image post processing

[SrisonS]

ANOTHER THREAD!!!!! WOO-HOO!!!!!!!

Seriously though. It's amazing to see how people can turn around their pictures into something amazing. So hopefully this will be the place where we can all share and learn. I don't think we need to set a certain format for posting; unless others think it will be a good idea.

From some other forums I occasionally post on, I already have screenshots of Lightroom adjustments I've made. So I'll just start with those. But feel free to share how you see fit.



This is Ollivander's Wand Shop at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter...

Shot in RAW. Processed with Lightroom 2.


2559 Levels by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr

I also used the adjustment brush to remove the arm in the bottom left. Mainly by just turning all the way down: exposure, brightness, and saturation. And the extreme adjustments to Red, Purple and Magenta, were to get rid of the pinkness (or most of it, anyway) that showed in the bright clouds on the right; while still trying to keep the definition, as opposed to just flat white like in the Before shot (adjusting brightness down brought out the definition, but added the pinkness).

Final Product....


The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ollivander's Wand Shop by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr

 

[SrisonS]

Ray Park during Star Wars Weekends.

Shot in JPEG with a Canon PowerShot S3 IS.

Before.....

IMG_2883 by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr


Adjustments....

RayPark Vader levels by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr

The adjustment brush was used to bring out the reflections in the sunglasses. Edit: And the decrease in Vibrance helped to not make Ray's skin look so orange. I probably could've decreased the Orange saturation too.


Final.....

Star Wars Weekends: Ray Park & Darth Vader.... Part II by Scott Smith (SRisonS), on Flickr

 

[wenrob]

The picture with Darth Vader edited or unedited is pretty cool. Can I ask what your reasoning for pulling way back on the vibrance was? Overall I like the effect though you seem to have lost a lot of detail in Darth's helmet. (forgive me if that's wrong term I'm not a Star Wars person much to my extended family's dismay)

 

[TheGoofster]

Here's a shot I took of Buzz (at Toy Story Mania):

I edited it by:
1) Cropping - there were some things that I didn't want in the shot, plus I wanted to zoom in more on Buzz
2) Cloning out some other things - like the posts that were holding him up. I wanted him to look more free standing
3) Fill in flash - even though I like the light behind him, it took away some of the details and color I was looking for
4) Adjusting the light and color a bit - I wanted to add a bit more color than I originally got in the shot

Here is the final shot:

 

[Suburbanmom]

Not Disney, but something I worked on this morning.
The RAW image is on the left. In Lightroom, I think I upped the contrast a little bit, lowered the clarity by 10% (I usually do that with senior girls), and brought the blacks in as high as could without losing any definition in her hair. I don't know how to capture that screen shot, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

 

[wenrob]

So Amy, do you lower the clarity for a smoother look?

eta: Great edit btw. Nice, clean and not over the top.

 

[SrisonS]

The picture with Darth Vader edited or unedited is pretty cool. Can I ask what your reasoning for pulling way back on the vibrance was? Overall I like the effect though you seem to have lost a lot of detail in Darth's helmet. (forgive me if that's wrong term I'm not a Star Wars person much to my extended family's dismay)

I totally know what you mean about Vader. I admit that I totally neglected him. I was mainly just focused on getting Ray Park to look bad @$$. And the decrease in Vibrance helped to not make Ray's skin look so orange. I probably could've decreased the Orange saturation too. But this was one of the first pics I processed with Lightroom; so I was still trying to really figure out proper techniques.

 

[MICKEY88]

processed with Portrait Professional 1-2 minutes work.

 

[wenrob]

I totally know what you mean about Vader. I admit that I totally neglected him. I was mainly just focused on getting Ray Park to look bad @$$. And the decrease in Vibrance helped to not make Ray's skin look so orange. I probably could've decreased the Orange saturation too. But this was one of the first pics I processed with Lightroom; so I was still trying to really figure out proper techniques.

Aw, okay. My first instinct is to up the vibrance so it had me curious. It's a very cool pic!

 

[Suburbanmom]

So Amy, do you lower the clarity for a smoother look?

eta: Great edit btw. Nice, clean and not over the top.

Yes, just to smooth a little bit. I think it brightens it a bit that way too.
Thanks!

 

[pointandshoot]

Black and white conversion. Color paint the sign. Added clouds as a layer from another photo. Created the lightening. If interest, I can dig up the links for the techniques.

Funny how a grab shot can catch your interest when you get home and start you down a different path.

Chuck

 

[SrisonS]

Not Disney, but something I worked on this morning.
The RAW image is on the left. In Lightroom, I think I upped the contrast a little bit, lowered the clarity by 10% (I usually do that with senior girls), and brought the blacks in as high as could without losing any definition in her hair. I don't know how to capture that screen shot, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Nice work!!!! I just recently learned how to do all of that in Lightroom (including removing acne and all). I haven't actually tried it; but I learned that it was very possible.

 

[Spaceace5150]

Great thread! I enjoy the work, and also seeing what is possible in different programs. Lightroom vs. Photoshop elements, etc...!

 

[WDWFigment]

Cool techniques shared in this thread. Definitely interesting to learn what everyone does.

 

[oregondaddyof2]

I just started messing around with Lightroom 3... It is a very cool program... Never tried any of the Lightroom's before... I gotta get up to date on techniques...

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

Yeah I might be jumping into the lightroom end of the pool too. Either that or Photoshop. Not sure which.

 

[crazydadguy]

This is just your standard Haunted Mansion shot. I actually did this a few years ago for a photo editing contest that MasterMason ran. The actual contest was for the quartet in front. I removed them from the shot they were posted in, added another layer, blurred it, then changed the RGB channel on the singers, turning the green all the way up. I then added a layer into the Haunted Mansion pic, and pasted these guys into it, then adjusted the opacity of the layer to about 50-60%. Flattened it all together, and there ya go.

 

[Marty Joe]

Great thread! I love to see the "before and after" shots. I'm very interested in post-processing, although, I have my hands full with the actual picture taking part. My dark ride, parade, and fire works shots leave a lot to be desired (Canon Ti2 in future).

 

[Sleepyluke]

Not to run completely the other way, but how do ya'll like lightroom? Does it do pretty much everything that you need out of photoshop, or do most of you use both? I see that lightroom does alot of the "cool"processing, but would you combine an elements package with the lightroom?

Great thread by the way, I love doing this stuff, but sometimes can't figure out the in between steps.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

We have LR3 and Adobe PS c5.... still learning sooo much. I wish I could just upload pics here without loading to a hosting site first...I'm lazy... lol

I hardly use Photoshop yet..


I do have a question....
can someone give me the easy version of how to do selective coloring?