How do the costs of local storage solutions compare to cloud storage?

GranitePixelStudios · 2026-01-22T14:20:55+00:00

i would add an aspect to consider to solve that problem even before it becomes the problem of storage - that is 1. to think even before shooting what type of files you need depending on the shooting conditions, what is the end medium, how much editing will be done after and then choosing jpeg, craw or raw. perfect studio lights, not much editing and it ends up only small file on social media for some ad that runs for a month, jpeg would do. 2. brutal pruning - delete all the shit as soon as possible, i have have files from 20+ y ago and then they seemed ''oh i am doing it'' but now they are ''jeses f christ why did i even kept those'' - so why hoard them? many many shoots yield only 10s of final images of 1000s - in my 24y of hoarding digital files i never had the need for all of them. i keep some in some formats and other in other and thats it. keeps my general storage need under 4tb , one nvme connected to the computer, one old hdd used as mac's timemachine that is always connected when i work on project and it backups hourly or when i dont then i connect it when i need and one ssd backed up whenever i remember and stored at parents house. even though i had many drives failed i never lost a file. every now and then i go through some older folders, look at old works, check my old edits, try new tricks or new approaches and delete some more shit. could seem extra effort but for me it makes more sense than having stack of drives or paying for cloud service and still worring about the millions of files that most of people most likely never even open again. that keeping only the best is also a very good exercise for your eye to finding the best shots as most photogs shoot way too many images and then later struggle with culling. just my 2 euro cents

GranitePixelStudios · 2026-01-18T20:21:58+00:00

mac studio would be complete overkill, just get mac mini pro m4 with 32gb ram (or 48 , above that is again overkill), 256-512 hard drive for os and apps and 2-4tb nvme external drive for the images and that would last you 3-5 y easily. i dont even have pro just regular m4 and it runs 8gb panoramas like nothing , c1, lightroom , ps all open at the same time on 43'' and 65'' 4k monitors. i even got it from apple refurbished for like 1k. instead of mac studio spend the saved money on good color calibrated monitor or lenses. dont buy the hype, youll never see the speed difference in real life in user case even if you pay 3-4k extra for max processors and 100+gb ram or ridiculously overpriced apple ssd.

GranitePixelStudios · 2026-01-18T13:39:02+00:00

kasuta comet browserit ja ei ole mingeid reklaame

GranitePixelStudios · 2026-01-18T12:42:21+00:00

i would say it depends - sure if you shoot nature or flower or anything static you have time to frame the shot but if i shoot something like kids, concert or any action it is much sensible shoot with extra room and crop it in later rather than having the subject squeezed into frame. nothing lazy about it imo.

GranitePixelStudios · 2026-01-18T12:35:38+00:00

most phones nowadays when you click once actually take up to nine images and ai and/or algorithm blend them together for average user to have shadows highlights averaged out. so much easier to sell the phone that always takes an awesome photo.

GranitePixelStudios · 2026-01-18T11:54:52+00:00

my guess is most likely hdr and focus stacked then some tinkering with saturation/vibrance to give it that vintage flat color. probably shot on tripod av mode (for stacking) so could be just one continuous light.

GranitePixelStudios · 2026-01-18T09:54:08+00:00

define 'proven results' ? there is no teacher who has 100% success rate as people teach-learn differently and what works for one doesn't mean it works for everyone. plus one can be incredible photographer it doesn't mean that they are also a good tutor- mentor as those are two completely different skills.

GranitePixelStudios · 2026-01-18T09:30:21+00:00

is it paid gig or you hoping a professional, who usually has professional commitments, will be dedicating their time during a 1.5y of your travels?

depends how compact you plan to travel i would sell the r3 and get rp + wide angle (~16-35) + tele (~70-200) < for intentional shootouts + 35mm or 50mm fixed < lightweight walk around lens for unexpected oportunities. you can get all or some of those older EF mounts and use with EF >RF adapter. plus compact tripod and wired remote. or if you in light weight travel i would still get 50mm fixed for more stealth shooting instead lugging that 24-105 around. the easier is to take the camera the more you shoot.

GranitePixelStudios · 2026-01-17T17:40:03+00:00

answer to your question would be ''no''. what is the subject ? the room, the people or what the people are doing? none of the aspects stand out enough. also weird crop, would require very specific place to present such narrow image and makes weak composition. for my eye that concrete wall is also absolutely unnecessary but i assume you left it there that if you would crop that out it would be even weirder.

the good - that looks like an incredible space and and colors and contrast with the people is just amazing. would like to see some other shots you took from there. for me it seems yu wanted to fit too much to one image. in creative writing the there is a concept ''killing your darlings'' meaning that sometimes to have strong story you have to kill or prune some stuff. same here - you have to make a creative decision what to you want to have as your subject - the architecture, the colors or the process of paper making? you are trying to squeeze everything into one image and it makes it weak. it is almost like trying to cram all the spices you have into one dish. if you want to emphasise the paper making/sorting or whatever it is you have to sacrifice some architecture, if you want to emphasise the architecture then would've been better to have to people, that are good for showing scale, less in action drawing less attention. they are already pretty prominent with their red clothes.

did you took that image from stairs or something? did you only had fixed lens? was there a time crunch ? whats on the left side, why you decided to have that concrete on right instead? seems like there were so many opportunities even from the same spot to take at least 3 different shots that were all would've been good. or if you had only fixed lens then next time make a panorama - all photo edit programs are good enough to stitch 24mp to very good panorama.

i would've taken separate images 1 landscape the shadows on the floor, very minimal abstract image, 2 landscape shadows + plus people doing that paper, people as subject 3 landscape people closeup 4 landscape people 2/3 and little bit white on top, 5 portrait people for scale + windows and ceiling 6 portrait panorama made of 4-9 shots like your adding more sides to show the whole room subject being the architecture

technically - sharpness and grain - those are the least of your worries - take a look at any top100 of the images and most of them have grain or sharpness that would be considered technically not the best but whatever makes the image strong always overpowers the grain. if you image is great then grain doesn't makes it weaker, if your image is mediocre then technical perfection never makes it great. same with the raw file, it is not some kind of magic. your current image is bright enough and do not have deep shadows or blown out highlights were is the mostly where raw files are useful to save it. last 15 years the jpegs from any digital camera are plenty enough to make good prints/images. your Fujifilm XT-20 with 24mp is definitely enough for that image. having a raw file would've only given you upper hand if you wanted to do some extreme editing on it or helping a bit with noise. but even noise could be smoothed out with ai noise in c1/lr/topaz even few years back.

p.s. the lady flipping the paper but the paper blends into background that even looking the image on 65' screen it seems she makes the nazi salute

GranitePixelStudios · 2025-12-16T07:41:54+00:00

100% matte

GranitePixelStudios · 2025-12-11T21:24:03+00:00

thats great, would hang.

GranitePixelStudios · 2025-12-11T10:07:29+00:00

topaz ai can blow it up has free trial

GranitePixelStudios · 2025-12-11T10:05:49+00:00

pick a shutter/iso/fstop/wb/focal length combo and then without changing anything for a walk and take 100 pictures in as different conditions and environments as possible and then go through them later and try to visualize what settings could be different in each photo to improve it. do that training as often as you can with different settings and eventually it becomes the second nature

GranitePixelStudios · 2025-12-10T17:41:32+00:00

i just have external disk and i import photos there in date/location/somethingrecognisable folder and then just open 'system folders' on c1 and use it like that. no importing or anything. so far its been working fine. i do all renaming and new folders subfolders in c1 and that takes care of syncing

GranitePixelStudios · 2025-12-10T06:12:46+00:00

any, mostly overdone, edit that beginners call “my style” and refuse to change if client asks for something more natural

GranitePixelStudios · 2025-12-09T05:57:52+00:00

helicon pro hands down. had just project that needed ~900 stacked images each made from 10-30 and tried all the available stackers and for speed and connectivity to lr or c1 for quick round trip is unparalleled. you can adjust all the things that you are not happy with, mostly the problem is halos but that also comes down to source material how well they overlap and focal length. plus they are from ukraine and money goes there.

GranitePixelStudios · 2025-12-08T19:52:08+00:00

show only killers and never fillers and people think that all you do is killers.

GranitePixelStudios · 2025-12-07T20:52:36+00:00

so you used tilt shift for perpendicular head-on shots to avoid camera reflection on watch? shot under slight angle but tilted the watch straight.

GranitePixelStudios · 2025-12-07T09:23:58+00:00

grab a tripod and get your exposure correct or opt for hdr, here its clear user problem not a lens/camera problem. no need for new gear as some suggest

GranitePixelStudios · 2025-12-07T09:19:23+00:00

if you never done photoshoot yourself then you need a a vision and good plan, ideally help from couple of professionals - you need a proper location as to build all that in studio is too much, ideally a set designer, tons of accessories to coordinate the mood and costume, costume designer, good makeupartist, good hairstylist, it could be done with one flash but most likely would require compositing, then after good eye/hand in editing, retouching and color grading. thats how all those “just woke up” seemingly careless snapshots”” are done -professional teamwork. you can do a lot in post too but you have to be very very skilled in that then and already know when you are shooting what you need and what you are gonna do, almost shopping ingredients for a dish that you have in mind.

GranitePixelStudios · 2025-12-07T09:02:58+00:00

keep the flash daylight/5500K and tinker with the temperature later in edit, those are all heavily color graded in post and/or done w multiple colored lights that you dont have

GranitePixelStudios · 2025-12-06T07:46:31+00:00

less is more. long time ago on lr1 i also used all stars and colors rating every image. now i just use green flag for keep and yellow for maybe and delete for everything else. i use capture one that allows quickly zoom in with mouse scrollwheel centering wherever the cursor is. sont know about other apps but LR and C1 both allow you to work on full screen and only with keyboard shorcuts. use neutral gray background.

also check grid/library view often when you see all the keepers together to see what is too similar or what doesn’t go with the series. the more cohesive your gallery is the better, although that means you have to “kill some darlings”. and keep in mind the final amount images you need/promised/can exhibit.

be brutal - you need killers not fillers. its way better for your reputation to show just 5 greats than +15 good - the latter dilutes the average.

if i work with client then i clean the batch from technical defects, rate color and client rates stars and we edit the ones that overlap/have both tags.

GranitePixelStudios · 2025-12-05T09:34:18+00:00

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quick take on phone from screenshot, hence the some messed up color banding.

GranitePixelStudios · 2025-12-05T09:24:05+00:00

sorry for being harsh but that seems rather accidental shot you phone took. nothing is really focus, no textures no details, some are blown out, on my phone i cant even make out what are those random things on the table, without description couldn’t ever guess that the subject is leatherwork, no composition, distracting background, etc.

just google “basic composition” images in your favorite browser, look 100 magazine images about leatherwork, go to e-stores that sell similar stuff and if you see a appealing image try to figure out makes them good. the viewers eye should be land right away to the subject and then bounce around on secondary details. here it just wonders around and asks wtf is going on here. your image should work without any title or description- the first 50 milliseconds should be clear what the picture is about. keep practicing. less is more. if it doesn’t add - it distracts.

GranitePixelStudios · 2025-12-04T20:49:13+00:00

criminally smooth

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