Have you ever wondered what goes into making a photo a "final product?" For some photographers, it can be the end of the road straight out of camera (SOOC). For others, the photo may be edited in different ways. It really depends on a photographer's style, their affinity to software programs (such as Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom), and what they want the final photo to say.
This week, I thought about just taking a photo in RAW, then editing it, and showing you the difference. I am still doing that....LOL. So let's get that over with. Just below are two photos in a mini slideshow. Look at the unedited version, then the edited a few times and see if you notice the differences.
This week, I thought about just taking a photo in RAW, then editing it, and showing you the difference. I am still doing that....LOL. So let's get that over with. Just below are two photos in a mini slideshow. Look at the unedited version, then the edited a few times and see if you notice the differences.
This is Danny-Who-Hates-Snow-In-His-Paws. In the photo SOOC, you can see the glimpse of another white dog in the background, some distracting grass pieces up front, and a lack of "spark." The programs I use to edit are Nik and Photoshop. I used to use Lightroom, but when I happened upon Nik (and took a class in editing with Nik), I switched my protocol. I am not a huge switcheroo person, so it took me a while to get used to my new editing process, but I have to say I am now very comfortable with it. I brightened the photo, brought up the contrast, cleaned and cleared up Danny's eyes, and added a burst of light above his head and to the left. This was not a very long edit process. Some are, some aren't. It just depends on the vision you have for the end product. This is an every day occurrence, so I wanted it to look like an every day photo.
I got kind of lucky on capturing this daily ritual of Danny's. First, he has not liked the camera in a few months (he will run in the opposite direction if I point it at him). Second, we do have eight dogs, and the fact that there is only a small part of ONE in this photo is quite amazing. Third, I wasn't really ready to take this photo, but when I saw it happening and knew he wasn't paying attention to me, I just snapped, and luckily, had settings that were acceptable. Right after this, he saw the camera and went the other way.
The above, relatively easy, quick edit would probably be enough for this week, but I really wanted to take a photo I've had stowed away that I have been meaning to try to do something with, and show you that all edits are not so easy or quick.
Most photogs would have trashed the "before" image. But I have an attachment to it. It's our dog, Piper. A shy border collie who is deaf. He does a happy dance when my husband comes back from the barn to the yard. This dance is like something you would see in Hawaii. Piper's hip action screams grass skirt. When he is extremely happy, he also flattens his ears. So you have a dancing, flat-eared dog who is quite jubilant.
I managed to take the happy dance photo one afternoon after a dusting of snow. It was relatively late in the day and gloomy. I did not have my ISO turned up enough, and had no flash (on camera or off camera). But I loved the connection in this photo, because you can just see my husband's hand, which will eventually reach and pet Piper. I wanted to show and focus on that connection. So, for this week, I edited the photo.
The slider will allow you to see the final product and compare. I've removed everything unwanted and distracting to the eye from this photo by using two techniques: cropping and Gaussian blur. I also painted on the earth and amber background colors, brightened the image, used the clone tool to clean up debris, brought up the contrast on Piper and sharpened where necessary. For some it may not be the most perfect image, but for me, it's a wonderful moment captured. I do think it serves to show that sometimes an image can be saved. This edit took some time and painstakingly close work, but, in the end, it was worth it. What do you think?
I got kind of lucky on capturing this daily ritual of Danny's. First, he has not liked the camera in a few months (he will run in the opposite direction if I point it at him). Second, we do have eight dogs, and the fact that there is only a small part of ONE in this photo is quite amazing. Third, I wasn't really ready to take this photo, but when I saw it happening and knew he wasn't paying attention to me, I just snapped, and luckily, had settings that were acceptable. Right after this, he saw the camera and went the other way.
The above, relatively easy, quick edit would probably be enough for this week, but I really wanted to take a photo I've had stowed away that I have been meaning to try to do something with, and show you that all edits are not so easy or quick.
Most photogs would have trashed the "before" image. But I have an attachment to it. It's our dog, Piper. A shy border collie who is deaf. He does a happy dance when my husband comes back from the barn to the yard. This dance is like something you would see in Hawaii. Piper's hip action screams grass skirt. When he is extremely happy, he also flattens his ears. So you have a dancing, flat-eared dog who is quite jubilant.
I managed to take the happy dance photo one afternoon after a dusting of snow. It was relatively late in the day and gloomy. I did not have my ISO turned up enough, and had no flash (on camera or off camera). But I loved the connection in this photo, because you can just see my husband's hand, which will eventually reach and pet Piper. I wanted to show and focus on that connection. So, for this week, I edited the photo.
The slider will allow you to see the final product and compare. I've removed everything unwanted and distracting to the eye from this photo by using two techniques: cropping and Gaussian blur. I also painted on the earth and amber background colors, brightened the image, used the clone tool to clean up debris, brought up the contrast on Piper and sharpened where necessary. For some it may not be the most perfect image, but for me, it's a wonderful moment captured. I do think it serves to show that sometimes an image can be saved. This edit took some time and painstakingly close work, but, in the end, it was worth it. What do you think?
The slider tool is a new widget for the blog, and I sure hope it works. One of my goals this year is to bring new technology to the blog experience for readers. It took me forever to figure this one out, so maybe in about three months there will be another new tool featured...LOL!
I can't wait to see the befores and afters of all the rest of today's blog circle participants! Get comfy, because you will have a lot of reading ahead. You will know you are done when your last link gets you right back here where you started. There are 17 of us this week, starting with Kathie Ono of Ono Pet Photography in Fairhope, Alabama!
I can't wait to see the befores and afters of all the rest of today's blog circle participants! Get comfy, because you will have a lot of reading ahead. You will know you are done when your last link gets you right back here where you started. There are 17 of us this week, starting with Kathie Ono of Ono Pet Photography in Fairhope, Alabama!
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