Decision making process!!

[Not4wood]

OK, I've seen the choices of videos. I've purchased PE5, 6 is not available in my area yet so I jumped the gun a little.

I did get the free offer to take the classes from Adobe and I haven't gotten to that yet. I want to try my hand on my first Image.

--
Now, I went out Thanksgiving morning and had taken several shots. This was one I liked but is a little too light and needs more orange on the tops of the trees above the walker. The trees in the background on the right also need to be brought out a little and I think there is too much detail in the surrounding trees on my side of the path. Originally shot in RAW format so I have room to play.

1st shot:
http://www.elementsvillage.com/gallery/files/1/5/3/1/4/DSC_0247_Edited_thumb.jpg (http://www.elementsvillage.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=612&c=)

I Darkened the shot over all, and added in more Hue and Saturation to get this where I think its almost exactly like the way I had seen it when I took the shot. But, I think my first shot here looks to me like a more natural light. How do you make decisions as to what to correct? I haven't done color correction or darkroom work in an extremely long time and I now have two good images but I cant decide on which one i should keep working on.

2nd more dramatic and realistic as to time of exposure.
http://www.elementsvillage.com/gallery/files/1/5/3/1/4/Edited_20071123_7_shadowdetaillightened_thumb.jpg (http://www.elementsvillage.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=613&c=member&imageuser=15314)

[hotstuff]

Hi,
For me I would go with what you think looks nice.
A prof photographer would say neither was right.
I like the colours in the second pic but the foreground is to dark.
Saying that both pics are nice and everyones opinion is different, thats what maks us individuals I guess.
Not much help really was I lol.

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

Hi Mark,

That is a great shot. As with all things artistic, there is no right or wrong. Here is my opinion for what it is worth. I like the desaturated first image. Your shot seems to have that dreamy quality that begs for soft colors. I moved the person to the rule of thirds point that I find pleasing. You lose some of the trees, but the path in the foreground leads your eye to the subject. I am a big fan of Dorothea Lange. Many of her landscapes were done that way.

1685

Keep up the good work,

Bob

[Not4wood]

Hi Mark,

That is a great shot. As with all things artistic, there is no right or wrong. Here is my opinion for what it is worth. I like the desaturated first image. Your shot seems to have that dreamy quality that begs for soft colors. I moved the person to the rule of thirds point that I find pleasing. You lose some of the trees, but the path in the foreground leads your eye to the subject. I am a big fan of Dorothea Lange. Many of her landscapes were done that way.

1685

Keep up the good work,

Bob

Thanks for the kind words, Bob.

See thats why I had a problem making this decision. I also liked the softer pastels of the first image (your right, I didn't crop it but I did crop the second image LOL I spent more time on the second version). But, when I took the shot I was in the dark area of the heavy shadows and looking thru the trees to the open field where the walker was. Also, the second pic has the correct colors in the tops of the trees. I had shot this in RAW and it gives me the option of changing my mind too many ways for good shots. :þ

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

Hi Mark,

As indicated above, there is no right/wrong. The tree tops have merit too. There are dozens of ways to modify these shots.

Sad to say I have not done too much shooting in RAW. Too many things, too little time. Last Christmas I got the National Geographic's The Ultimate Field Guide to Photography. It has an excellent chapter on RAW processing. While I read the book, cover to cover, I have not tried the many good suggestions contained therein. It is on my to-do list, but it is nowhere near the top of the list:(.

I took a look at your link to Aviation Pics. Are you in that industry?

Cheers,

Bob

[GaryK]

I had shot this in RAW and it gives me the option of changing my mind too many ways for good shots. :þ


Mark :D:D

You have to love all the choices. That, IMHO, is the biggest con as well as the biggest plus when you are doing digital editing and/or creating.

Go with the flow. Realize that there are countless options and results, all of which can have merit.
Unless you are in this to make money (which is fine, but a whole different set of concerns) enjoy the time playing.:)

[Chuck S.]

I haven't tried this, but I understand you can:


Take a RAW photo through ACR once to adjust for the highlights, then save as a PSD.
Run the raw through a second time to adjust for the shadows, then save as another PSD.
Sandwich the two PSD's as layers in a single file.
Use erasing or masking to bring up the shadows while leaving the highlights alone.Truth be told, this could be done with any type of image; RAW just tends to have more recoverable detail in the highlights and shadows than a JPEG>

[GaryK]

Chuck

Is there not a way to use the blending modes..or is that just in PS?

I thought I saw something, somewhere, sometime, but I cant recall.:rolleyes::confused:

[Chuck S.]

Chuck

Is there not a way to use the blending modes..or is that just in PS?

I thought I saw something, somewhere, sometime, but I cant recall.:rolleyes::confused:

Gary, I'll bet you're right....but I don't remember it either. My initials, regrettably, are CRS...:cool:

[Not4wood]

Hi Mark,

As indicated above, there is no right/wrong. ..<SNIP>
I took a look at your link to Aviation Pics. Are you in that industry?

Cheers,

Bob

No Bob, I'm not, wish I was LOL. I am just an avid aviation fan. Besides Photography, I have always been facinated with flight. To such a point that I am one of those who use the computer to fly using Microsoft Flight Simulator. Its a great program and I am very involved in this area on the net.

[Not4wood]

Mark :D:D

You have to love all the choices. That, IMHO, is the biggest con as well as the biggest plus when you are doing digital editing and/or creating.

Go with the flow. Realize that there are countless options and results, all of which can have merit.
Unless you are in this to make money (which is fine, but a whole different set of concerns) enjoy the time playing.:)

LOL, OK now I know and understand what was so overwhelming. Besides having my "Previsualized" Image in my Head after I had made my first Edit in PE5 I had actually created a new version that I had Not seen and I liked that version as well. Confusing, hell yeah but these options can get too overwhelming to anybody. I guess since I do have experience in Photography and can see the Image before hand some of this does get easier. But I can get trapped in the too many choices options when something comes up that I didn't expect. LOL
Too much of a learning curve between the PE5 and my Nikon D80.

--
Making money from this??? LOL Not likely... Been there, done that. I am now in Construction (Left Photography for Construction as funny as that is) and make a lot more money, paid Holidays, paid sick days and whats better is paid vacation days. My last stint in the business, I was the Manager of a small Portrait Studio in Mahattan. If I didn't show up for work, I didn't get paid. I did get Vacation pay but it was minimal. Paid Holidays? The bare minimum if that, with a normal 10 1/2 Hour days and thats not counting travel in full blown Rush Hour. For me travel time was about an Hour and a half going in. Rush Hour coming home was always a nightmare. Closer to 2 and if in bad weather, closer to sometimes 3 full Hours of travel. Thats like from New York to Florida with room to spare by plane. LOL

[GaryK]

Mark

The only reason I brought up the money bit was because you have to be particular if you are doing this for somebody else for pay.:)

The worst part or most magical part (depends on your point of view) is when a totally unexpected result happens, that just looks so nice, you can't believe you just did it. Of course, you will never be able to recreate the effect no matter how much you try.:D

[Not4wood]

Mark

The worst part or most magical part (depends on your point of view) is when a totally unexpected result happens, that just looks so nice, you can't believe you just did it. Of course, you will never be able to recreate the effect no matter how much you try.:D

But thats the part of this whole concept of "Photography as Art". The accidents that cause something spectacular and you get so dumb struck by what actually had taken place. These little actions of greatness, is what makes this as legitimate as any other art media.

Walking down a park or forest path and finding something to shoot that no one else has seen. Whether it be the lighting, wildlife, scenery or just something so special that when you grab the shot you know you got something worth while. Then when you take it home and look at the image you find that something had happened. You made a mistake in the shot, (hopefully you had taken more then 1 LOL) and at the same time this mistake is something that you would never do normally and created something that is worth bragging about.

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

Hi All,

This thread contains some of the very essence of the image making art! I think so much of seeing process that I have named my newsletter Seeing. This is not a scholarly work, but a little addition to my classes on digital photography and PSE. It is published on an irregular basis during the 6 week run of the classes three times a year. An example of this can be found on my website:

http://www.s-i-inc.com/Seeing02.pdf

Currently, there are nine all together named Seeing01.pdf - Seeing09.pdf. They probably have little value for anyone in this forum, but I put this out there in the "for what it's worth department."

Cheers,

Bob