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Post-Processing Digital Images
Post processing use... (This thread will be echoed in the main photography forum)
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May 23, 2022 12:03:34   #
Rongnongno Loc: FL
 
It seems that many folks still considering using post-processing is akin to putting lipstick on a pig.

It cannot be further from the truth.

However great your original capture is, it is rarely good enough and needs help.

Here is a sample of an image I am correcting in order to print it 4x4 feet.

I am using a capture screen to show what PP is really used for.

Main photography thread

 
 

Notice the specks of dust and small imperfections.
Notice the specks of dust and small imperfections....
(Download)

Cleaned image.
Cleaned image....
(Download)

Reply
May 23, 2022 12:07:22   #
R.G. Loc: Scotland
 
Anybody expecting all SOOC images to be fully optimised is not being realistic, regardless of how good their camera skills are.

Reply
May 23, 2022 12:30:46   #
joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA
 
Rongnongno wrote:
It seems that many folks still considering using post-processing is akin to putting lipstick on a pig.

It cannot be further from the truth.

However great your original capture is, it is rarely good enough and needs help.

Here is a sample of an image I am correcting in order to print it 4x4 feet.

I am using a capture screen to show what PP is really used for.

Main photography thread

 
 


Great solution to a variety of photographic problems ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Reply
 
 
May 23, 2022 12:37:48   #
DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
 
The only SOOC photos I take are of a white screen when looking for sensor dust.l

Even if the image coming out of the camera as a jpg looks just fine, I run it through post because the aspect ratio is an important part of the composition. That's something I can't change in the camera.

Reply
May 24, 2022 06:28:13   #
tcthome Loc: NJ
 
Rongnongno wrote:
It seems that many folks still considering using post-processing is akin to putting lipstick on a pig.

It cannot be further from the truth.

However great your original capture is, it is rarely good enough and needs help.

Here is a sample of an image I am correcting in order to print it 4x4 feet.

I am using a capture screen to show what PP is really used for.

Main photography thread

 
 


So that's what the software is for. I shoot Nikon, raw, flat. Most photos need some type of boost because of the flat picture control. Clean up always spruces things up. Outside of dust & imperfection, very few photos are 100% SOOC from me & if they are, there usually shot in great sunlight.

Reply
May 24, 2022 08:56:41   #
Stephan G
 
Rongnongno wrote:
It seems that many folks still considering using post-processing is akin to putting lipstick on a pig.

It cannot be further from the truth.

However great your original capture is, it is rarely good enough and needs help.

Here is a sample of an image I am correcting in order to print it 4x4 feet.

I am using a capture screen to show what PP is really used for.

Main photography thread

 
 


Let's not overlook the dust specks on our glasses.



[Serious Note: Dust specks can come from anywhere. This is why it behooves us to check everything.]


Reply
May 24, 2022 09:48:59   #
anotherview Loc: California
 
I agree with this observation: "However great your original capture is, it is rarely good enough and needs help."

I believe it applies to photography pretty much since its inception.

I know all my photographs need some processing (including cropping) for bringing out their potential.
Rongnongno wrote:
It seems that many folks still considering using post-processing is akin to putting lipstick on a pig.

It cannot be further from the truth.

However great your original capture is, it is rarely good enough and needs help.

Here is a sample of an image I am correcting in order to print it 4x4 feet.

I am using a capture screen to show what PP is really used for.

Main photography thread

 
 

Reply
 
 
May 24, 2022 09:59:27   #
gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast
 
When I use my NEFs, everything needs PP. For JPEGs, sometimes SOOC is fine. It just "depends".

Reply
May 24, 2022 12:00:57   #
DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
 
Stephan G wrote:
Let's not overlook the dust specks on our glasses.



[Serious Note: Dust specks can come from anywhere. This is why it behooves us to check everything.]



More than once I have tried to eliminate spots on an image, only to discover that they were on my monitor.

Reply
May 24, 2022 14:11:48   #
cbtsam Loc: Monkton, MD
 
Rongnongno wrote:
It seems that many folks still considering using post-processing is akin to putting lipstick on a pig.

It cannot be further from the truth.

However great your original capture is, it is rarely good enough and needs help.

Here is a sample of an image I am correcting in order to print it 4x4 feet.

I am using a capture screen to show what PP is really used for.

Main photography thread

 
 


I certainly agree with the general thrust of your argument, Ron. SOOC was never how the greats in the history of photography worked in the days of film and darkrooms. However, I do think that putting lipstick on a pig could easily be another legitimate use of PP.

Reply
May 24, 2022 14:38:36   #
awesome14 Loc: UK
 
For many occupations there are data-processing applications to assist. Without the assistance of digital data-processing, many occupations would be back in the stone age! There are noteworthy exceptions, such as skilled trades, some of which benefit only slightly from data-processing capability.

Photography uses data-processing from beginning to end (the output of the sensor to the output of the print head)! But the light striking the camera sensor, and reflecting off the print, are analog signals. Digital cameras are essentially specialized computers that transform analog light signals into digital representations via digital processing done to sensor data, which are subsequently recorded on storage-media.

This process requires a microcontroller, storage contoller/manager, operating system, display, graphical user interface, and many times an on-screen keyboard and touch-screen; just like a small home/office computer.

Digital cameras are different than data-processing systems that have much more computing power; peripherals such as monitors, scanners and printers, external keyboards and pointing devices. But the fundamental principles of semiconductor microprocessors/microcontrollers that use 'and/or' gates (open or closed transistors) to manipulate binary numbers, internal ram memory, BIOS (Basic Input Output System), a vibrating quartz frequency standard (clock), various I/O (Input/Output) ports and controllers, interrupt signals, a file system, a display controller, networking adapter, USB controller, and audio controller are the same!

Smart watches
digital cellular phones (including smart phones)
networking routers
cable modems
home computers
laptops
digital cameras
home theater systems
digital projectors
analytical measurementation instruments
medical monitoring systems
droids
cars
lithium battery chargers
light and sound measurement instrumentation
chromotography and mass spectrometry equipment
electron microscopes
fitness trackers
GPS receivers
two-way radios
precision clocks
music/disc players
IoT (Internet of Things: remote sensors, video doorbells, home automation, remote security access)
flat-screen TV/displays
Amazon Kindle
Modern home appliances
& Calculators

are all specialized computers, designed to assist mankind in performing some necessay function. So, don't get the idea that a digital camera isn't doing PP, because the camera does more PP (to the sensor image) than any other step in the process!

So, if we're going to use digital data-processing in our cameras, it's a little late to forbid such use outside the camera! PP is an extension of the camera, functions not included in the camera's operating system which is very minimalist, because it must be fast and small.

I view my tools, whether used for photography, or home and auto repair, as extensions of my mind and hands that greatly increase my capabilities, and therefore the value of my contributions to this world. But the most powerful element in creation of great images is not the lens, nor the body, nor the brand, nor the latest features in photo/PP/printing equipment!

So, then, what could it be, if it's none of those? I'm stumped! Oh, wait, could it be the human mind!? None of that other stuff will help without a mind behind it. Every tool is inert without a mind to conceive how to use it. And where there is no knowledge there is no wisdom. We can only know how if we know how!

But how can we use PP if we don't know how? The mind has amazing faculties of learning. Rather than join the bandwagon of those whose entire purpose for existence is to promote learning only what they deem is necessary--because no one needs to know that other stuff (those who claim(ed) they'd never use high-school algebra in real life come to mind)--I am willing to at least evaluate promising possibilities for better photos; possibilities that involve expenditure of time and effort!

For instance, on my personal computing devices I use Android (which is Linux) or Linux. I get 1,000x the number of software packages, and if I ever lose the system, I only need a backup of one directory, and I can reinstall all of my applications with all of my settings, at one time, off the Internet. I just feed the package manager the list of programs I had on the last system, and I can come back 20 minutes later, and the system will be exactly how it was before I lost it, right down to all the logins stored in my web browser and every customization I performed bar none!

The same thing applies to OS upgrades. But I use Debian, which supports each release for 5 years. After 5 years, the packages are available, but no further updates will be made except security updates. For this convenience I pay not one penny!

I can do so much more with digital images than LR or PS, it isn't even worth getting into! It's like a car vs a horse. I can crop and scale 1000 photos in 2 minutes. I can work with every format of RAW image, make movies with Cinellera (If not for Linux and Cinellera, movies like Avatar would require 10 years of PP!)!

I can make 3D animations from digital still images, and batch-process video frame-by-frame. I can also use PS, but I don't find it as flexible as GIMP! There are more Linux applications than any other OS, and 85% of Internet-connected devices, and most of the Internet itself, runs on Linux. The distribution I use has 59,000+ applications available, plus millions more in source-code form! I can install 1 or 10,000, or 50,000 of them, or anywhere in between!

So, what did I have to do to get all that? First, I had to admit to myself that Linux might be better than what I had. That same admission applies to PP. I was using PP before I owned a digital camera! I immediately saw it for what it is: an extension to my creativity!

Once I've established the value of a new thing, I sit down and learn it! I don't just read everything about it first. Picture this, you have read everything there is to know about a certain person! But you still have no idea of what meeting in person would be like! That's the same with new tools. How many books does anyone read about 'how to take a shower'? You really won't know until you try! Or, try to learn how to drive out of a book!

I have a relative who posed a question to himself, 'Which one should I choose for photography? Film or digital?' He picked film! I told him it wasn't to late to switch, that perhaps he couldn't make a fair comparison, due to lack of experience. He got angry for me presumimg to know what's best for 'him'!

But, I think we can agree here that digital is better than film for almost everything. So, don't get stuck being stodgy. Try out new things, and keep the good ones.

Reply
 
 
May 24, 2022 15:15:05   #
Stephan G
 
awesome14 wrote:
For many occupations there are data-processing applications to assist. Without the assistance of digital data-processing, many occupations would be back in the stone age! There are noteworthy exceptions, such as skilled trades, some of which benefit only slightly from data-processing capability.

Photography uses data-processing from beginning to end (the output of the sensor to the output of the print head)! But the light striking the camera sensor, and reflecting off the print, are analog signals. Digital cameras are essentially specialized computers that transform analog light signals into digital representations via digital processing done to sensor data, which are subsequently recorded on storage-media.

This process requires a microcontroller, storage contoller/manager, operating system, display, graphical user interface, and many times an on-screen keyboard and touch-screen; just like a small home/office computer.

Digital cameras are different than data-processing systems that have much more computing power; peripherals such as monitors, scanners and printers, external keyboards and pointing devices. But the fundamental principles of semiconductor microprocessors/microcontrollers that use 'and/or' gates (open or closed transistors) to manipulate binary numbers, internal ram memory, BIOS (Basic Input Output System), a vibrating quartz frequency standard (clock), various I/O (Input/Output) ports and controllers, interrupt signals, a file system, a display controller, networking adapter, USB controller, and audio controller are the same!

Smart watches
digital cellular phones (including smart phones)
networking routers
cable modems
home computers
laptops
digital cameras
home theater systems
digital projectors
analytical measurementation instruments
medical monitoring systems
droids
cars
lithium battery chargers
light and sound measurement instrumentation
chromotography and mass spectrometry equipment
electron microscopes
fitness trackers
GPS receivers
two-way radios
precision clocks
music/disc players
IoT (Internet of Things: remote sensors, video doorbells, home automation, remote security access)
flat-screen TV/displays
Amazon Kindle
Modern home appliances
& Calculators

are all specialized computers, designed to assist mankind in performing some necessay function. So, don't get the idea that a digital camera isn't doing PP, because the camera does more PP (to the sensor image) than any other step in the process!

So, if we're going to use digital data-processing in our cameras, it's a little late to forbid such use outside the camera! PP is an extension of the camera, functions not included in the camera's operating system which is very minimalist, because it must be fast and small.

I view my tools, whether used for photography, or home and auto repair, as extensions of my mind and hands that greatly increase my capabilities, and therefore the value of my contributions to this world. But the most powerful element in creation of great images is not the lens, nor the body, nor the brand, nor the latest features in photo/PP/printing equipment!

So, then, what could it be, if it's none of those? I'm stumped! Oh, wait, could it be the human mind!? None of that other stuff will help without a mind behind it. Every tool is inert without a mind to conceive how to use it. And where there is no knowledge there is no wisdom. We can only know how if we know how!

But how can we use PP if we don't know how? The mind has amazing faculties of learning. Rather than join the bandwagon of those whose entire purpose for existence is to promote learning only what they deem is necessary--because no one needs to know that other stuff (those who claim(ed) they'd never use high-school algebra in real life come to mind)--I am willing to at least evaluate promising possibilities for better photos; possibilities that involve expenditure of time and effort!

For instance, on my personal computing devices I use Android (which is Linux) or Linux. I get 1,000x the number of software packages, and if I ever lose the system, I only need a backup of one directory, and I can reinstall all of my applications with all of my settings, at one time, off the Internet. I just feed the package manager the list of programs I had on the last system, and I can come back 20 minutes later, and the system will be exactly how it was before I lost it, right down to all the logins stored in my web browser and every customization I performed bar none!

The same thing applies to OS upgrades. But I use Debian, which supports each release for 5 years. After 5 years, the packages are available, but no further updates will be made except security updates. For this convenience I pay not one penny!

I can do so much more with digital images than LR or PS, it isn't even worth getting into! It's like a car vs a horse. I can crop and scale 1000 photos in 2 minutes. I can work with every format of RAW image, make movies with Cinellera (If not for Linux and Cinellera, movies like Avatar would require 10 years of PP!)!

I can make 3D animations from digital still images, and batch-process video frame-by-frame. I can also use PS, but I don't find it as flexible as GIMP! There are more Linux applications than any other OS, and 85% of Internet-connected devices, and most of the Internet itself, runs on Linux. The distribution I use has 59,000+ applications available, plus millions more in source-code form! I can install 1 or 10,000, or 50,000 of them, or anywhere in between!

So, what did I have to do to get all that? First, I had to admit to myself that Linux might be better than what I had. That same admission applies to PP. I was using PP before I owned a digital camera! I immediately saw it for what it is: an extension to my creativity!

Once I've established the value of a new thing, I sit down and learn it! I don't just read everything about it first. Picture this, you have read everything there is to know about a certain person! But you still have no idea of what meeting in person would be like! That's the same with new tools. How many books does anyone read about 'how to take a shower'? You really won't know until you try! Or, try to learn how to drive out of a book!

I have a relative who posed a question to himself, 'Which one should I choose for photography? Film or digital?' He picked film! I told him it wasn't to late to switch, that perhaps he couldn't make a fair comparison, due to lack of experience. He got angry for me presumimg to know what's best for 'him'!

But, I think we can agree here that digital is better than film for almost everything. So, don't get stuck being stodgy. Try out new things, and keep the good ones.
For many occupations there are data-processing app... (show quote)


There are applications in which analog beats out the serrated digital. As for your "advice" about "film vs digital", did you ask what result was being sought? I.e., the size of the final photo would make a good indicator of which direction to go. As in, 'keep the good ones"?

Computers do make mistakes, by the by. You know, the GIGO scenario.

Reply
May 24, 2022 16:27:38   #
DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
 
Stephan G wrote:
...Computers do make mistakes, by the by. You know, the GIGO scenario.


While computers do make mistakes, they are fairly rare.

GIGO is not a computer mistake. It's a user error. Putting garbage into the computer in the first place. The main cause of computer errors is PEBCAK (various spellings): Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard.

(And I'm not sure what you are referring to as "serrated digital").

Reply
May 24, 2022 16:59:37   #
davyboy Loc: Anoka Mn.
 
Rongnongno wrote:
It seems that many folks still considering using post-processing is akin to putting lipstick on a pig.

It cannot be further from the truth.

However great your original capture is, it is rarely good enough and needs help.

Here is a sample of an image I am correcting in order to print it 4x4 feet.

I am using a capture screen to show what PP is really used for.

Main photography thread

 
 

Can’t really see them specks

Reply
May 24, 2022 17:20:50   #
jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana
 
Thank you.

Reply
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