Jump to content

How professionals avoid over-do on editing?


Recommended Posts

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I have the problem over-do the post processing, usually over saturated or over-contrast. It has something to do with seeing the monitor for too long (> 1 hours).  It's kind of staying in a strong fragrant room that lost the correct sense.

How do professionals do away from this problem?  Is there any objective judgement tools?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Taking frequent breaks helps rest eyes and brain. I try to avoid uninterrupted sessions longer than 40 minutes. I also reexamine my processed pictures the following day, if time permits and I feel it is important to do so.

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, wda said:

Taking frequent breaks helps rest eyes and brain. I try to avoid uninterrupted sessions longer than 40 minutes. I also reexamine my processed pictures the following day, if time permits and I feel it is important to do so.

I wish there is "coffee bean can" for photography. You know, that resets the fragrant.  

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

vor 52 Minuten schrieb wda:

Taking frequent breaks helps rest eyes and brain. I try to avoid uninterrupted sessions longer than 40 minutes. I also reexamine my processed pictures the following day, if time permits and I feel it is important to do so.

What I like today I dislike tomorrow. So I am frequently working on my fotos. After a year or so when I look at a foto with my wife we think that this or that is not ideal. So I change again. In any case I like post processing in a way that the result looks natural. I use the brush a lot. Probably my most used LR tool.

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Do your post processing and then put them aside for a couple of days, when you come back the faults should be obvious. If you want a judgement tool just press 'auto' every now and again for colour and see if it gets better or worse or if you agree or disagree with it.

Edited by 250swb
  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Einst_Stein said:

I have the problem over-do the post processing, usually over saturated or over-contrast. It has something to do with seeing the monitor for too long (> 1 hours).  It's kind of staying in a strong fragrant room that lost the correct sense.

How do professionals do away from this problem?  Is there any objective judgement tools?

To be blunt; experience, that's what we are paid for and we don't get paid for unnecessary work.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Professional or enthusiast, one either has, or develops, a good eye and good judgment, or not. It’s the same qualities that lead to good pics to start. Pros aren’t immune to pushing the envelope on contrast and/or saturation, but that’s often what buyers want. Art and business sense are not always the same. 

Looking at lots of art...prints and paintings...and getting feedback from others on one’s own work (including from respected teachers/photographers/printers), can often help. I first make work prints of worthy pics and, as others suggest, live with them a while to determine what’s working or not. Having consistent lighting and display environment is important to make sound observations.

Jeff

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes, I also found a good environment lighting  is as important as a good monitor. 
 

I am practising PS bracketing. For example, if  I think turning the major knob (whatever Ithink it should be) to 50 is the most pleasing, I will export the bracketed version with. say,  +/- 10, nd comeback a few days later to compare again.  I also keep a hitogram of my afterward judge, hoping to develop a sort of “training records”. 
 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, Einst_Stein said:

Yes, I also found a good environment lighting  is as important as a good monitor. 
 


 

 

Photography is all about light... from shot to finished display.  Even after making what seems to be a fine print, the chosen cover glass can subtly reduce light transmission such that the print no longer ‘sings’.  Darkroom workers familiar with wet print dry-down can surely relate.
 

One device that some use to assist in assessing digital prints is a print viewing booth (see GTI, etc.). It’s important that the light temp matches the eventual display lighting.  
 

Another tool I use is ImagePrint software, which provides profiles and full time soft proofing not only for virtually all papers, but also for different display lighting conditions.  In the end, though, nothing substitutes for a good eye and good decision making.  No magic bullet.

Jeff

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I discovered that many of my standard import settings were redundant, especially for some of my lenses (clarity, contrast etc). But when something already is there, it isn't always so easy to realize that it would have been better without. So now my new import preset is set to an absolute minimum (most parameters set to zero). It is better to add effects when they are really needed.

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Leica28 said:

It is akin to writing a book.  You can edit endlessly and never finish.  At some point (sooner than later) you just say enough is enough and move on.  

Would all that endless editing be on your time or your customers time? 

The question is how do professionals deal with judgement, and has been said it's often by using experience or a pre-existing formula for the job in hand. When I was a theatre photographer I did sets of large photographs for front of house and viewing in the foyer, then a set of the same pictures as 8x10 at a lower contrast but with the same dodging and burning for print reproduction. It was a formula and could only be a formula because the prints needed to be done overnight for display and circulation the following morning. You can easily forget you are making judgement calls because they become instinctive.

When it is your own work that is where the difficulty can arise. You do have the time, you do want to take the photograph to the next stage, and hopefully you are trying to input something personal. Your own work is also something you revisit, and while I've already said 'put the images aside for a couple of days' before choosing the best interpretation or starting again it can be weeks before you know what is right or wrong. Context can change how you'd reassess previous images. Themes develop as you go through a set of images, these can be visual style or content based but the last one can affect how you re-see the first one. That's why I think editing a set of images should be the first thing to do before post processing any of them. As a set the ones you are left with create a collective context and you can think about them all while still post processing them individually.

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Don't have your monitor set to bright! Rule of thumb is that white should be not far off a white piece of paper in front of the monitor. Too bright a monitor will lead to dark output, tired eyes and poorly judged images. Also keep an eye on your rib figures when holding the cursor over areas of interest. neutrals should be neutrals, highlights should be actually highlights and so on.  Lastly, have an idea of what you are trying to achieve with an image and aim for that rather than just adjusting it.

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

It sounds kind of trivial: look at some of your body of work that you made in the last few weeks, months, even a year. Holding the prints upside down may be helpful. If there are any effects wich you often overdo or underdo, they now should stand out.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...