I will c&c your work for you, beginners welcomed.

[Dwayne Oakes]

I don't want to troll this thread but boy the tiger photo has to be the most depressing and sad image i have seen in a long time. The way they are cornered agaist that cement wall is just heartbreaking, no offense to who took the picture but this is the way i feel when i look at it, i mean, poor things, they look SOO bored and unhappy..

Peter

I got more of a cute and beautiful take from this photo. But I guess thats
the nature of perception, eveyones is different. Who knows what they are
feeling at that moment, for all we know it is just nap time.

That said I am not a big fan of zoos. I understand the benefits of zoos,
employment, zoology study, public viewing of rare animals, endangered
species saving etc.

I believe most of the time zoo animals are well cared for and there keepers
adore them. The issue for me is not the living conditions but the fact that
each animal has been created to play a role in the natural world, to keep a
balance if you will and when they are in zoos there are not fulfilling there role
on the planet for which they were created for (a purpose).

Those stripes on the tiger were created for a reason, the hearing
of the tiger, 5 times greater than a human for a reason. The other issue
for me is in my opinion zoos are like a band aid for endagered speices
and we are not getting to the root of the problem which is habitat loss.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Mazzarooney]

I don't want to troll this thread but boy the tiger photo has to be the most depressing and sad image i have seen in a long time. The way they are cornered agaist that cement wall is just heartbreaking, no offense to who took the picture but this is the way i feel when i look at it, i mean, poor things, they look SOO bored and unhappy..

Peter

I have lots of shots previous to this one where they were playing, then they went over to Mum for a cuddle and fell asleep.

 

[Mazzarooney]

I am just starting out and would love to learn a few things. This photo was taken at a park and I was obviously behind glass!!! What can I do to enhance this image?

Taken with a SONY DSLR A200
On Auto, F/5.6 ISO 400

Do you need any more info?

Nope I am good on the info, but thanks.

good

-amazing animals
-great comp
-great capture

nit

-white and black point not set (still room left on the histogram)
-photo is flat (lacks contrast)
-photo lacks color vibrance
-photo is a tad noisy

tweak

-set the black and white points off the tigers stripes
-added a tad of global contrast boost

-added selective color saturation to just the orange fur of all the tigers
and the moss on the wall and moss on the rock in the FG

-put the photo through NR software
-added a tad of selective USM (sharpening) to all of the tigers faces and
to the rock in center FG

-healed out all the brick mortar and steel channel on the wall (left)
-healed out some stray grass in the bottom right corner

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

WOW!!! You are the man!! Thanks so much, looks like I have opened a can of worms with this shot!!!!!

Please could you give me some advice on which software you would recommend.

Many thanks

 

[Annamas]

I love the colours in this photo, and it's been critiqued on the beginner boards. Love to see what you could do with it.

Not sure how many photo's your up to, but if you've reached your limit, thats cool and I understand completly.

Thanks again for anything you can teach me.

 

[Shetland-Kat]

Thanks very much!! What you have done on all the photos is very impressive!!! I have adope photoshop CS - could i have done what you did by myself? I guess if i google the techniques you mentioned then i can try to work it out myself?? I am eager to improve my shots. I have many that you might call 'flat' and i dont really know how to improve them. What you did with the tigers was amazing! I see what you mean about the curve - that line in the rocks is usually straight? Is there anyway i can make it straight again???

Thanks so much for taking the time to help us!!!
Kat

I think i understand now. I would love to see what you do with this. I am extremely new to it all and have just started experimenting with photoshop CS.

Looking forward to seeing what you do!!
Kat

Hi Kat,

Great seascape !

good

-amazing place
-great comp (1/3 rule,sky vs land)
-nice color (blues) and contrast
-low noise and no sensor dust

nit

-lens barrel distortion (cuvre in the horizon) typical at wideangle
-photo has a slight tilt to the left when placed on a grid
-dark shadow (rockface)

tweak

-used lens distortion tool to fix the curve in the horizon
-straightened the photo

-lightened (dodge) the shadow in the rockface

-added selective color saturation to just the orange iron deposits
in the rockface, grass on top of the rockface flat and the little
turquesa color area in the sea in the bottom left corner

-added a tad of global contrast boost
-added a tad global USM (sharpening) to get over the AA filter

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Peter_pan91]

I have lots of shots previous to this one where they were playing, then they went over to Mum for a cuddle and fell asleep.

Like i said, this is what i get from this singular picture, it is very personal and subjective,i am not criticizing the photographer, i justed wanted to point out my opinion.

take care,


peter

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

Thanks very much!! What you have done on all the photos is very impressive!!! I have adope photoshop CS - could i have done what you did by myself? I guess if i google the techniques you mentioned then i can try to work it out myself?? I am eager to improve my shots. I have many that you might call 'flat' and i dont really know how to improve them. What you did with the tigers was amazing! I see what you mean about the curve - that line in the rocks is usually straight? Is there anyway i can make it straight again???

Thanks so much for taking the time to help us!!!
Kat

I think i understand now. I would love to see what you do with this. I am extremely new to it all and have just started experimenting with photoshop CS.

Looking forward to seeing what you do!!
Kat

Hi Kat,

Great seascape !

good

-amazing place
-great comp (1/3 rule,sky vs land)
-nice color (blues) and contrast
-low noise and no sensor dust

nit

-lens barrel distortion (cuvre in the horizon) typical at wideangle
-photo has a slight tilt to the left when placed on a grid
-dark shadow (rockface)

tweak

-used lens distortion tool to fix the curve in the horizon
-straightened the photo

-lightened (dodge) the shadow in the rockface

-added selective color saturation to just the orange iron deposits
in the rockface, grass on top of the rockface flat and the little
turquesa color area in the sea in the bottom left corner

-added a tad of global contrast boost
-added a tad global USM (sharpening) to get over the AA filter

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Hi Kat,

Thank you very much for the kind words !

For sure you can do your these tweaks your self ! PS CS will do all these
tweaks no problem. But your are right if there is any terms you are not
familiar with just google them lots of info on all these terms and how to
use them (tutorials)

Learn the terms in step form or one at a time. Then go into your help
section menu in your software to find out how to use each tool. Practice
that tool untill you get good at using it on your photos then move on to
the next term etc. So here is a list of terms for study that are used most.

-cropping tool and cropping tighter to get rid of clutter
-1/3 rule compositions
-setting the black and white points
-histogram (exposures)
-clipped highlights
-straightening photo tool with the aid of a grid (also camera grid)
-fixing lens barrel distortion
-using levels and curves
-global vs local (selective) adjustment editing
-dodge and burn (very powerful technique)
-color saturation and contrast adjustments
-healing out or cloning out
-USM (sharpening) and artifacts
-U-point technology for Nikon users
-white balance
-color cast problems
-EXIF data
-jpeg, TIFF and RAW file formats
-digital noise and third party NR software

That should keep everyone busy for awhlie. Remember don't let all this
overwhelm you. Take one term at a time learn and practice it untill you
get good at it then move on to the next.

PS If you are shooting at 18mm try shooting at 24mm in the field. You
will loose some wideangle but it should fix the lens barrel distortion Kat.
Everything in photography is a trade off.

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

I have lots of shots previous to this one where they were playing, then they went over to Mum for a cuddle and fell asleep.

Like i said, this is what i get from this singular picture, it is very personal and subjective,i am not criticizing the photographer, i justed wanted to point out my opinion.

take care,


peter

No problem Peter, at the end of the day I think most of us would rather
see the big cats stay in the wild. Back to editing.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

I am just starting out and would love to learn a few things. This photo was taken at a park and I was obviously behind glass!!! What can I do to enhance this image?

Taken with a SONY DSLR A200
On Auto, F/5.6 ISO 400

Do you need any more info?

Nope I am good on the info, but thanks.

good

-amazing animals
-great comp
-great capture

nit

-white and black point not set (still room left on the histogram)
-photo is flat (lacks contrast)
-photo lacks color vibrance
-photo is a tad noisy

tweak

-set the black and white points off the tigers stripes
-added a tad of global contrast boost

-added selective color saturation to just the orange fur of all the tigers
and the moss on the wall and moss on the rock in the FG

-put the photo through NR software
-added a tad of selective USM (sharpening) to all of the tigers faces and
to the rock in center FG

-healed out all the brick mortar and steel channel on the wall (left)
-healed out some stray grass in the bottom right corner

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

WOW!!! You are the man!! Thanks so much, looks like I have opened a can of worms with this shot!!!!!

Please could you give me some advice on which software you would recommend.

Many thanks

For beginners, I still think this software is the best bang for your buck.
Then if you decide you like photography and are going to stay with
it long term you can purchase the more expensive software on the
market in the future.

This software will just about do any tweak.

PhotoImpact X3 - Photo Editing

For Nikon users Nikon Capture NX2 wins hands down because of the
U-point technology (simple one click tweaks) and the NEF (Raw) file format
Nikon uses in there DSLR cameras go together and works very well.

Nikon | Imaging Products | CaptureNX2

Hope this helps.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

Hi, I really like your PP and wonder, what you can do with this one. It is straight out of the camera.

I tried some PP myself and ended up with this.

Thank you very much for your help and suggestions.

good

-cool capture (freeze motion)
-great duck and feather pattern
-exposure is right on
-very good detail (feathers)
-nice natural colors (first version)
-good contrast

nit

-the comp (subject is on center)

-in your second version, healing out the stray grass might be a bit
better option than cropping it out, there are some great elements in this
photo, the underwater rock etc, other than that a very good capture

Here are some tweaks that might spruce the photo up a bit.

-cropped the photo so subject is placed off center

-darkened the photo using the midtone slider in (levels) so the
(dodge) areas will stand out more

-desaturated the colors as darkening the photo will put the colors over

-lightened (dodge) some parts of the water
-lightened (dodge) the underwater rock
-lightened (dodge) the little single splash of water behind the duck
-lightened (dodge) the white spot on the tail feather
-lightened (dodge) the duck itself

-added selective color saturation to the green moss on the wall
and green area in the water in the bottom left

-added selective USM (sharpening) to just the feather area and
underwater rock

-healed out all the stray grass

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

I'd like to see what you can do with the one below. I really struggle with getting good landscapes and always seem to overedit them.....not sure how to get around that. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this shot as well as how you'd edit it....I've posted the SOOC version for you.

good

-very nice comp
-cool FG
-exposure is right on
-good DOF
-nice natural colors
-good contrast

nit

-FG could be enhanced a tad to bring out the underwater grass
-photo is a tad soft
-stray leaves in top left corner could be healed out

tweak

-used the (selection gradient tool) in Nikon NX2 it is kind of like a digital
neutral desity filter and selected the lower half of the photo, used the
midtone slider in (levels) to darken just the lower half of the photo (water)

-used selective color saturation to just the underwater grass
-used selective color saturation to just the yellow leaves in the far right

-darkened (burn) the large tree trunk in the top left
-added a tad of global USM (shparpening) to get over the AA filter

-healed out the stray leaves in the top left

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

I love the colours in this photo, and it's been critiqued on the beginner boards. Love to see what you could do with it.

Not sure how many photo's your up to, but if you've reached your limit, thats cool and I understand completly.

Thanks again for anything you can teach me.

A technically flawless photo ! No nits or pp needed. Great Job !

PS This is a great example of the 1/3 rule comp does not work for
every photo. The 50/50 comp works the best here.

Thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

I think last rough count is 15 c&c done. Lot of c&c spots left (20) if
anyone is interested.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Peter_pan91]

Might as well, here is another photo for wich i have mixed feelings, i'm missing something:

Peter

 

[Mazzarooney]

Nope I am good on the info, but thanks.

good

-amazing animals
-great comp
-great capture

nit

-white and black point not set (still room left on the histogram)
-photo is flat (lacks contrast)
-photo lacks color vibrance
-photo is a tad noisy

tweak

-set the black and white points off the tigers stripes
-added a tad of global contrast boost

-added selective color saturation to just the orange fur of all the tigers
and the moss on the wall and moss on the rock in the FG

-put the photo through NR software
-added a tad of selective USM (sharpening) to all of the tigers faces and
to the rock in center FG

-healed out all the brick mortar and steel channel on the wall (left)
-healed out some stray grass in the bottom right corner

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

WOW!!! You are the man!! Thanks so much, looks like I have opened a can of worms with this shot!!!!!

Please could you give me some advice on which software you would recommend.

Many thanks

For beginners, I still think this software is the best bang for your buck.
Then if you decide you like photography and are going to stay with
it long term you can purchase the more expensive software on the
market in the future.

This software will just about do any tweak.

PhotoImpact X3 - Photo Editing

For Nikon users Nikon Capture NX2 wins hands down because of the
U-point technology (simple one click tweaks) and the NEF (Raw) file format
Nikon uses in there DSLR cameras go together and works very well.

Nikon | Imaging Products | CaptureNX2

Hope this helps.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Thanks for the advice.