Pat F 4119 Loc: Branford, CT

Hi All, I’ve been shooting mostly portraits in and out of the studio lately and am struggling with bringing my editing to a higher level. My clients seem to love their images, but I’m not always satisfied and I know they can be better. I’ve resisted purchasing presets because it seems to be the consensus that true photographers create their own images, start to finish, and I agree. I’ve seen many ads for Sean Archer presets, and I’ve been considering purchasing them while they’re on sale, to be used as perhaps a guide, so that I can learn to mimic the results without the aid of the presets eventually. So, I’m wondering if any fellow Hoggers have any experience with these presets in particular, or even presets in general, I would appreciate any advice you can offer. Thanks.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Sadly a preset will not teach you anything...

You may want to explain what your issues are before going full blast on PP.

Tomfl101 Loc: Mount Airy, MD

Studying the techniques of others is how we all learn and improve our craft. I’m sure the Sean Archer presets will be useful. I bought a preset package a couple years ago and realized how simple most of them were and started making my own in LR. My suggestion would be to get the lowest price set and view as many free you tube tutorials as you can find.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Archer has a wonderful group of models and a very consistent method of posing and lighting before he begins editing the images. I've never thought to investigate his processing steps. If I were, I'd be interested in both the slider positions (aka presets) and having access to original images to see where the file started. The images and the editing go together and I don't see how one can be useful without the other.

Another possible way of investing in his presets that might be useful would be to gain access to his feedback. Here, you might consider other ideas that are completely free. In a Lightroom world, you can export to the DNG format that allows you to transfer both the RAW image data and the edits from your LR catalog. This allows you to share your image with others where they can edit / re-edit and return a DNG you re-import, that doesn't replace the original. Rather, the response DNG lets you compare at a 1:1 pixel level the two images as well as see all the slider positions of the 2nd version.

I went to his site and it looks like you'd get 'before' versions of images along with the 'edit instructions'. A $300 'discount' seems very attractive. But still, is there $70 worth of 'value' in the product delivered? Attached is an analysis I did of 4 random picks of a 60ish pack of $20 LR presets I bought a long time ago when getting started in LR. I've never let any of these presets closer to my images than this demonstration and analysis of how they work. The $20 insight was: don't do that again.

Looking again at Sean's website, what catches my eye from the 'before' thumbnails is the 'before' versions are relatively close to the 'finished' version. That's expert shooting technique, not processing. Smoothing the skin, adding sparkle to the eyes, and further 'modeling' the light are useful techniques and insights into portrait processing. These insights might well be worth $70 and cheaper than where you might gain this insight from others. What I didn't see advertised in the preset pack was access to Sean and his review, like via the DNG idea above. It looks like he's selling a tool, not just presets, where you might get a software tool that 'guides' you through the edit process, in multiple Adobe software packages, rather than presets that do nothing more than slap slider positions onto your random images. That 'tool' would be more consistent with the $350 list price for his package.

Below is an example analysis in how LR presets work. I've worked with several UHH members now 1 on 1 via DNGs and dropbox to show ideas on 'image capture' from the EXIF data and to show areas within LR to concentrate when editing.

(Download)

Pat F 4119 Loc: Branford, CT

Thanks for taking the time to provide so much detail. I think getting feedback on my own work will be more effective than pursuing the presets options. I like the idea of using DNG files, and I’ll look into that method further. Hopefully the more feedback I receive, along with more practice, I’ll be able to hone in on the look I envision. I work primarily in LR, and have only scratched the surface using PS, but the first thing to focus on is getting the best image possible in camera, then proceed from there. Thanks again for taking the time to share your feedback!

tcthome Loc: NJ

Not for nothing but, I'll bet the Scott Kelby empire has some good courses for you to learn if the forums thing does not progress your work to your satisfaction. I haven't any experience with there classes but maybe someone on the hog does that can chime in. Good luck & happy holidays.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=kelbyone&src=IE-SearchBox&FORM=IESR3A&pc=EUPP_UE02

stevesf

Hi Pat,
Sean Archer has a "look," for sure, but if you look around sites such as 500px, you will see other photographers with their own look. I think I notice some subtle change in some work, that picks up some of his technique.
One interpretation of his technique can be found here: https://youtu.be/sewlReH9O0c The ideas that Ms. Rudnyk presents are interesting. (My girlfriend particularly likes the use of the Liquefy tool to make the model look slimmer!)