editing process

P
Posted By
Peter
Dec 29, 2005
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293
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3
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Hi all,

I’ve got a depressing dilemma with my photographs, not the shot itself but after editing it lacks for a better word pizzazz. I came to this conclusion when I recently looked at a shot from a pro photographer. I’m an amateur but I feel I’ve been making significant gains…..anyways, when I process most images I perform basic corrections for exposure and color, now I use levels for exposure and in colors mostly hue/saturation to remove or add reds (skin tones). I then edit for blemishes and finalize all with an unsharp mask.

I feel that looking at other images there is enhancement with respect to contrast, is this wise and when is too much, too much?

Also when I add the unsharp mask, I do it globally, should I use an edge mask instead and what are some values you see more often in the amount radius and threshold boxes when using this function?

And finally, what are good ways to make the eyes pop or seem lively, catch lites help but are there any suggestions?

Thanks

Peter
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Etoin Shurdlu
Dec 29, 2005
"Peter" wrote in message
Hi all,

I’ve got a depressing dilemma with my photographs, not the shot itself but after editing it lacks for a better word pizzazz. […]

Put the pictures somewhere so we can see them.
MR
Mike Russell
Dec 29, 2005
"Peter" wrote in message
Hi all,

I’ve got a depressing dilemma with my photographs, not the shot itself but after editing it lacks for a better word pizzazz. I came to this conclusion when I recently looked at a shot from a pro photographer.

Pros, as well they should, have a lot of advantages, from lighting to equipment to color correction. Each one of these is small, but in combination they can add up to a tremendous difference.

I’m an amateur but I feel I’ve been making significant gains…..anyways, when I process most images I perform basic corrections for exposure and color, now I use levels for exposure and in colors mostly hue/saturation to remove or add reds (skin tones).

I would drop levels in favor of (what else?) curves. Highlight, shadow, and neutral are the three most important concepts for color correction.

Stop using hue /sat. Saturation has its place, but hue is a brutal adjustment. If you want to adjust reds specifically in flesh tones, use selective color.

I then edit for blemishes and finalize all with an unsharp mask.

Do your sharpening first, before fixing blemishes, to avoid showing up your changes.

I feel that looking at other images there is enhancement with respect to contrast, is this wise and when is too much, too much?

Judgement call. In general, avoid adding too much contrast and saturation to skin tones, and add contrast – in the form of steeper curve areas – to the important part of your image, denying it to unimportant objects.

Also when I add the unsharp mask, I do it globally, should I use an edge mask instead and what are some values you see more often in the amount radius and threshold boxes when using this function?

Create a sharpened layer, then erase areas, such as broad areas of skin tone, that you don’t want sharpened.

And finally, what are good ways to make the eyes pop or seem lively, catch lites help but are there any suggestions?

Good lighting to start with, then add sharpness and contrast if necessary in Photoshop. The most important thing to do, and few people do this, is to use your own visual sense for what works for you, and gives a better result. Dan Margulis’s books are one of the better examples of this because each concept is clearly demonstrated with at least one detailed example. Many, if not most people prefer authority over trusting and developing their own visual sense.

BTW – Curvemeister class starts this Sunday – if you have access to Windows Photoshop or Elements, you can use the Curvemeister demo to learn some of these curve operations, which you may then use with Curvemeister, or normal Photoshop curves.
—
Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com
T
Tacit
Dec 29, 2005
In article <GsGsf.1563$>,
"Peter" wrote:

anyways, when I process most
images I perform basic corrections for exposure and color, now I use levels for exposure and in colors mostly hue/saturation to remove or add reds (skin tones). I then edit for blemishes and finalize all with an unsharp mask.

Rather than color correcting using Hue/Saturation, color correct with Curves. The Curves command allows incredibly precise color correction, AND overall lightening or darkening, AND very fine control over contrast, all in one place.

I feel that looking at other images there is enhancement with respect to contrast, is this wise and when is too much, too much?

It’s wise to make the image look the way you want; it’s too much when it no longer matches your vision.

Also when I add the unsharp mask, I do it globally, should I use an edge mask instead and what are some values you see more often in the amount radius and threshold boxes when using this function?

I use Unsharp Mask globally. The Threshold slider in the Unsharp Mask dialog specifies at what point Photoshop considers two different colors to be an "edge." Increasing the Threshold will cause Unsharp Mask not to enhance areas of similar color.

And finally, what are good ways to make the eyes pop or seem lively, catch lites help but are there any suggestions?

Yes. Suggestion #1: Learn how to use lighting.

This is the biggest and most powerful tool of professional photography: good control over lighting. often, the difference between a professional, dynamic image that leaps from the page at you and a flat, uninteresting image that’s just another ho-hum picture is simply lighting.

No amount of work in Photoshop will compensate for poor lighting. A good image begins before the camera shutter ever opens.

—
Art, photography, shareware, polyamory, literature, kink: all at http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html

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