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

[marp]

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

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

Thank you very much for your help. You actually saw more details in the photo than I saw. And made good use of them. I think I should pay more attention to details.
Also, I am not good in using those local tweaks, but now I see, I'll have to learn it.
Thank you for showing me the right way.

 

[Jeffro]

I was one of the first to post in here would it be ok for me to post another Photo?

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

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

Peter

Great photo Peter !

good

-great timing
-great comp (nice curves that leads the eye nicely)
-the right choice for black and white (lots of textures)
-good black and white treatment
-exposure is right on
-very good highlight control
-great DOF

nit

-the bright white patches in the MG are a bit of a distraction
-the pole has a slight tilt to the left (could be natural)

tweak

-straightened the photo but lost some of the crop but I think it is
worth it

-lightened (dodge) the sign
-lightened (dodge) the shadow under the overhang

-added a tad of global USM (sharpening) to get over the AA filter
-no contrast boost needed

-healed out the two bright white spots in the MG

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[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.

No problem, I am glad I coud help.

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.

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

Thank you very much for your help. You actually saw more details in the photo than I saw. And made good use of them. I think I should pay more attention to details.
Also, I am not good in using those local tweaks, but now I see, I'll have to learn it.
Thank you for showing me the right way.

No problem, I am glad I could help. That is half the battle in pp,
is "seeing" the details in the first place then using the different pp
tools to enhance and bring the elements out.

That same "seeing" in pp will help you out in the field when you are
taking photos and looking for subjects to capture. Just keep practicing the
"seeing" of details part and your photographic eye will start to develop
over time.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

I was one of the first to post in here would it be ok for me to post another Photo?

Hi Jeffro

I tell you what if this thread slows down and goes to page 2 in the forum then by all means
post your second photo as I would gladly c&c your
work for you. But I want to try to avoid double photo post just to keep
is fare and give everyone a chance at a c&c. Thanks

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Opher]

Hello i am a youth leader at my church and take many photos. This is one i wish had turned out better. It was before i started educating my self on photography. Cant seem to make it look better myself so i come to you. (my old camera had a dead pixel on the sensor that is the dot on her face)

(I give an explicit permission to "Dwayne Oakes" to edit this photo)

 

[Yemme]

Hi Mr. Oakes

Is it at all possible for you to edit these images or just one if you can for this person.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/landscape-cityscape/173591-great-wall.html#post1671417

I'll post letting him know I posted for him and if he agrees I guess he'll post in here.

I just want him to get in in before your thread is over with.

Thanks
Bye

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

Hi Mr. Oakes

Is it at all possible for you to edit these images or just one if you can for this person.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/landscape-cityscape/173591-great-wall.html#post1671417

I'll post letting him know I posted for him and if he agrees I guess he'll post in here.

I just want him to get in in before your thread is over with.

Thanks
Bye

No problem Yemme I would be glad to c&c his work. Tell him to come
over and post in this thread. One photo only, his choice which one.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Goontz]

Hi Dwayne,
Like I mentioned in my original thread, this was taken several years ago with just a simple point and shoot film camera. At the time I had no interest or knowledge in photography or composition but even still this shot stands out to me for some reason. I now know it's a little overexposed and could be helped a lot in PP, I have just never had any interest to do so until I came across these pictures while looking through old folders the other day. I'm sure your touch will improve it greatly.

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

Hello i am a youth leader at my church and take many photos. This is one i wish had turned out better. It was before i started educating my self on photography. Cant seem to make it look better myself so i come to you. (my old camera had a dead pixel on the sensor that is the dot on her face)

(I give an explicit permission to "Dwayne Oakes" to edit this photo)

good

-the focus is right on
-WB (white balance) looks good for (what looks like flourescent lamps)
-exposure is right on
-good DOF

nit

-red-eye from flash
-photo is busy
-comp would be better in portrait orientation (vertical crop)
-photo has a slight tilt to the left when placed on a grid
-photo is noisy

tweak

-used red-eye control points in Nikon NX2 to reduce the red-eye
-straightened the photo

-cropped the photo tighter to get rid of the clutter and put the photo in
portrait orientation

-put the photo through NR software
-lightened (dodge) the shadow on the left side of model's face

-added a tad of selective soft-focus (gaussian blur) to just
the model's face

-added a tad of selective color saturation to just the model's face to
warm the skin tones

-added a tad of global contrast boost

-added a tad of selective USM (sharpening) to just the model's eyes,
lips and hair

-healed out any blemishes on the model's face and the stray camera

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

Hi Dwayne,
Like I mentioned in my original thread, this was taken several years ago with just a simple point and shoot film camera. At the time I had no interest or knowledge in photography or composition but even still this shot stands out to me for some reason. I now know it's a little overexposed and could be helped a lot in PP, I have just never had any interest to do so until I came across these pictures while looking through old folders the other day. I'm sure your touch will improve it greatly.

good

-great place
-great comp (tower placed to 1/3 rule)
-nice natural colors
-good DOF

nit

-low quality photo (understandable) the type of camera used

tweak

-went with orton-effect on this one since the photo is to soft anyway
(personal choice) see the second post on how to get the orton look

-desaturated the colors (personal choice)
-added a tad of selective USM (sharpening) to all of the wall and tower

-added a tad of global contrast boost
-added a tad of selective color saturation to the persons shirt in
the FG lower left

-put the photo through NR software (more for soft effect)

-darkened (burn) the top left BG a tad
-healed out the white spots in the bottom left corner

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Timothy]

hey,

here is one i took, i think it looks alright, just needs to be jazzed up a bit i think

i hope it works

 

[Opher]

good

-the focus is right on
-WB (white balance) looks good for (what looks like flourescent lamps)
-exposure is right on
-good DOF

nit

-red-eye from flash
-photo is busy
-comp would be better in portrait orientation (vertical crop)
-photo has a slight tilt to the left when placed on a grid
-photo is noisy

tweak

-used red-eye control points in Nikon NX2 to reduce the red-eye
-straightened the photo

-cropped the photo tighter to get rid of the clutter and put the photo in
portrait orientation

-put the photo through NR software
-lightened (dodge) the shadow on the left side of model's face

-added a tad of selective soft-focus (gaussian blur) to just
the model's face

-added a tad of selective color saturation to just the model's face to
warm the skin tones

-added a tad of global contrast boost

-added a tad of selective USM (sharpening) to just the model's eyes,
lips and hair

-healed out any blemishes on the model's face and the stray camera

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Thank you it looks great. Do you mind if i ask what software you use?

 

[Jeffro]

Ok Dwayne but I am kinda excited about another one and want to know what you think!!!

I will be patient!