Notice : On editing other peoples photos on the forum

Overread · Sep 17, 2010

When editing another persons photo on the forum not only should you check if you are allowed to (by the editing notice in the persons profile - unless they mention differently in the thread) but also you should take the time to explain your edit.

Too often we see people say something along the line of " I got this in photoshop" and then they post up their version of the photo with their editing - however they make no effort to explain what they have done to the photo. This makes for poor communication and also means that the original poster often cannot get out of that photo enough to fully recreate the same effect themselves.

Therefore the responsibility is on yourself to take the time to mention the editing software you used; the stages and processes that you used; the values and outlines for the settings etc...

For example:

"I boosted contrast and lowered saturation"
Is a start, but its still very vague as to what you have actually done.

"I boosted contrast by 10 and lowered the master saturation by 3 in photoshop"
Now we are getting somewhere - you've given ideas of values and the software used so that the original photographer now has some idea as to what you have done to their shot to get your edit.

From there you can of course get more technical with edits - outlining the details of layermasks you might have used; describing the changes to the curves that you performed; going over the rough order of process that you did etc.....

This might sound like a lot of input, but if you are taking your time to edit a shot to help another person then its foolish to do so without also taking the time to explain your choices and your editing.

Sharfy · Sep 17, 2010

Overread said:
When editing another persons photo on the forum not only should you check if you are allowed to (by the editing notice in the persons profile - unless they mention differently in the thread) but also you should take the time to explain your edit.

Too often we see people say something along the line of " I got this in photoshop" and then they post up their version of the photo with their editing - however they make no effort to explain what they have done to the photo. This makes for poor communication and also means that the original poster often cannot get out of that photo enough to fully recreate the same effect themselves.

Therefore the responsibility is on yourself to take the time to mention the editing software you used; the stages and processes that you used; the values and outlines for the settings etc...

For example:

"I boosted contrast and lowered saturation"
Is a start, but its still very vague as to what you have actually done.

"I boosted contrast by 10 and lowered the master saturation by 3 in photoshop"
Now we are getting somewhere - you've given ideas of values and the software used so that the original photographer now has some idea as to what you have done to their shot to get your edit.

From there you can of course get more technical with edits - outlining the details of layermasks you might have used; describing the changes to the curves that you performed; going over the rough order of process that you did etc.....

This might sound like a lot of input, but if you are taking your time to edit a shot to help another person then its foolish to do so without also taking the time to explain your choices and your editing.

I love the idea it will help us a lot newbies

THANKS MUCH for voicing out this!

UUilliam · Sep 17, 2010

I don't think people need the exact values, often, I do not use exact values, I just click and drag until i get what I am looking for, therefore I just say
"Edited Levels by pulling the points into the "mountain" and adjusting the middle tone" that should be enough for anyone with a bit of editing experience

Overread · Sep 17, 2010

True sometimes that is the case, but I think that a rough ballpark value can help at times since "I boosted contrast by a little" can mean very different things to different people.

ann · Sep 17, 2010

if your using PS, and check the history it will give you the specific numbers and steps used

AgentDrex · Sep 17, 2010

I am one of those this thread is aimed at. I'd like to officially apologize for not doing so and promise to be attentive to this matter in the future. Thank you for the heads-up!

skieur · Sep 17, 2010

I would also suggest that the poster should use the srgb colour space, so that everyone is seeing the same level of brightness/gamma/contrast etc. Images that seem underexposed with poor contrast, often have embedded Photoshop RGB colour space instead of srgb. The result is that the poster may not see the visual problems but the people critiquing often will.

skieur

Mustlovedragons · Sep 17, 2010

Im new here and haven't been giving info. Sorry. I just assumed (and we know what that does) that people ask for it, then just copy the result they want and put it on their computer. It never crossed my mind someone wanted to do it themselves to get that same result. I just thought if a person had a question about the "how", they would send a PM and ask. Sorry for my laxity.

skieur · Sep 17, 2010

Mustlovedragons said:
Im new here and haven't been giving I just thought if a person had a question about the "how", they would send a PM and ask. Sorry for my laxity.

A valid point. Another view is that detailing the "how" is a waste of time, if the poster does not indicate an interest or any indication that he/she likes the result of the edit. Moreover specifics are less relevant, if a plug-in has been used with defaults and sliders, but no values.

skieur

Taylor510ce · Sep 17, 2010

First off, I agree with your post overall. I have been guilty of this before. Often times though I edit and wait for a response. If the OP hates my results, why waste my time posting a bunch of stuff? It is the responsibility of the OP to ask about the settings should they see something they like. As for exact settings, I am not going to sit with a notepad jotting down every value. I will give the tools used and the workflow order, and as rough of values as I can give. There is a plethora of online references to learn how to use said tools. If I say, I dodged the subject in the midtones, and the OP doesnt know what dodging is, either speak up, or google it up. While I encourage everyone to help as much as needed and not try to play their cards to the chest, ultimately I am not the one asking for help. If you require more info, just ask. I think its our responsibility as helpers to give as much info as we have without scoffing at people though.

pbelarge · Sep 17, 2010

skieur said:
A valid point. Another view is that detailing the "how" is a waste of time, if the poster does not indicate an interest or any indication that he/she likes the result of the edit. Moreover specifics are less relevant, if a plug-in has been used with defaults and sliders, but no values.

skieur

This may be true, but there are others lurking who are interested in what process/values were used.

Taylor510ce · Sep 17, 2010

I will add though, that the extreme version of this is annoying and I can think of one person who is notorious for doing this.

OP - " a few pics, not sure if I like them or not"

Responder - " here is what I got"

First, they didnt even ASK for an edit, and second, you didnt even try to help in the slightest sense. To me, thats just the show offs, but typically those are the most pathetic edits anyway, so I just laugh, although it probably hurst the forum in the long run.

Taylor510ce · Sep 17, 2010

pbelarge said:
skieur said:

A valid point. Another view is that detailing the "how" is a waste of time, if the poster does not indicate an interest or any indication that he/she likes the result of the edit. Moreover specifics are less relevant, if a plug-in has been used with defaults and sliders, but no values.

skieur

Click to expand...

This may be true, but there are others lurking who are interested in what process/values were used.

Dont lurk then. You want the benfits of the forum without being an activeparticipant. Why should you be rewarded? ( I mean you in a general sense ). Takes two seconds to inquire, should you find the need.