[pjm1]

This isn't a photograph critique as I've deliberately used a fairly boring image - just a simple sunset from an upstairs window. What I'm really after is a view from the assembled cognoscenti on my PP technique (which isn't overly complex, to be honest). Also, comment on whether the PP is overdone.

"After" scene: sun has set over the mountains, estuary in the midground with sandbanks poking through the water:



Before: highlights the dullness of the image, but hopefully provides a contrast and the extra which was added through PP - too much, wrong "type" of adjustments etc.? The adjustments were pretty basic - split the scene into two with PS (water in one image and then another image containing the sky + land together). Taken back to Lightroom (as I'm not brilliant at PS - I realise all this could have been done in PS) and then each image is enhanced separately, then recombined in PS. Far more complicated than it needs to be, but I'd need to improve my PS skills to do it all in the one package.

[Alcazar]

the sky looks good.
the water feels oversaturated. also, the hue of the water turns violet on the far end... seems unnatural.

all else... good picture, nice mood.
keep up the good work
micha

[wildman]

Mainly tried to bring out the profile between the sky and the mountains with more shadow detail.

Done mostly in ACR by manipulating HSL by color range - nothing complicated.

May not be your vision of what it should be but it's how I saw it - at least on my monitor.

[baro-nite]

This isn't a photograph critique as I've deliberately used a fairly boring image - just a simple sunset from an upstairs window. What I'm really after is a view from the assembled cognoscenti on my PP technique (which isn't overly complex, to be honest). Also, comment on whether the PP is overdone.

PP technique as such looks OK to me, in that there aren't obvious glitches such as haloes or posterization. I often bounce back and forth between apps so I don't find your workflow overly fussy.

In your processed version, the highlights on the water are now as bright as or brighter than the brightest clouds. As Alcazar has pointed out, the water seems oversaturated, and unnaturally violet in the distance. The color and dynamic range of the sky also feels unnatural, but in a contrasting direction, giving an overall contrast between water and sky that is very notable. None of this is criticism, just pointing out where the processing becomes noticeable as such, and the ways in which this is not a realistic processing. That can be OK but there needs to be a reason for it, otherwise it simply looks overdone to my eyes and I would think to many others also. I.e., a fantastic (in the traditional sense of the word) appearance can suit a fantastic or unusual subject, but seems like overkill for an ordinary scene.

So much depends on what you want to emphasize about the image, where you want to lead the eye, and the overall mood or impression you're after. I know you've said you're treating this as a PP exercise rather than an image you care about, but personally I can't separate the two. For me the most interesting things about this image are the way the shallows (?) and the shoreline lead the eye into the image, and the layered hills and islands, all of which give this a lot of depth. The sky is uninteresting, to the point that I would crop out at least the darker top portion (starting just about the bright clouds) and possible more. Crop out the top 20% to 40% of wildman's version and you have a nice image with a simpler and hence stronger color scheme, emphasizing all the interesting parts. (On that version also I would take the highlights on the water down a bit.) Here's another take along those lines:

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[mee]

Sky looks nice.. ground looks purple and super contrasty! I would have a more muted ground for this shot, but the sky is nice.

You also, as mentioned by another, you have a fair amount of haloing occurring (esp noticeable around the edges of the mountains / sky) this can be repaired.

You Tube

You Tube

edit: actually that was wildman's PP that had the haloing - my apologies!

[pjm1]

Brilliant - thanks for all the tips guys! Really helpful and I also really appreciate you going to the effort of making further changes in PP yourselves. On reflection, you're all absolutely right re: the water - I was trying for something but clearly overdid it... I love your sky, wildman and baro-nite, your version just looks so real.

Definitely a lot to learn on my part and really great to get such specific feedback.

Thanks all.

[gwing]

Here's another take, as has been said it's so much about what you personally like in the image. It is cropped just a little and processed with saturation and global tone mapping adjustments rather than split it into seperate areas and have tried to keep the soft toned feel it has.

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[reeftool]

I decided to play a little with it. This was done in Lightroom 5.4.
I went minus a little on exposure and highlights and + on the shadows, whites, and black. Clarity is +52, Vibrance is +36, and Saturation is +26.
I boosted (+) the orange saturation and toned down (-) the Blue saturation. I went minus on the orange luminance and + on the blue luminance.

All of this is purely individual taste and could be done in just about any photo editing app.

[gwing]

I decided to play a little with it. This was done in Lightroom 5.4.
I went minus a little on exposure and highlights and + on the shadows, whites, and black. Clarity is +52, Vibrance is +36, and Saturation is +26.
I boosted (+) the orange saturation and toned down (-) the Blue saturation. I went minus on the orange luminance and + on the blue luminance.

All of this is purely individual taste and could be done in just about any photo editing app.

The rendition is nice, but the LR processing has introduced a nasty halo on those mountains.

[reeftool]

The rendition is nice, but the LR processing has introduced a nasty halo on those mountains.

Yeah, that is annoying. I think most of it was the default sharpening LR applied. I moved the sharpening slider to 0 and while it improves, the halo is still there and I couldn't completely remove it. I only spent a few minutes on the shot and it's just and 800x530 JPEG copy. It doesn't appear too bad in LR but looks much worse in the exported copy with the adjustments. I can't enlarge the copy but the OP can enlarge the edge and easily remove any halo like that with an adjustment brush in LR or Photoshop.

This photo would have been a good candidate for HDR as all the adjusting tends to bring out artifacts.

[pjm1]

Thanks guys - very helpful suggestions and feedback! I'll keep working and hopefully continue to improve my PP skills...