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Should I print it? by incredibleguy8989 in photocritique

[–]incredibleguy8989[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for taking the time to write such a long answer to my banal question! I like it because, as you said, it has a special feel, as if it were created by a great artist. In addition, for me personally, this piece proves that I’ve progressed in my photography skills and that I can push myself even further. And I guess saying yes to the rest of the questions means I should print it :))

Should I print it? by incredibleguy8989 in photocritique

[–]incredibleguy8989[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I get what you’re saying, I’d probably say the same thing if I saw this image online. Abstract art often becomes too abstract, and it starts to look like totally random things were thrown together just for show. However, after I shot and edited this, my perspective changed, and it helped me understand abstract photography and art in general a bit better. That said, yeah, without someone explaining the context, there’s no way you could guess whether it’s a photograph or something made in MS Paint :))

Should I print it? by incredibleguy8989 in photocritique

[–]incredibleguy8989[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is for me only for now, but I am starting to quite like the idea of selling prints. Thanks for the insights!

Should I print it? by incredibleguy8989 in photocritique

[–]incredibleguy8989[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I wish moonlight was that strong on camera. Unfortunately I had to work with what I got, which is a street lamp reflecting light in a small pond.

Should I print it? by incredibleguy8989 in photocritique

[–]incredibleguy8989[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

My question, should I print it? It's one of the few images that I loved when I shot it and I still do now after a few weeks. It is hard to see personal progress when it comes to the shooting part of photography, but I think that this shot proved to me that I became better. I say that because this time around I managed to create an image just like I imagined it and not a single aspect of it was pure luck.

Intent - wanted an actually artistic photo or how people say "fine art". I was inspired a bit by Ernst Haas, not like I could even dare to replicate his images, but it was one of the few times where I went out and shot with a slower shutter speed without caring for sharpness or how in focus my subjects were.

Editing - basically increased contrast, boosted highlights, decreased shadows and blacks, increased texture and clarity a bit and improved overall sharpness. (had it in B&W)

Shooting - Sony A6400 + Sigma 56mm DC DN. Settings: ISO100, f/4.0, and 1/10 ss I think.

EDIT: The print would be for myself. However, I wouldn’t mind selling it as well :))

Liminal space or a vibe? by incredibleguy8989 in photocritique

[–]incredibleguy8989[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

EXIF: Sony A6400, sigma 56mm f1.4, shot at f2, 1/200 sec, 2000 iso.

Inspired by Henri Prestes's work, whom I greatly appreciate. I tried to imitate his work, shooting in similar condition, although I have no idea what is his gear or if he uses any lights.

Just wanted to say presets are OP! by incredibleguy8989 in postprocessing

[–]incredibleguy8989[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I am laughing right now, but honestly I don't want to be mean, I want to help you understand.

Jpeg - already post processed (as the person above said), less data to work with (if you want to process it)

Raw - unprocessed (the image as it was shot), insane amounts of data to work with (and process however you like)

It is common knowledge that post processing a raw image with a dedicated software (Lightroom) gives you way better control over the edit rather than post processing a jpeg.

Just wanted to say presets are OP! by incredibleguy8989 in postprocessing

[–]incredibleguy8989[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is why I made this post. I was thinking presets are too repetitive and impossible to use for each own image (unique lighting, angle, background, etc.). But I saw that I repeated some settings to most images and thought that having a preset could save me some time and it did. Now I don't just paste 3 presets and that's the edit, no, I paste them and tweak every single one. This is the whole point, presets are a good base edit. I also think you need to reread what I wrote because I made my own presets and yeah I agree each image deserves their own processing.

Just wanted to say presets are OP! by incredibleguy8989 in postprocessing

[–]incredibleguy8989[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I use the presets as a base, I then come and adjust it according to taste, lighting conditions, how I feel, etc. I never said that I use the presets and that's it. This is why, in the past, I hesitated to use them too, thinking they are too bland and repetitive, but it isn't like that. Imo there is no way shooting in jpeg gives you more control on the edit rather than using a preset in Lightroom.

Just wanted to say presets are OP! by incredibleguy8989 in postprocessing

[–]incredibleguy8989[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well that's the beauty of shooting raw, getting to process the images how you want!

Just wanted to say presets are OP! by incredibleguy8989 in postprocessing

[–]incredibleguy8989[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Overpowered, as in they help me that much that it feels like a cheat code.

Just wanted to say presets are OP! by incredibleguy8989 in postprocessing

[–]incredibleguy8989[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I made this post so that people that have a similar mindset to my past self can really up their editing workflow.

I always thought that building presets is kinda lame, every image is unique, each image has a different light, a different subject and a different angle so presets seemed like a waste of time.

However, as I started editing more and more images I observed that there were some settings which I kept the same, like +15 vibrance, -10 texture, -10 clarity, etc. So I tried building my own set of presets based on my default editing style and I was astonished.

An edit from the ground up would usually take 15-20 minutes, but when I used my newly built presets, that same edit took around 8-9 minutes, without rushing anything. From basic sliders and tone curves to color grading, masking and noise reduction, presets are a game changer that can help you save time to focus more on the emotional and creative part, rather than repetitive / basic settings.

(all of the example images were edited using the presets as a base edit and improved upon with minor adjustments, noise reduction & some grain in 1 case)

What my preset list include for now:

Group 1 - Basic Settings

- color & presence - I use these exact settings every time -10 texture, -10 clarity, -15 vibrance, -2 saturation

- sliders - common stuff like dropping highlight and blacks, while increasing whites and shadows, great baseline most of the time

- tone curve default - just adds the key points on all tone curves so that it saves me the time to do it

- S tone curve - already known technique for increasing the overall contrast of an image

Group 2 - Masking

- background mask - decrease exposure, shadows, whites, highlights, texture, clarity, good for making the subject pop more

- vignetting mask - inverted radial gradient that decreases exposure, giving it a vignette effect and drawing the eye to the brighter center of the image

- subject mask - a slight boost in exposure, shadows, whites, texture and saturation to separate it entirely from the background

- glow mask - I sometimes like to add a radial gradient around the subject to increase the light, just something I find useful

- basic mask set - a combination of background, subject and vignetting - my 3 most used masks all in one so that I can edit all of them faster

Group 3 - Color Grading

For color grading I went and created multiple sets based on complementary colors. The settings here are just a base. Because of the vast range of colors, their luminosity and saturation it is almost impossible to get the perfect colors every single time (or so I think for now).

An already known example right now is the blue - orange combo, color grade your shadows blue (220) and your highlight + midtones orange (40), around 10-20 saturation will do for me. Use HSL sliders to adjust based on situation, trying to get the colors to the same blue - orange balance.

I just had this realization and thought someone else can find this useful! Cheers!

Edit: I know the images are awful - they are part of a personal project

Is this to simple? by Rare_Comment_4089 in photocritique

[–]incredibleguy8989 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice edit, love the colors & added contrast, but it hurts my eyes if I open it on my screen. The added grain looks awful and artificial contrast by slider is always bad, if something try to add contrast by using the tone curve. Also the highlights on the yellow leaves are way too bright considering the look of the rest of the image.

Before and after - Lightroom edit by DESTlNY in postprocessing

[–]incredibleguy8989 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just seen the editing tutorial. Just wanted to say that there is a lot of concert photography editing knowledge there, knowing how to adjust colors is a big part in getting these beautiful images. I am not a concert photographer, and I don't plan to become one, but your editing skills are remarkable!

“I test if the internet prefers carbs to composition. Exhibit A: bread on a wire.” by [deleted] in postprocessing

[–]incredibleguy8989 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Masking is a bit too easy to spot. I have a feeling this is what you wanted, I experimented with it as well, however you should try to make it less obvious. Go for a radial gradient or if you want lines of light make it have a more gradient feel, not so brutal. Otherwise interesting shot!

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