A2. It depends on the location. Sometimes, under the bright sun will result in harsh shadow. And if the object is large, you may just need to re-take the photo at a different time.

A3. Personally, I consider photography is an Art and the photos is the ark work. And it is nothing wrong in perfecting the art work.

 

[wet]

Thanks. Photoshop is pretty expensive, are there any cheaper or better still free software out there that I can use?

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Gimp

 

[Dao]

Gimp

Gimp is pretty good.

 

[DScience]

I like Aperture for macs and Lightroom for PC's for general editing programs. I use both as well as photoshop, but I think that if you want really good pictures that 'pop', it's mostly about capturing a really great shot. Post processing allows you to make a great shot, creative and personlized.

 

[teneighty23]

Scooter you called scooter cuz you own a scooter? i had a scooter when i was 14, best time of my life. anyways, i would try using a circ. polarizor, and try shooting with sidelighting, (tho i think yours is sidelit). or more away from the sun, the sky is always much darker away from the sun, plus try shooting more towards the morning/evening, thats the biggest difference between photos that are plain and ones that pop. good lighting is key.

 

[Josh220]

I like Aperture for macs and Lightroom for PC's for general editing programs. I use both as well as photoshop, but I think that if you want really good pictures that 'pop', it's mostly about capturing a really great shot. Post processing allows you to make a great shot, creative and personlized.

Which do you prefer?

 

[ann]

another piece of free software that will do quite a bit is photoscape

 

[wet]

Thanks for the feedback. Well, I drove to several locations & this picture is the least washout one from all the pictures I took. I guess maybe what make a good photographer is he/she always waits for the right hour to get the best light, right?

Back to my original question, if you cannot wait for the right time say you are a tourist & you only have only from noon to 3pm to be at this location, do you just give up not taking any picture or you use polarizer & then post process it? I recently was at Arches NP, I was so helpless. The sun was so bright & there is no shade. I kept asking myself how a experienced photographer would do it if he is under this 'harsh' situation? What kind of tricks under his sleeves that I am not aware of.

Also, do people make sure their pictures are 90% good & 10% post processing to make them perfect or 50%/50%.

Sorry for all these elementary questions.