I will c&c your work for you

[Dwayne Oakes]

I must say, I was a bit skeptical reading that initial post, Dwayne.

But the improvements you've made - along with your explanations - are quite impressive.

Good work.

Jon

Thank you very much for the comments Jon !! I am glad I can help.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

Here's mine. Thanks!

Jon

EDIT: What makes the electrical lines jagged? Over-sharpening?

good

-very interesting van
-very good comp (van placed off center)
-good detail
-low noise
-no sensor dust (sky)

nit

-photo is a tad flat on color and contrast (due to the harsh light)
-background is a bit uninteresting (hydro poles etc)

tweak

(personal preference) I went with HDR on this one, in my opinion
HDR excells at showing old cars and old buildings, plus HDR will add
a bit more to the unintersting background

-made two more photos from your photo, a darker one and a lighter one
using the brightness slider then saving them as a new photo

-put the three different exposure photos through HDR software

-added selective contrast boost to just the front grill on the van

PS I added a little Orton-effect with a new repost so the HDR is easyer on the eyes.

orton effect

1-set midtone (levels) slider so photo goes brighter
2-apply some gaussian blur so photo goes out of focus
3-go into to blending mode and select (multiply)
4-readjust levels sliders if needed

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[farmerj]

Thanks, it looks nice. :thumbup:

 

[Jon_Are]

So...does anyone know what caused my electrical lines to be all jaggedy in my van photo?

Jon

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

So...does anyone know what caused my electrical lines to be all jaggedy in my van photo?

Jon

Hi Jon,

A couple of things can cause this,

1-camera is set on low resolution, try setting camera on the largest file
size and set to JPEG FINE if you are shooting in jpeg

2-(save as) setting in your editing software is set to a low quality
setting, make sure this setting is set to 100% highest quality

3-make a print and see if it still shows up, if it does not show up in
print then you graphics card (Antilaising Filter) setting may be turned off
if so equipped and you are just seeing this effect on your LCD screen
and is not from your camera

4-over sharpening may not cause this but it can sure make it worse

Hope this helps.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Harris]

Well, this is by far my favorite photo, unfortunately for obvious reasons it was hastily done with a point and shoot, but would love some C&C and am interested in seeing what could be done with PP.

 

[Jon_Are]

2-(save as) setting in your editing software is set to a low quality
setting, make sure this setting is set to 100% highest quality

This is the cause in my case. I set it to a low-quality JPEG in order to easily post online.

My JPEG options range from 0-12...what is the minimum setting that will guarantee best online viewing yet not be overkill?

Thanks again,

Jon

 

[Sachphotography]

Does Jpeg Fine produce a better picture than RAW? I shoot RAW.

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

2-(save as) setting in your editing software is set to a low quality
setting, make sure this setting is set to 100% highest quality

This is the cause in my case. I set it to a low-quality JPEG in order to easily post online.

My JPEG options range from 0-12...what is the minimum setting that will guarantee best online viewing yet not be overkill?

Thanks again,

Jon

I always keep my (save as) setting on the highest quality and never have
any problems, in your case that would be setting 12. It is very rare
I have to add jpeg compression and only would be needed if certain
web sites have very low file size restrictions but that is rare.

For web and emails just resize your photos in your editing software
to 750x500 and added a tad USM (sharpening) and you are good to go.
Just keep your (save as) setting at 12 all the time.

Also if you have a photo web hosting site, some will have automatic photo
resize links which makes it real easy.

Hope this helps.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

Does Jpeg Fine produce a better picture than RAW? I shoot RAW.

Thanks for the question. If your in-camera settings are set right and
your photography field skills are solid, You will get very good results
from shooting jpeg.

But the real question here is what software produces the better picture.
The camera's (firmware) vs the pc's editing (software). I produced some
of my 2007 portfolio using JPEG only and no pp so I have been on both
sides of the fence.

In my opinion the (firmware) in the camera falls short on the
tone curve (contrast) also getting the black and white points right and
is no match for shooting in RAW and using pc editing (software).

We have not even begun to get into the tools and touch up power
that editing software can produce (the sky's the limit).

In my opinion stick with RAW.

Hope this helps.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[davev78]

Hey Dwayne see what you can do with this.
Dead Horse Point, pretty much from camera.

I have my worked up (over saturated, so I've been told) version here: LINK

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

Well, this is by far my favorite photo, unfortunately for obvious reasons it was hastily done with a point and shoot, but would love some C&C and am interested in seeing what could be done with PP.

good

-would make a great newspaper story photo
-good comp, the reflective tape on the FF adds to the photo

nit

-photo is flat (lacks contrast)
-photo lacks color vibrance
-photo is noisy
-photo is underexposed
-date code is a bit of a distraction
-low resolution (camera setting) ?

tweak

-added a tad of global contrast boost
-added a tad of global color boost

-used whitepoint (levels) slider to brighten the photos highlights
-lightened the photo using the lightened slider to improve overall exposure

-lightened (dodge) more of the highlights
-healed out the date code
-put the photo through NR software

PS Tip, to get better resolution from that p&s camera model set camera's
file size to 3648X2736 FINE. At 10 megapixels that camera should be
producing better resolution photos even with the noise.

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Dylan-Fishman]

Shot in black and white on my old point and shoot. Still like the photo though. I know it's B&W so not much color PP you can do. Give it a shot.

Thanks,
<>Dylan<>

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

Hey Dwayne see what you can do with this.
Dead Horse Point, pretty much from camera.

I have my worked up (over saturated, so I've been told) version here: LINK

A classic place and breathtaking view for sure !

good

-great place
-great light (side lighting)
-great comp (1/3 rule land vs sky)
-exposure is right on
-great detail
-nice natural colors
-good DOF

nit

-the natural haze

tweak

-set whitepoint off one of the clouds to increase the sky's highlights
to get through the haze in the sky

-set the WB a tad warmer to get rid of some of the blue color cast

-placed a rectangle marquee tool through the center section of the
photo (horizontally) and added a tad of contrast boost and a tad of
USM (sharpening) to that rectangle section only to get through
the haze

-added selective color saturation to just the greens and some of the major rock faces and color glows in the water reflection

-lightened (dodge) the large shadows in the FG

-added a tad of selective USM (sharpening) to the far rock on the
right in the FG

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

Shot in black and white on my old point and shoot. Still like the photo though. I know it's B&W so not much color PP you can do. Give it a shot.

Thanks,
<>Dylan<>

good

-very good comp (candle placed off center)
-exposure is about right
-good contrast
-good DOF

nit

-the black and white choice (I am not sure if the bw works here,
this is subjective of course, bw usually excells in showing rough textures
and not much of that is going on here)

-photo is soft
-photo is noisy

tweak

-added a tad of sepia tone to warm up the photo (personal choice)
-added a tad of global USM (sharpening) to get over the AA filter
-put the photo through NR software

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes