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01-26-2015, 10:06 PM   #1
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Post Processing...what is wrong with this image?
ISO: 50 

I've got some photos from the Washington Monument that have been a nightmare to process. With a lot of time and patience, I've got most of them to look really good. One is giving me trouble. Here's what I started with:

Attachment 256290

With a lot of fiddling in Lightroom and then Photoshop and then back to Lightroom, I turned it into this:

Attachment 256291

There's something not right with the image. It looks cartoony. But I've played with every slider and I can't seem to fix it. Any suggestions? What is it missing (or have too much of)?


Last edited by MadMathMind; 01-24-2016 at 05:39 PM.
01-26-2015, 11:07 PM   #2
dms
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Appears that the colors are unreal--as a start back of on the saturation and/or contrast. And also perhaps too much sharpening.

BTW why is the original so low in contrast? No hood, and/or a filter, and/or an older single coated lens?
01-26-2015, 11:20 PM - 1 Like   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by MadMathMind Quote
There's something not right with the image
Knock back the saturation and clarity, tweak the sharpening - try to keep the radius to 0.9 and below and leave the contrast where it is.

I would also suggest using adjustment brushes for local level adjustments on areas that need additional contrast (like the apex of the dome) - people too frequently adjust the entire image and often that is detrimental to its content.

QuoteOriginally posted by dms Quote
why is the original so low in contrast? No hood, and/or a filter, and/or an older single coated lens?
Take a look at his lens line up, no exotic un-coated optics there. The original photo was taken at great distance from a high elevation.
01-27-2015, 12:12 AM   #4
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Taken from the Washington monument? That's a long way. The sun is high. I think it's ultraviolet that you have too much of.

01-27-2015, 01:02 AM   #5
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Did you shoot it through a glass window?
01-27-2015, 06:23 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by dms Quote
BTW why is the original so low in contrast? No hood, and/or a filter, and/or an older single coated lens?
I took the photo with the F 70-210. Its contrast isn't the best, but even this is a pretty exceptional case of poor performance. I did use a hood, but I was standing in a shaded area (inside the monument), so stray ambient light wasn't a huge concern anyway.

QuoteOriginally posted by Digitalis Quote
Knock back the saturation and clarity, tweak the sharpening - try to keep the radius to 0.9 and below and leave the contrast where it is.

I would also suggest using adjustment brushes for local level adjustments on areas that need additional contrast (like the apex of the dome) - people too frequently adjust the entire image and often that is detrimental to its content.
Thank you for the tips. I'll play with this thing tonight and see what comes out of it.

QuoteQuote:
Take a look at his lens line up, no exotic un-coated optics there. The original photo was taken at great distance from a high elevation.
This is exactly the shooting situation. I was 500 feet above the ground at the top of the monument. It was a warm and sunny day. I suspect most of the haze is pollution.

QuoteOriginally posted by clicksworth Quote
Taken from the Washington monument? That's a long way. The sun is high. I think it's ultraviolet that you have too much of.
Ironic is that I always use a UV filter.

QuoteOriginally posted by r0ckstarr Quote
Did you shoot it through a glass window?
Yes. That didn't help anything. You can see it in the tree on the left side of the monument. It's very slight, but there's a reflection from the glass. Actually...I think they were plastic. I got as close as I could, but the windows are recessed pretty deeply and covered by bars, so I had to stuff my camera through the bar and get as close as I could. But I couldn't get right up to the window.

Last edited by MadMathMind; 01-27-2015 at 06:38 AM.
01-27-2015, 06:49 AM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by MadMathMind Quote
Ironic is that I always use a UV filter
UV filters don't really work on digital cameras... they can also degrade the image quality.
And if you had an window in front of you that won't help either.

Next time try without the filter.

01-27-2015, 12:16 PM   #8
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I think the 2nd one looks good considering the conditions it was shot in. Nobody would ever suspect it was shot through a window compared to the first.

QuoteOriginally posted by mrNewt Quote
Next time try without the filter.
...and break out the window.
01-27-2015, 12:32 PM   #9
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I also think your corrections are pretty good. I am bothered more by the distracting Bridges and Roadways at the top of your pictures. They seem to draw my eye whenever I look at the posted pics. I realize that you were probably more interested in corrections than cropping but when you crop them out, the pictures look better no matter how you cc. My version is cooler with a hint of haze still visible but without the distractions at the top.
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01-27-2015, 03:50 PM   #10
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How about just a graduated blur at the top and keep the foreground sharp?
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01-27-2015, 08:13 PM - 1 Like   #11
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Thanks for all the tips, everyone! I'm really not into the whole tilt-shift thing, sorry guys!

I started back with my pre-Photoshop step and took Digitalis' suggestion of local adjustments a bit further and adjusted the levels of various parts of the photographs. I also took it easier on clarity and fliddled with a bunch of other stuff. The end result is this:

Attachment 256463

It may be possible to do better, but I think this is pretty remarkable progress given how bad it started. I may play with the cropping a bit more. I've got 3 others of Jefferson that need about as much work as this one did. But at least I have a really good starting place with this one. Light was the same, so I hope the adjustments will be close.

Last edited by MadMathMind; 01-24-2016 at 05:39 PM.
01-27-2015, 08:41 PM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by MadMathMind Quote
Thanks for all the tips, everyone! I'm really not into the whole tilt-shift thing, sorry guys!

I started back with my pre-Photoshop step and took Digitalis' suggestion of local adjustments a bit further and adjusted the levels of various parts of the photographs. I also took it easier on clarity and fliddled with a bunch of other stuff. The end result is this:

Attachment 256463

It may be possible to do better, but I think this is pretty remarkable progress given how bad it started. I may play with the cropping a bit more. I've got 3 others of Jefferson that need about as much work as this one did. But at least I have a really good starting place with this one. Light was the same, so I hope the adjustments will be close.
I think you left some brush on the image, may be unintentional. I've marked the area with red line.

01-28-2015, 12:31 AM   #13
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I hope you don't mind, but I worked from the original unedited version and I was able to produce this in a few seconds:

Last edited by Digitalis; 03-29-2015 at 02:37 AM.
01-28-2015, 10:00 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by Digitalis Quote
I hope you don't mind, but I worked from the original unedited version and I was able to produce this in a few seconds:
Maybe move the tint slider into the green just a little more? It's got a slight magenta look to it.
02-18-2015, 08:20 AM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by Digitalis Quote
I hope you don't mind, but I worked from the original unedited version and I was able to produce this in a few seconds:
What did you do to get that strange dark stripe patterning in the front of the building? I trust it wasn't intended as it's not a desirable look.
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