Post-processing of photos - inputs, views, discussions.....

[marvelousprashant]

I personally dont like picasa. LR is basically for correcting exposure contrast, tone, color saturation, noise removal and sharpening. PS lets you do anything from replacing the mole on your nose to replacing your girlfriend with Megan fox

 

[clickclick]

I personally dont like picasa. LR is basically for correcting exposure contrast, tone, color saturation, noise removal and sharpening. PS lets you do anything from replacing the mole on your nose to replacing your girlfriend with Megan fox

lols

 

[mastervk]

My cousin brother is a fashion and wedding photographer, he uses photoshop and lightroom. The amount of time and effort he puts in to retouch in PS really gives the desired results.

I guess all professionals use photoshop for adjustment/corrections etc as nowadays it has become standard policy to to such modification before publishing...but for non professionals it might not make much sense to put so much effort .But if you enjoy working on PS then it will be worth it.

LR is good one...but its as big as photoshop...and too many options ...I use picasa simply and photoshop for manual editing

LR does not seem as heavy on resource as PS to me..i was using photoshop action to create frame and it required 2 GB temp space to create temp files (though there are simpler ways to create frame also) for a single pic..
also I am not sure if you can import all you pics directly from camera,tag them ,select/reject,process ,adjust and then export or publish as smoothly in photoshop as we can in LR..

 

[clickclick]

I guess all professionals use photoshop for adjustment/corrections etc as nowadays it has become standard policy to to such modification before publishing...but for non professionals it might not make much sense to put so much effort .But if you enjoy working on PS then it will be worth it.



LR does not seem as heavy on resource as PS to me..i was using photoshop action to create frame and it required 2 GB temp space to create temp files (though there are simpler ways to create frame also) for a single pic..
also I am not sure if you can import all you pics directly from camera,tag them ,select/reject,process ,adjust and then export or publish as smoothly in photoshop as we can in LR..

I have downloaded LR tutorial by colin smith, its really good and teaches the very basics and the very advanced tips, tricks and tools.

And its really fun to learn by watching the video than to join a class

 

[sujoyp]

But LR is just another picture management software ...but Photoshop is like masters of all ...but it really takes time in PS soo better use both

 

[mastervk]

@sujoy
Lr is not picture manager tool only.it helps you in complete work flow from import to developing.you can do exposure correction adjustments crop etc
You can also use presets and plugins.

 

[anirbandd]

LR is much more advanced than picasa.They are not at same level.

Picasa is good as picture manger and doing some tweaks(crop,adjustment) etc.For mobile and P&S pics i use picasa.

LR is very capable software and can be used for complete workflow (import,select/reject,process,export).I use it in this way.

I dont use photoshop.It is very good for heavy post processing but that is more effort that i want to spend on a single photo..Though many photographers use photoshop actions for batch processing..

LR is good one...but its as big as photoshop...and too many options ...I use picasa simply and photoshop for manual editing

I personally dont like picasa. LR is basically for correcting exposure contrast, tone, color saturation, noise removal and sharpening. PS lets you do anything from replacing the mole on your nose to replacing your girlfriend with Megan fox

<<-- LOL

But LR is just another picture management software ...but Photoshop is like masters of all ...but it really takes time in PS soo better use both

@sujoy
Lr is not picture manager tool only.it helps you in complete work flow from import to developing.you can do exposure correction adjustments crop etc
You can also use presets and plugins.

for those who use Canon cameras, i would recommend Digital Photo Professional. Its a helluva s/w for import, organising, converting and basic PP. Its RAW tool is certainly recommendable.

and if you have PS, why not use Adobe Bridge?? its a complete import/organising s/w with full PS support.

 

[marvelousprashant]

^anirbad If you have a DSLR and shoot in RAW... Nothing beats DxO Pro. They have tailormade profiles for most of the DSLRs hence more accurate and automatic results wrt noise reduction and lens distortion

 

[skr]

Amazing treasure trove of information!!! Let the knowledge keep flowing!!!

 

[mastervk]

I have some portraits on which i would like to do some post processing..Is there any general set of adjustments (like denoise,smooth,sharpen etc) which you guys use on portraits?

My problem i know how do do something in PS/LR but don't know what to do ?

 

[marvelousprashant]

^ Each photo has its own needs

 

[anirbandd]

^anirbad If you have a DSLR and shoot in RAW... Nothing beats DxO Pro. They have tailormade profiles for most of the DSLRs hence more accurate and automatic results wrt noise reduction and lens distortion

Hmm..
tailor made or not, a s/w made by canon's own engineers are by far the best for canon cams, especially dSLRs. who would know their cams better?? only, i think they have discontinued the thing...

and if not DPP, i use Bridge, seamless integration with PS, where you get to edit RAW to your imagination's limit, and not according to some readymade profiles.

I have some portraits on which i would like to do some post processing..Is there any general set of adjustments (like denoise,smooth,sharpen etc) which you guys use on portraits?

My problem i know how do do something in PS/LR but don't know what to do ?

you have answered your problem yourself.
fix a goal, and use your resources to achieve it.

 

[marvelousprashant]

DxO Pro is made by DxO labs. They also rate camera sensors and have rated D800E at #1 and 1DX at #12. So I guess Canon engineers aren't involved

 

[anirbandd]

Hmm..
tailor made or not, a s/w made by canon's own engineers are by far the best for canon cams, especially dSLRs. who would know their cams better?? only, i think they have discontinued the thing...

and if not DPP, i use Bridge, seamless integration with PS, where you get to edit RAW to your imagination's limit, and not according to some readymade profiles.



you have answered your problem yourself.
fix a goal, and use your resources to achieve it.

DxO Pro is made by DxO labs. They also rate camera sensors and have rated D800E at #1 and 1DX at #12. So I guess Canon engineers aren't involved

err.. i was talking about DPP..? my mistake, should have specified.

 

[marvelousprashant]

Tutorial : Selective Coloring

Software used : Adobe Photoshop CS5

Skill Required : Noob without any prior knowledge of Photoshop

Instructions:
1. Open Photoshop. Go to File > Open and browse the image you want to open

*lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4L6gbU5SEqI/UPzyjtWEPBI/AAAAAAAABHI/1hJM1W6Zkzc/s800/Screenshot%2520%25282%2529.png


2. Duplicate the image. Use the shortcut "Ctrl +J". You will see another layer named Layer 1 under Layers tab

*lh5.googleusercontent.com/-G6oC14ph7xE/UPzyjqk2RNI/AAAAAAAABHQ/96gvugKJ5iI/s800/Screenshot%2520%25283%2529.png



3. Select Background layer. Go to the Adjustments tab on the right hand pane. Select black and white. You may not see any change in the image yet. It is because the background layer below the Layer 1 has become black and white. However Layer 1 covers it like a blanket. However you can see a layer Black and White 1 between Background and Layer 1

*lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Ed9EHViVVOk/UPzyjlGxnQI/AAAAAAAABHM/TlB8n0PHlOo/s800/Screenshot%2520%25284%2529.png


*lh5.googleusercontent.com/-U8G82CeTWK8/UPzym-2RYaI/AAAAAAAABHk/7n6aecgUAYc/s800/Screenshot%2520%25285%2529.png


4. Select Layer 1. Now select the Quick Selection Tool from left hand toolbar (or by pressing the key W)




5. As you can see the top bar has now changed. It now shows options for the quick selection tool. I've set the brush size to 8. You can change it depending on the resolution and subject if you want to.



6. Using the Quick Selection Tool, select the area of image you want to remain colored.The Quick Selection Tool is very precise in detecting margins.

*lh6.googleusercontent.com/-CqdFaZO5Sj0/UPzynHWN11I/AAAAAAAABHo/ji0DD9nqh10/s800/Screenshot%2520%25286%2529.png



7. After selecting, go to the Right hand pane. Select MASKS. Click on the Add a Pixel Mask. VOILA. You are done! You can save your final image now.

*lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5B6Cbblr2w4/UPzym-ArVQI/AAAAAAAABHg/RuYu-oW9bqA/s800/Screenshot%2520%25287%2529.png

 

[nac]

Prashant, I really appreciate your effort

 

[sujoyp]

Good work prashant

 

[quagmire]

Prashant can u give a little more details about this pic of yours..

*farm9.staticflickr.com/8235/8377186237_cbbc6ddb93.jpg

I have read that -

Pointing your camera in different directions will give you different star trails. For example, if you point your camera North, you will see circular trails as the stars rotate around Polaris, pointing your camera South will give you horizontal trails, and pointing it East or West will give you curving trails across the sky.

So u pointed your camera in the SE or SW direction?
Can u explain -

Gaps merged by creating a duplicate layer and adding motion blur in PS

 

[marvelousprashant]

SouthWest

Whenever you do star trails by composite method, the trails are not continuous. The gaps represent the processing time taken by camera between two images. DSLRS have faster/dual processors and these gaps are very small. They are removed by the app used for compositing (in my case "Startrails")

However my SX240 takes around 10s to process a 15s exposure. So gaps are created.

There is an intelligent way to remove the gap. The pole star is the center of rotation. In photoshop duplicate the layer. Change opacity to 60%. Enter Transform mode (ctrl +T). Move the center to pole star and rotate slightly. The trails from 2nd layer will fill the gaps in 1st layer.

Since my shot did not have the pole star I could not rotate the duplicate layer. So I added motion blur at an angle roughly matching the direction of trails. The blur filled the gaps solving my purpose

 

[Tejas.Gupta]

I've noticed when Professional photographers post their pics on FB, they've got a different effect to it...
which gives an awesome feel.
How do they do it ?