Do I alter photos too much?

*pbo* · 06-01-2009, 08:00 PM

A friend of mine told me that some of my pics look unnatural - that I do too much post-processing.
That said, I like high-contrast, punchy images - but do I overdo it?
Here are some recent samples that brought on my friend's comment:

What do you think? Did I apply too much PP, or do they look okay?

*Wheatfield* · 06-01-2009, 08:20 PM

I think they are a little hot, but that it suits the style of photography and the style of the subject. I don't like the blown out highlights, I'd probably be taking the PP a little further and fixing that as well.
I like both pictures, FWIW.

figmental1978 · 06-01-2009, 09:08 PM

I don't think so, I like the contrasty, punchy look myself so maybe I'm biased. There's nothing wrong with constructive criticism but don't conform to your friends way of thinking or shooting to satisfy others. At the end of the day though, you have to be proud of the work you produce.

leadbelly · 06-01-2009, 09:18 PM

Looks fine by me... nice pictures too!

What figmental said, do what makes you proud... imagine what would happen if Picasso got dissuaded when somebody said his paintings looked "unnatural"

jct us101 · 06-01-2009, 09:26 PM

They look great to me.

pop4 · 06-01-2009, 09:32 PM

I think you need to bring down the highlights on the left photo, but otherwise, they look fine to me as well.

If anything, the shot on the right looks a tad flat and could do with a bit more PP.

*pbo* · 06-01-2009, 10:11 PM

Cool, thanks for advice~
I did a little bit more PP - and here are the results:

As for friends advices - they can be extremely helpful. It really helps when I'm not the only one looking at my photos

kthung · 06-01-2009, 10:14 PM

They do not looked PP at all. Its not too contrasty as i can still see details in highlights and shadows. I like the vibrant colors it suits the subject matter well. Good job

mithrandir · 06-01-2009, 10:20 PM

I would say that your last set of pp shots was spot on. Looks natural and appealing.

*pbo* · 06-01-2009, 10:27 PM

That's good to hear... I'm deleting the first ones

As for not looking pp'd at all - I dunno, maybe it's just me being able to see how they were originally... It's weird - maybe I didn't configure lightroom correctly, but every time I import, pics look fine at first - like they did in camera - and a moment after, when Lightroom renders previews, they all become dull and bland...

breischl · 06-01-2009, 10:51 PM

I'm guessing you're shooting in RAW? In that case, the in-camera preview is based on your JPG settings, so it has some saturation & contrast enhancements done to it. How much is controllable in the menu. That's probably the first view you're seeing in Lightroom.

Depending on your Lightroom settings, in may be rendering it's own previews with nothing at all done to it. Unprocessed RAW files always look kinda flat.

Long story short - when you're importing photos look at what's selected as the Import Preset. If it's None or Zeroed, try using a different preset like Auto Tone or Punch. You might like those previews better.

*res3567* · 06-01-2009, 11:18 PM

Them pics look fine to me! Very natural I might add!

*F16* · 06-02-2009, 12:10 AM

Looking at the initial 2 photos, to me the left photo looks slightly unnaturally high in contrast & saturation to my eyes, at least on my monitor. The right photo, while high in contrast and saturation, looks more natural. The 2nd set of photos both look unnatural to me. So if you want a 'natural' look, I think you have gone past that point with 3 of the 4.

Having said that, none of this really means anything, depending on what you want out of your images. While I usually prefer photos that fairly accurately depict the scene as I saw them (and that is probably the case with your friend as well), that doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with creating images that are altered to the point of having an 'unnatural' look to them. I'm rarely a fan of heavy altering of photos as it becomes something other than 'photography' at some point, but some excess contrast and saturation is relatively minor stuff if that's the look you're after. I think with the 2 photos here, the high saturation and contrast works fine, the first two look better to me but there isn't a right or wrong and I don't think you've PP'd to the point of making your photos look 'bad'.

I do see some people that post images where they overdo most of their images in contrast, saturation, and sharpness to the point where they have a terribly unnatural look to them. At that point, I think they're doing an injustice to many of their own photos, but again if that's what they want...

timbo13 · 06-02-2009, 08:01 AM

I like the second set of images a little better, I think the PP is fine and fits the high-energy scene you captured. Your friend may prefer a different look and he is welcome to do his pictures in the style he likes. If you (or whoever you might do pictures for) is happy then that's all that matters.

clmonk · 06-02-2009, 11:19 AM

It all kind of depends on what you are attempting to do. If you are selling your photos, the buyer gets to decide what looks best. If you are commissioned to a project, the one commissioning gets to dictate the "style" s/he is looking for. If these are for your personal enjoyment, who cares what the friend thinks. If you're attempting to please the most people with your work, then concensus is good.