Digital Photo Editing

[DougJ]

I just get my jollies out of photo editing

Good to see you say this, Steve.  I was beginning to think I might be the only digipic freak on the forum who liked the photoediting side of things as much as taking the pic.

I too like Jim's pic of the poppy pic.  It is already very nicely framed; yet, like you, I think it would benefit from some photoediting, especially if Jim was planning to use it as a printed photograph. 

As I look on it on-screen, aside from increasing the saturation, the pic appears soft and so would benefit from some judicious softening. 

Another option would be to edit the pic to give it a more "painterly" look--but not using a PS artistic filter.

Ciao,

Doug

PS to Jim who will certainly read this:  My comments all offered as "in my humble opinion."

 

[Steve CDN]

Doug,

Like you, I enjoy photoediting as much and sometimes more than making the original photo.? You have introduced an interesting topic and so I've pruned your message into a new topic to engage other Forum members' input.? ?For reference, the phot being referred to in this discusion can be found? CLICK HERE

Have you done any chemical film and print processing?? What about photo and film retouching?

Compared to the "old days" when photo editing was a compex activity, requiring a darkroom and specialized equipment, we can accomplish more today using digital editing than ever could be done using film and prints.

What phot editing software do you use and why?

 

[DougJ]

Hi Steve,

You have introduced an interesting topic and so I've pruned your message into a new topic to engage other Forum members' input.

While you were doing that I guess I was starting a new thread, "what do you do with your digipics?,"  I think I headed it.


Have you done any chemical film and print processing? 

Yes I did; strictly black and white.  I got into this because it offered me and my dyslexic son something to do together, to learn together, and for both of us to enjoy photography, and for him to experience success rather than the disappointments often associated with dyslexia.

Then I began to do it allied to the avocational freelance writing I was doing in aviation--the b/w worked nicely for a small aviation newspaper.  Of course, the magazines wanted slides--good old Kodakrome 64.


What about photo and film retouching?

Didn't do any of that "wet"; have done a very little bit of it starting with a scan of the old pic. 


And to answer your last question, I use photoshop version 8, which is the version that is part of the monstrous Adobe Creative Suite, which I don't have.

What are you using?  and, what's your wet darkroom history?

Ciao,

Doug

 

[Jim Dick]

I just get my jollies out of photo editing

PS to Jim who will certainly read this:  My comments all offered as "in my humble opinion."

Your humble opinion is valued.

 

[DougJ]

Your humble opinion is valued.

Thank you, Jim.

Doug

 

[Lorna]

My mother and uncle would really enjoy all the new equipment for editing pics if they were still here. ?They took box camera black and white during the 1920' to the 1950's and the earlier ones were developed by them. ?I wish I had asked more questions of them when they were alive but hindsight is 20/20. ?By the way those pics are all in photo albums and mounted on black paper and still in very good shape for the age.

 

[Ron from Big D]

I just get my jollies out of photo editing

Good to see you say this, Steve.? I was beginning to think I might be the only digipic freak on the forum who liked the photoediting side of things as much as taking the pic.

I too like Jim's pic of the poppy pic.? It is already very nicely framed; yet, like you, I think it would benefit from some photoediting, especially if Jim was planning to use it as a printed photograph.?

As I look on it on-screen, aside from increasing the saturation, the pic appears soft and so would benefit from some judicious softening.?

Another option would be to edit the pic to give it a more "painterly" look--but not using a PS artistic filter.

Ciao,


Doug:  May I assume the get well card you sent me was with one of your photos.  If so, I compliment you.  Beautiful shot and well presented.



Doug

PS to Jim who will certainly read this:? My comments all offered as "in my humble opinion."

 

[Jim Dick]

My mother and uncle would really enjoy all the new equipment for editing pics if they were still here.  They took box camera black and white during the 1920' to the 1950's and the earlier ones were developed by them.  I wish I had asked more questions of them when they were alive but hindsight is 20/20.  By the way those pics are all in photo albums and mounted on black paper and still in very good shape for the age.

It's time to get those scanned so they will be preserved if something should happen to the albums!

 

[Lorna]

Jim I may mention that to my brother and he can do it since there are at least a half dozen or more and they large/thick albums.

 

[Chet18013]

I just get my jollies out of photo editing

Good to see you say this, Steve.  I was beginning to think I might be the only digipic freak on the forum who liked the photoediting side of things as much as taking the pic.

I too like Jim's pic of the poppy pic.  It is already very nicely framed; yet, like you, I think it would benefit from some photoediting, especially if Jim was planning to use it as a printed photograph. 

As I look on it on-screen, aside from increasing the saturation, the pic appears soft and so would benefit from some judicious softening. 

Another option would be to edit the pic to give it a more "painterly" look--but not using a PS artistic filter.

Ciao,

Doug

PS to Jim who will certainly read this:  My comments all offered as "in my humble opinion."

Hi Doug,

If you like to do PhotoShop editing, then I assume that you have played with some of the actions. Here's a site for you to check:

http://homepages.slingshot.co.nz/~mikefinn/action.html

Check out Mike's Matisse Action and the Insta-Sketch. I have used both to produce some really nice effects.

To answer your original question. Almost every one of my digital photos gets "PhotoShopped in some manner. It seems like I spend to much time with PSCS and not enough taking photos.

Here's one of my favorites

Chet

 

[DougJ]

Hi Chet,

First, thanks for the URL.  I've added that to my list of digital photography URLs.

As for actions: Yes, I do use a few of them, but I don't have any actions for what I call "the painterly" look.  I do that myself in a series of layers, adjusting as I go, and many times going back to readjust.

I also have some "automated" processes.  One of these is PhotoSharpener from Pixel Genius.  This is a product born of the talents of Bruce Fraser and a few other PS gurus.  It is a three step sharpening workflow: sharpen on capture (but not in the camera) based on the content of the pic; after adjusting the image for the usual issues of colour, tonal range, hue/saturation, etc, sharpen creatively; after that resize image according to purpose: print / type of printing or web--of course you save the file after the creative sharpening as a keeper so that you can repurpose it. 

Ciao,

Doug

Oh BTW: have you ever run across the coffee table book, "Extraordinary Light," I think is the title.  It is as the title suggest, wonderful pics taken in extraordinary lighting conditions?

 

[Lorna]

Chet
Where was that photo taken, it looks like the Badlands in SD.  Great shot.

 

[Jim Dick]

Jim I may mention that to my brother and he can do it since there are at least a half dozen or more and they large/thick albums.

It's a good way to ensure the photos will be available to family in the future.

 

[Chet18013]

Chet
Where was that photo taken, it looks like the Badlands in SD.  Great shot.

You're right, Lorna. It was one afternoon and there were storms and rainbows. black clouds and sun all in the same time. If you want to see a few more I got that day, check out:

http://photobucket.com/albums/v512/ChetParks/Badlands/

Chet

 

[Lorna]

Chet that is the best time to visit any of the badlands in the USA because the rain brings out the different colors and can acquire some really spectacular photos.  That happened to Ned and I the first time we drove through the Badlands, SD.

 

[DougJ]

Hi Chet,

I'm coming back to that badlands pic you included in your post "addressed" to me.  You may recall that I made no mention of it in my reply.  The reason was that something about it was nagging me and I couldn't immediately put my finger on it.  So I assigned the problem to my sub-conscious and now I know what was nagging me: the blue colour of the clouds.

I downloaded the pic and opened it in PS-CS and sure enough the clouds were all, by my judgment of the RGB values, too blue.  If I may say so, too blue--but if that's what they were, or that's what you want them to be, then please ignore my further comments.

Clouds are generally neutral--from dark and angry to white and fluffy; taking advantage of this is one trick to adjusting for a colour cast in a pic.  If angry as in a coming storm, they may have a touch of red in them; and of course, if we're talking sunrise or sunset, then none of the clouds in the pic may be truly neutral.

I've made a few adjustments in your pic--and because it's your pic I won't post it on the forum but will send it to you by e-mail. 

BTW, the badlands themselves are good to my eyes--I'm thinking you've done a touch of sharpening, either in-camera or post-processing.

Ciao,

Doug.

 

[Steve CDN]

A tool I added to my photo  editing is the Graphire3 mouse and stylus.  It functions as a mouse or as a stylus with mouse function.  By using a stylus insteasd of a mouse for retouching, there is much better precision for detail.  It's the best accessory I've added for retouching my photos.

 

[DougJ]

Cant say I've ever seen this--Graphire3 mouse and stylus--advertised.

It has crossed my mind to look into getting a tablet to work with, but I've never pursued it.

Ciao,

Doug

 

[Steve CDN]

Cant say I've ever seen this--Graphire3 mouse and stylus--advertised.

The Graphire3 tablet is made by Wacom and can be viewed on WACOM WEBSITE

The Graphire3 4x5 USB Pen Tablet? gives you the control you need to quickly and easily edit your digital photos. It uses battery-free, cordless pen technology, the Graphire3 Pen facilitates natural brush control with 512 levels of pressure sensitivity. Draw, paint, create artwork for CDs/DVDs, sign your name, and annotate documents in Adobe Acrobat or Microsoft PowerPoint with the Pen. The Graphire3 also features the programmable DuoSwitch for multi-button efficiency and a pressure-sensitive eraser for easy fixes. The Tablet comes with the Graphire3 Mouse which features three programmable buttons, a scroll-wheel, and a battery-free, ball-free cordless design. Quickly and easily edit your digital photos using the control of the Graphire Pen and the bundled Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 software. They also include a neat Photoshop plug in!

The Graphire is often on sale at AMAZON or others so it's worth doing a GOOGLE SEARCH for GRAPHIRE

 

[Ron from Big D]

I just get my jollies out of photo editing

Good to see you say this, Steve.? I was beginning to think I might be the only digipic freak on the forum who liked the photoediting side of things as much as taking the pic.

I too like Jim's pic of the poppy pic.? It is already very nicely framed; yet, like you, I think it would benefit from some photoediting, especially if Jim was planning to use it as a printed photograph.?

As I look on it on-screen, aside from increasing the saturation, the pic appears soft and so would benefit from some judicious softening.?

Another option would be to edit the pic to give it a more "painterly" look--but not using a PS artistic filter.

Ciao,

Doug

PS to Jim who will certainly read this:? My comments all offered as "in my humble opinion."

Hi Doug,

If you like to do PhotoShop editing, then I assume that you have played with some of the actions. Here's a site for you to check:

http://homepages.slingshot.co.nz/~mikefinn/action.html

Check out Mike's Matisse Action and the Insta-Sketch. I have used both to produce some really nice effects.

To answer your original question. Almost every one of my digital photos gets "PhotoShopped in some manner. It seems like I spend to much time with PSCS and not enough taking photos.

Here's one of my favorites:




(Double click on the thumbnail to see a bigger image)

Chet

Nice photo Chet.  You surely had to be there at the right time to get that shot.