Great Blue Heron
Oct 12, 2014 22:08:43 #
I posted this the photo gallery and Nikonian suggested I post it here and see what would happen. Vicksart also said it could use some lighting,which I agree. I have not yet got into PP and any CC will be appreciated.
Oct 12, 2014 23:52:10 #
MTG44 wrote:
Nikonian and Vicksart have the right of it MTG44 ..... a little PP work will make just about any photograph shine, but only if you have a well crafted image such as you did. I used a number of filters including NIK Viveza and Color Efex, Topaz Restlye, and Smart Photo Editor, in addition the PS CC 2014 Brightness/Contrast sliders to brighten up your GBH.I posted this the photo gallery and Nikonian suggested I post it here and see what would happen. Vicksart also said it could use some lighting,which I agree. I have not yet got into PP and any CC will be appreciated.
Oct 13, 2014 03:22:45 #
I edited your image with free FastStone Image Viewer, version 5.2: http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm
Oct 13, 2014 07:00:58 #
Nikonian72 wrote:
I edited your image with free FastStone Image Viewer, version 5.2: http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm
Thanks so much for taking the time to PP my GBH image. I will be looking into purchasing and learning one of those programs. Thanks again for the help.
Oct 13, 2014 07:12:43 #
Bob Yankle wrote:
Nikonian and Vicksart have the right of it MTG44 ..... a little PP work will make just about any photograph shine, but only if you have a well crafted image such as you did. I used a number of filters including NIK Viveza and Color Efex, Topaz Restlye, and Smart Photo Editor, in addition the PS CC 2014 Brightness/Contrast sliders to brighten up your GBH.
Wow you rely made this shine. Now i will have to get a print made so I can be reminded of what can be done in PP. I am going to start researching programs . What program or PP device would you recommend to get started with. Thanks for taking your time to help.
Oct 13, 2014 07:19:51 #
Just to be different, I got rid of the black stuff above the heron's head. Boosted brightness and contrast, levels a tad, and increased the blue slightly with the blue channel in Curves. Oh yeah, I used GIMP.
Oct 13, 2014 07:47:08 #
MTG44 wrote:
Wow you rely made this shine. Now i will have to get a print made so I can be reminded of what can be done in PP. I am going to start researching programs . What program or PP device would you recommend to get started with. Thanks for taking your time to help.
I highly recommend the Lightroom /Photoshop CC 2014 bundle at $9.99 per month, and Google's NIK Collection as your first set of filters.
Oct 13, 2014 09:20:45 #
Bob Yankle wrote:
I highly recommend the Lightroom /Photoshop CC 2014 bundle at $9.99 per month, and Google's NIK Collection as your first set of filters.
I agree with Bob about the LR/PS bundle but only because LR is probably the best of its kind. It catalogs the pictures for fast retrieval of your subjects. As for post-processing, I like many here, develop 90% of my shots in LR and do not need other programs. In other words, even though you now have PS, you will rarely need it. Now for my disagreement with Bob. You do not need NIK or any other plug-ins for a very long time if ever. You will have enough on your hands just to learn LR. If you want natural looking pictures, you can accomplish that with just LR and PS/PSE. Save your money and focus upon LR.
However, I think the picture raises a larger question than post-processing. I suspect that the picture was underexposed. If so, I would work on the picture taking technique more before getting involved with LR.
Good luck and I hope this helps.
Oct 13, 2014 09:28:51 #
rborud
Loc: Minnesota
MTG44 wrote:
I posted this the photo gallery and Nikonian suggested I post it here and see what would happen. Vicksart also said it could use some lighting,which I agree. I have not yet got into PP and any CC will be appreciated.
MTG44
See if this pleases you.
RBorud
Oct 13, 2014 09:32:08 #
Sometimes a shot can be over-processed. Your shot, I think, just needs to be corrected for color and exposure, not "juiced up." So, here's the shot with these simple, and ordinary, steps:(done in Photoshop CC 2014, but similar adjustments are available in many PP programs)
Color adjustment, "Auto" in Camera Raw Filter. Left in the subtle warm light of the shot without making the blues too strong. A blue heron is barely blue, and in this low sun shot, very gray.
Exposure Adjustment, "Auto" in Curves. The "Auto" in Camera Raw "blew out" (made it too light)
Sharpening, a bit, "Unsharp Mask"
Crop, leaving room for the heron to fly into, while straightening the shot.
Good capture, worth working on.
Color adjustment, "Auto" in Camera Raw Filter. Left in the subtle warm light of the shot without making the blues too strong. A blue heron is barely blue, and in this low sun shot, very gray.
Exposure Adjustment, "Auto" in Curves. The "Auto" in Camera Raw "blew out" (made it too light)
Sharpening, a bit, "Unsharp Mask"
Crop, leaving room for the heron to fly into, while straightening the shot.
Good capture, worth working on.
Oct 13, 2014 09:33:45 #
Another free editor to try is Picasa by Google. I clicked auto-contrast which made a big difference, then slightly lightened and increased highlights. 30-second fix :)
http://picasa.google.com
http://picasa.google.com
Oct 13, 2014 09:38:34 #
artBob, this is pretty much the way the shot should look and done so easily. Everything here could have been done in LR to avoid the longer learning period with PS.
The only changes I would make would be to make a little cooler and add a little negative vignette.
Thanks for developing and posting.
The only changes I would make would be to make a little cooler and add a little negative vignette.
Thanks for developing and posting.
Oct 13, 2014 10:37:54 #
Oct 13, 2014 10:40:37 #
am having a problem posting both photo in one post , so had to do it in 2 posts.... here is my B&W version
Oct 13, 2014 10:44:00 #
[quote=artBob]Sometimes a shot can be over-processed. Your shot, I think, just needs to be corrected for color and exposure, not "juiced up."..................
I actually like your version better than my color version!! I think you where right!!
I actually like your version better than my color version!! I think you where right!!
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