1st time using topaz bundle, need feedback.

[kgreen]

I went through Joplin Mo. last week, & had a chance to get some photo's.
(4 months post-Tornado). I have photo shop elelments 9, & used the topaz bundle for the first time on these photo's. I'm looking for some feed back. I seemed to like the "spicify" filter, & used it a lot. I was a little worried, for one I have not done much editing. For two the photo's are really bold & dramatic, I'm afraid I may have over done it.

 

[ukcatfan]

They are overdone for my tastes, but photography is art and you are the ultimate judge of your work. To me they almost took on a painting like look with the liberal use of the filter, especially the clouds.

 

[kgreen]

I was anxious to see some feed back, thanks ukcatfan. I agree when I look at them i can see they have lost their natural look, & I was afraid of that. I used the presets, & did not use the slider tools. I do want to keep the naturalness of the photo it's self, so I will have to work on that. I'll go play a little more with the originals & see what I can do.

 

[JoeDif]

I've always found with the Topaz software, especially Adjust, less is more. I'll use a preset then work the sliders to get a more natural look but still have the enhancement I'm looking for.

 

[kgreen]

Thanks JoeDif, I'm noticing the pre sets are pretty bold. If I tone down with the slider I can give it a little pop but still keep the natural feeling of the photo. After I work with them a little more I'll re-post. Thanks

 

[boBQuincy]

Trey Ratcliff (Stuck in Customs) has a great e-book on HDR mistakes: how to avoid them and how to fix them. This is not to say your images have mistakes, since the photographer makes the final decision on what is good and their decision is the only one that really counts. Still, some of Trey's ideas apply to Topaz as well as HDR and may be of some help to you in deciding if some images are overdone or not.
I have found this e-book to be well worthwhile.

http://www.flatbooks.com/top-10-hdr-mistakes-and-how-to-fix-them-bonus/

 

[DisneyChristmas]

Your photos show s how devastated this town is. The spicify setting makes your photos "pop" in a way that says "this disaster is so beyond the norm, so beyond what you can imagine…”

 

[klmall]

I like them for the most part; the vivid colors of the devastation against the vivid blue sky of normalcy is a great contrast. I too, have used Topaz Adjust quite a bit but I always slide the levels down. I like to keep most of the original details in my pictures without exaggerating them as Topaz presets can do.

 

[GrumpyGoat]

Also a bit overdone in my opinion...

Having used the Topaz products, I have found I prefer the control I get with Nik Software plug-ins. I use Nik's Viveza and Silver EFx Pro in Lightroom and am very happy with the results I get.