How Much?

[poochie99]

I was just wondering how much post processing people do to their photos? Are they just uploaded as is from your camera or do you play with them alot in Photoshop?

If you correct them, what do you find yourself fixing the most?

Example.

My cat.

Ginger.



This is what it looks like with no photoshop. Does it look good like this? I'm 100% positive it can be improved with photoshop....but I'm just not too sure what looks good. Weird, I know. But I find when I play around in Paint Shop (no photoshop here), I just make the picture look really weird.

Example.

Same picture....just much oranger (?) overall. Weird.

[séamuis]

99.9% of my photos are converted to black and white. this pretty much always requires the use of coloured 'filters' and a curves adjustment.

[Marc Sabatella]

My concert photos (and other low light shots) virtually always get some wb, exposure, and levels adjustment as well as a little NR. Other kinds of shots not so much, but since modern workflow software (by which I specifically *don't* mean photoshop, unless you only use bridge & acr) makes it so easy and fast, I often still tweak levels a bit for photos I like enough to post. no more than a few seconds per image, and often I'll do a simple batch of some of it.

[Frogroast]

Personally I think there is no right answer to the question - you take the photo and post-process them to get the results you want, or play around with it until you bump into a happy-mistake.

When I shoot a wedding or senior shoot, I could spend 10 seconds tweaking a photo or 20 minutes or more trying to create something with it.

You are the artist so you decide how much you work it and what the final outcome will be.

[K1000_Ron]

For me, the amount of processing equals whatever is necessary to make the picture match my visualization of the scene. If my initial image capture is good, then I don't have to do much. If I've messed up but think I can still rescue the picture, I do a lot. I almost always do some Photoshop dodging around the edges of pictures.

[SpecialK]

As little as possible.

[clmonk]

Usually only a tweak in Levels, but almost always a bit of USM to sharpen the image.

[poochie99]

Thanks for the replies!!

[code4code5]

I rarely find a need to adjust WB with the K20. I find that when running through the presets in any given conversion software, the "as shot" selection typically gives the best color rendition. I adjust curves when necessary, sometimes boost saturation about 10-15 depending on the look, a little USM for clarity, duplicate the background layer, change the opacity to 20-60 (again depending on the look) and save as jpg. I'm getting a little more used to Photoshop CS4 and I'm spending about two minutes per shot.

[MPrince]

I do as much post-processing as I need to in order to create the image I want.

Sometimes that's a lot.

Sometimes it's none.

[kthung]

It all depends on if I am shooting pictures for other people or simply my own enjoyment. If its for myself, I most often do no post processing because I'm too lazy. However, otherwise I usually do a quick levels and WB adjustment and sharpen up a little. Then depending on the photo, if I'm trying to acheive a certain look I might do a little more work.

[dadipentak]

Originally Posted by code4code5

I rarely find a need to adjust WB with the K20. I find ...the "as shot" selection typically gives the best color rendition.

Agreed.

It really all depends on the qualities of the image. Mostly it's pretty straight forward: tweak exposure, contrast &/or levels and a pinch of sharpening. Sometimes noise reduction &/or defringing is required. Sometimes it takes a while to get the look I want or I'll stumble on something that takes me in a whole new direction (good thing I'm not doing this for a living ;~).

[dimkasta]

Really it is matter of what you want to do. So the first step would be to familiarize yourself with potential drawbacks in yor photos.
For example, digital photos 99% of the time need a bit of sharpen.
Next, you most likely want to adjust your white balance and levels to make the colors appear more natural and punchy all around the dynamic range of digital photographs
.
Really it is up to you to decide what needs fixing or adjustment in your photos.

Now, If the photo is too orange after you process it, it is not the program's problem or fault. It is your problem/fault.
The programs are just tools. It is up to you to learn how to use their tools effectively to achieve what you want.
For example, if the photo looks too orange, then maybe you did something wrong along the way... Or you need to further process it to make it appear less orange.

It is up to you to familiarize yourself with a program and its tools and how use them to apply different technics on your photos.
While learning, your bag of tricks will become larger and larger, and you will be able to identify more potential problems and correct them more effectively.

[kenyee]

regular stuff, tweak levels, contrast, sharpness, crop.
Studio stuff...1-4 hours per image which means a lot of skin fixes, dust removal, etc.

[atupdate]

Because of the bright background, your image took a bit more processing than I normally use (Processing steps below image).



Post Processing Paint Shop Pro X

1) Duplicate Layer [this step helps to balance the light a little bit]
- Desaturate duplicate layer with Hue/Saturation/Lightness
- Change to negative image (Menu location Image/Negative Image)
- Set Blend Mode of layer to Overlay
- Set Opacity of layer to 50%
- Merge layer to background

2) Double Unsharp Mask Action
- USM [radius 50 - strength 15 - clip 3]
- USM [radius 0.3 - strength 300 - clip 3]

3) Duplicate Layer
- Desaturate duplicate layer with Hue/Saturation/Lightness
- Set Blend Mode of layer to Soft Light
- Set Opacity of layer to 50%
- Merge layer to background

(Steps 2 & 3 are from Benjikan Benjamin Kanarek post processing method | PentaxLife )

4) Clarify Action @ +2

5) High Pass Sharpen @ [radius 2 - strength 90 - blend mode: overlay

6) New Adjustment Layer - Curves [as shown below]
- Anchor mid-point of curve
- Slight S-curve on bottom half.



Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Tim