Newbie PS question

yoshi900 · Apr 14, 2009

Hi all,

Just got my first Nikon (a used D70). I have a question about post processing of the photo in photoshop. Below is a picture that I took last week. As shot, it seems so plain and the color is not so good. Then I played around with it in photoshop (I'm new to photoshop too, so I just made whatever adjustment to make it look better to me. Probably still way off)

So my question is, is it normal to have to make adjustment to digital photo? Can the shot be made better in the first place?

As shot - ISO200, F7.1, 1/800s, 0EV, WB-auto

TheMightyGoat · Apr 14, 2009

Normal? It's normal to do whatever you want to do to the picture to make it come out the way you want it.

Some people like toying around in Photoshop and process most or all of their images. Some people process just for things like color and contrast correction. Some people process to achieve an abstract look that couldn't have come out of a camera.

Then there are the people who believe it's right to get the photo the way you want it out of the camera. Those people rarely edit their pictures in Photoshop.

So, in other words, it's up to you. There's no rule. Just start out with an idea in your head and do what you need to do to make it an image. My preference is to get what I can right in the camera. After that, if there's something that needs correction, I'm not shy about doing it in Photoshop. But there's no need to process images if they're already what you want.

Edit: Also, the changes you've made seem appropriate to me. The hills look better with the deeper color and a bit more black. Speaking of which, for that sort of adjustment (correcting colors, et cetera) I prefer Camera Raw to Photoshop, even if you're not shooting in raw format. Camera Raw has very intuitive controls for making global adjustments to an image, such as contrast, exposure, blacks, fill light, and even recovering some blown out highlights. It can also make some selective adjustments such as saturation to a specific color. Very handy program when you don't need to make the sort of selective modifications that Photoshop is good at.

Sherman Banks · Apr 14, 2009

You are not disobeying the God's of photography by editing your photos. As stated above, it's your creative freedom to do whatever you want to your photos. I would even push your edited photo a bit more, but that's just me. Do what you like and see what other people think of it.

Chairman7w · Apr 14, 2009

Well said, Sherm!

Sherman Banks said:
You are not disobeying the God's of photography by editing your photos. As stated above, it's your creative freedom to do whatever you want to your photos. I would even push your edited photo a bit more, but that's just me. Do what you like and see what other people think of it.

Derek Zoolander · Apr 14, 2009

i like the simpons-esque clouds.

jdwyer · Apr 14, 2009

i definitely prefer your second photo better. the colors are warmer and it is more visually appealing than the light colors of the original file. I saw good work. you've brought out a richness in your colors through your processing.
did you shoot this as a raw+jpef file or just jpeg?

Dwig · Apr 14, 2009

yoshi900 said:
... So my question is, is it normal to have to make adjustment to digital photo? ...

The word "digital" doesn't really belong in the question and yes, its normal to make alterations to basic "automatic" default appearance of an image, both film and digital. There is nothing that makes the default image "right". Its just one interpretation of the image data, not the only one.

yoshi900 · Apr 15, 2009

jdwyer said:
i definitely prefer your second photo better. the colors are warmer and it is more visually appealing than the light colors of the original file. I saw good work. you've brought out a richness in your colors through your processing.
did you shoot this as a raw+jpef file or just jpeg?

All shot in raw.

yoshi900 · Apr 15, 2009

Derek Zoolander said:
i like the simpons-esque clouds.

Yes! You've made my day.

I saw the cloud while driving and stopped to take the picture. That's exactly what I saw also, the beginning sequence of the simpsons.

It was a no parking zone, so I couldn't get a better view point. But the clouds came out pretty good in the picture.

revilo · Apr 15, 2009

I hope you don't mind, but I had a go at editing it to see how far I'd go, and mine is much more heavily edited than yours. It might be too much for some, but to me it looks about right.

First, I used levels to add some highlights and shadows (there's plenty of online tutorials for how to use the levels and curves tools), and then applied a slight "s-curve" with the curves tool, to lighten the light tones and darken the darker ones. Then I used the burn tool to darken the sky and the midtones in the clouds, as well as some of the foliage. Using the dodge tool, I brought out some of the highlights in the clouds. Then I used a slight unsharp mask, set to a radius of 1.5, threshold 1, amount 35% to sharpen the image a tad.

EDIT: my image doesn't appear to be working, so I'll just give you a link.
http://img242.imageshack.us/my.php?image=261fe1b1.jpg

AMG7 · Apr 15, 2009

revilo said:
I hope you don't mind, but I had a go at editing it to see how far I'd go, and mine is much more heavily edited than yours. It might be too much for some, but to me it looks about right.

First, I used levels to add some highlights and shadows (there's plenty of online tutorials for how to use the levels and curves tools), and then applied a slight "s-curve" with the curves tool, to lighten the light tones and darken the darker ones. Then I used the burn tool to darken the sky and the midtones in the clouds, as well as some of the foliage. Using the dodge tool, I brought out some of the highlights in the clouds. Then I used a slight unsharp mask, set to a radius of 1.5, threshold 1, amount 35% to sharpen the image a tad.

EDIT: my image doesn't appear to be working, so I'll just give you a link.
ImageShack - Image Hosting :: 261fe1b1.jpg

looking good, you can also use photo filters in photoshop to enhance the pictures

yoshi900 · Apr 15, 2009

revilo said:
I hope you don't mind, but I had a go at editing it to see how far I'd go, and mine is much more heavily edited than yours. It might be too much for some, but to me it looks about right.

First, I used levels to add some highlights and shadows (there's plenty of online tutorials for how to use the levels and curves tools), and then applied a slight "s-curve" with the curves tool, to lighten the light tones and darken the darker ones. Then I used the burn tool to darken the sky and the midtones in the clouds, as well as some of the foliage. Using the dodge tool, I brought out some of the highlights in the clouds. Then I used a slight unsharp mask, set to a radius of 1.5, threshold 1, amount 35% to sharpen the image a tad.

EDIT: my image doesn't appear to be working, so I'll just give you a link.
ImageShack - Image Hosting :: 261fe1b1.jpg

Thanks for the pointer.

Can anyone point me to an online tutorial that explains what all these adjustment tools means? I just move the adjustment slider around until it looks better.

Sherman Banks · Apr 15, 2009

yoshi900 said:
Can anyone point me to an online tutorial that explains what all these adjustment tools means? I just move the adjustment slider around until it looks better.

You would find the best results in a photoshop book, which they explain not only the meanings to the functions, but also when/where/how to use them. I'd recommend checking your local library or bookstore as there are numerous options.

Also, there are many videos on youtube explaining the various tools/functions in photoshop and many are good, although there are some pretty bad ones too.

revilo · Apr 15, 2009

Levels
Curves
Sharpening with unsharp masks

Dodge and burn tools are simply brush tools that lighten and darken, respectively, a certain area. After looking at my edit again, I'd say it was overdone, but you can certainly follow the same steps with a little less zealousness.