Editing before and afters...

[sharona]

Sort of playing off of the criticism thread where posters have been offering edits of other's work and suggestions for improvements, I thought it might be fun to have a thread of the before and after on some shots that you think you improved with your editing and to share some of the edits you used... I'm pretty much a novice at post processing so sometimes I do more harm than good! Your feedback on my edits is always welcome and appreciated.

I was bored today and came across this shot of the castle that I took in December so decided to see what I could do with it. I'm still in the dark ages using Photoshop Elements 11 but I do have some killer Topaz plug ins.

Before:
Disney15_1751original by SharonCat..., on Flickr

Edits:
I straightened and cropped to get rid of the railing and bring the castle closer. I wanted to do this in portrait and leave in some of the water but that bush in lower right was in the way so I decided that landscape orientation made for a better photo (still lost when it comes to cloning things out). I used an unsharp mask to sharpen, Topaz Lens Effects plug in polarizing filter to improve contrast and color, Topaz Adjust "photo pop" to boost color and details then I selectively sharpened and brightened the castle and added some vignetting to bring it out a bit more. I think this one goes from meh to pretty good.

After:
Disney15_1751a by SharonCat..., on Flickr

Would love to see your before and afters!

 

[PA Disneymania]

I am just learning Lightroom. Sometimes I think I am cheating by the amazing changes in the photos, but I am having fun with my new hobby.
Image out of camera.






Altered image. Looking at them side by side, I see that I sharpened the greens too much. I used some lightening and sharpening on the cottage and I took out the thick guide wire on the right.

 

[fractal]

Here is the original RAW file, exported without any changes into JPEG format. A bit overexposed in the bright sunlight.

In Lightroom, I cropped it a bit, used a graduated filter to lower the exposure in the sky and used one of my preset adjustments for the rest...

 

[sharona]

I am just learning Lightroom. Sometimes I think I am cheating by the amazing changes in the photos, but I am having fun with my new hobby.
Image out of camera.
View attachment 156542


View attachment 156542

View attachment 156543
Altered image. Looking at them side by side, I see that I sharpened the greens too much. I used some lightening and sharpening on the cottage and I took out the thick guide wire on the right.

Nice job removing that wire. I would not have noticed.

 

[sharona]

Here is the original RAW file, exported without any changes into JPEG format. A bit overexposed in the bright sunlight.

In Lightroom, I cropped it a bit, used a graduated filter to lower the exposure in the sky and used one of my preset adjustments for the rest...

Love the changes to this one. What type of pre-sets do you use? I am still editing most every shot although I do use the pre-sets from the Topaz plug ins.

 

[dmaxphil]

Ok, found an image I had done a fair amount of work to. Cropping, selective highlights, shadow recovery, you name it.

Before

After

 

[sharona]

Ok, found an image I had done a fair amount of work to. Cropping, selective highlights, shadow recovery, you name it.

Before

After

Impressive improvements! Did you do something to make the castle bigger aside from the cropping? I didn't even notice it in the first pic...

 

[dmaxphil]

Impressive improvements! Did you do something to make the castle bigger aside from the cropping? I didn't even notice it in the first pic...

Nope. The magic of cropping. Also used an adjustment brush to selectively brighten and add contrast.

 

[dmaxphil]

I sometimes create 4-5 different versions of images and then let my wife pick. Here is a before and after of my daughter. Most times the mods are quite subtle.

Before

After

 

[fractal]

Love the changes to this one. What type of pre-sets do you use? I am still editing most every shot although I do use the pre-sets from the Topaz plug ins.

Thanks! I make my own presets. When I get a look I like I'll save it as a preset. This one I call "The Bomb" lol, and use it mostly with shots from my 24mm 1.8 lens. I have a few B&W and monochrome presets and a bunch when I shoot sports depending on the lighting conditions. Saves me a ton of time. Great idea for a thread btw.

 

[fractal]

Ok, found an image I had done a fair amount of work to. Cropping, selective highlights, shadow recovery, you name it.

Before

After

great adjustments on a great pic!

 

[sharona]

Thanks! I make my own presets. When I get a look I like I'll save it as a preset. This one I call "The Bomb" lol, and use it mostly with shots from my 24mm 1.8 lens. I have a few B&W and monochrome presets and a bunch when I shoot sports depending on the lighting conditions. Saves me a ton of time. Great idea for a thread btw.

Not sure if I can save presets in PSE11. I'm holding off on doing the monthly Adobe CC package as long as I can because I had just bought PSE11 a few months before they rolled out their new monthly option so have to get my money's worth. But I have to say, I tried Lightroom as a trial and was really lost - I find PSE a million times easier to use. At some point I will have to switch over but right now, I'm mostly vacation pics and the occasional weekend of shooting so I think I can hold out a bit longer.

 

[fractal]

Not sure if I can save presets in PSE11. I'm holding off on doing the monthly Adobe CC package as long as I can because I had just bought PSE11 a few months before they rolled out their new monthly option so have to get my money's worth. But I have to say, I tried Lightroom as a trial and was really lost - I find PSE a million times easier to use. At some point I will have to switch over but right now, I'm mostly vacation pics and the occasional weekend of shooting so I think I can hold out a bit longer.

I was lost in PSE, lol. I still use LR 4 and have also held off on the monthly CC.

Once you "get" how LR works it's very intuitive. Plenty of tutorials online and of course you can always ask questions here. It's a powerful tool.
I'm a bit intimidated by PS, probably because I've never used it.

 

[Tigerlulu]

Not sure if I can save presets in PSE11. I'm holding off on doing the monthly Adobe CC package as long as I can because I had just bought PSE11 a few months before they rolled out their new monthly option so have to get my money's worth. But I have to say, I tried Lightroom as a trial and was really lost - I find PSE a million times easier to use. At some point I will have to switch over but right now, I'm mostly vacation pics and the occasional weekend of shooting so I think I can hold out a bit longer.

Adobe's dirty little secret is that you don't have to subscribe to cc. They sell LR and PS6 as standalone products still. You may have to call to make the purchase and they may pressure you and give you all the reasons why you shouldn't, but reality is PS6 is a great software and I've never felt like its inferior to CC.

I upgraded from PS5 and I didn't notice a difference there either.

Both have great online tutorials. You can learn anything on YouTube!

I love this thread! I need to go dig up some fun before and afters!

 

[fractal]

Another one; a shot almost everyone that's visited AK has likely taken. I took it with a wide angle lens and this is the original RAW file. I did like the leading lines to EE but it seemed too far away.

Using LR, I decided to use a square format crop to bring the mountain closer and eliminate much of the side foliage that dominated the photo. I brought down the exposure in the upper half of the photo using the graduated filter.
Also reduced highlights and increase shadows somewhat. As an aside - I've recently scaled back on how much I've brought shadows out to avoid the "cartoon" look. I used to almost always just crank the shadow level 100% to the right. Shadows can also create some interest and drama in photos. After a few more adjustments I was happy with the final result which I feel is a much more interesting and appealing image.

 

[PA Disneymania]

Fractal, that shot is beautiful.

 

[sharona]

@fractal I had to laugh at your comment about lifting shadows in relation to this particular picture. See the attached before and after LOL! I had seen this shot on someone else's trip report and it was on my short list of must haves. I was so entranced by the early morning view through the viewfinder that I never even looked at my screen to see if I'd gotten the shot. I was very disappointed when I realized I had blown it and we didn't have another AK day for that trip so I had to make the best of it.

Before - no edits in Adobe Camera RAW:
Disney15_1104original by SharonCat..., on Flickr

Edits in ACR: Tint +9, Highlights -16, Shadows +99!!!, Blacks +100!!!, Clarity +8. Vibrance +4. Edits in PSE - I can't recall!!! but I think maybe an unsharp mask and some noise reduction using Topaz DeNoise (the best plug in ever!).

Disney15_1104a by SharonCat..., on Flickr

hmmmm - never noticed that weird banding in the sky on this one. I guess it's to be expected after all the lifting.

 

[fractal]

@fractal I had to laugh at your comment about lifting shadows in relation to this particular picture. See the attached before and after LOL! I had seen this shot on someone else's trip report and it was on my short list of must haves. I was so entranced by the early morning view through the viewfinder that I never even looked at my screen to see if I'd gotten the shot. I was very disappointed when I realized I had blown it and we didn't have another AK day for that trip so I had to make the best of it.

Before - no edits in Adobe Camera RAW:
Disney15_1104original by SharonCat..., on Flickr

Edits in ACR: Tint +9, Highlights -16, Shadows +99!!!, Blacks +100!!!, Clarity +8. Vibrance +4. Edits in PSE - I can't recall!!! but I think maybe an unsharp mask and some noise reduction using Topaz DeNoise (the best plug in ever!).

Disney15_1104a by SharonCat..., on Flickr

hmmmm - never noticed that weird banding in the sky on this one. I guess it's to be expected after all the lifting.

It's amazing what you'll find lurking in the shadows.

 

[dmaxphil]

Using LR, I decided to use a square format crop to bring the mountain closer and eliminate much of the side foliage that dominated the photo. I brought down the exposure in the upper half of the photo using the graduated filter.
Also reduced highlights and increase shadows somewhat. As an aside - I've recently scaled back on how much I've brought shadows out to avoid the "cartoon" look. I used to almost always just crank the shadow level 100% to the right. Shadows can also create some interest and drama in photos. After a few more adjustments I was happy with the final result which I feel is a much more interesting and appealing image.

I've done the same. Shadows really add to the 3D pop an image creates. Going full HDR tends to flatten images a bit too much for my tastes. And then of course there's the "cartoon" aspect of it as well. I like your most recent processing. Proper use of desaturating an image and going B&W helps add to that effect as well. My 2 cents.

 

[havoc315]

@fractal I had to laugh at your comment about lifting shadows in relation to this particular picture. See the attached before and after LOL! I had seen this shot on someone else's trip report and it was on my short list of must haves. I was so entranced by the early morning view through the viewfinder that I never even looked at my screen to see if I'd gotten the shot. I was very disappointed when I realized I had blown it and we didn't have another AK day for that trip so I had to make the best of it.

Before - no edits in Adobe Camera RAW:
Disney15_1104original by SharonCat..., on Flickr

Edits in ACR: Tint +9, Highlights -16, Shadows +99!!!, Blacks +100!!!, Clarity +8. Vibrance +4. Edits in PSE - I can't recall!!! but I think maybe an unsharp mask and some noise reduction using Topaz DeNoise (the best plug in ever!).

Disney15_1104a by SharonCat..., on Flickr

hmmmm - never noticed that weird banding in the sky on this one. I guess it's to be expected after all the lifting.

For sunrise/sunset pictures, you actually can get the most interesting images my underexposing and then lifting in post. Yes, here you went maybe a little further than your camera could handle, resulting in the banding. But underexposing lets you recover the complex sky colors and hues. When you expose "properly," you often lose many of the golds, that are present in your shot.