need some editing tips - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

06/10/2007 10:50:45 AM · #1

Friday morning we went to the Parade of Sails. It was an EXTREMELY humid and hazy day- temps towards 90's by 10am with very high humidity. Not exactly good conditions for trying to take pictures of tall ships that weren't very close.
Anyhow, I'm posting a before editing and an after. My editing skills with things like this are horrible lol. I don't want someone to fix it for me, I need some tips on how to get rid of the haze in the sky and make the boat pop more. In the edited one I did some major burning on the boat, adjusted the curves and contrast- thinking maype I need to adjust the curves a little more. I have no idea really!

I have more if anyone wants to see them. I just haven't uploaded them yet.

Message edited by author 2007-06-10 10:51:33.

MudHut

Canon EOS-40D

06/10/2007 11:03:35 AM · #2

missinseattle, I just had a quick look at the first shot in photoshop and the levels histogram looks like it can be closed up a bit more, and maybe try a "S" shape with the curves. :)

shalrath

Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF

06/10/2007 11:03:46 AM · #3

I think some serious contrast enhancement should knock out a lot of the haze you want rid of. I just duplicated the background layer and set the duplicate to 'soft light' blending mode, assuming you use photoshop this produced quite a pleasing result.

fotomann_forever

06/10/2007 11:04:43 AM · #4

Just get really aggressive with the curves. basically you have a photo that lacks contrast ans saturation.

mpeters

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

06/10/2007 11:07:25 AM · #5

I'm not an editing guru but one of the first things I try with hazy/flat pictures is Autolevels in Photoshop.

For this edit I duplicated the base layer, Ran autolevels on the dup layer. AFter this the sky was pretty white so to give it a little more texture I set a layer mask gradient applied to the upper third of the picture to let some of the original grey sky show through. I did angle the gradient on both upper corners to parallel the line of the sails.

That was it!

I'm sure some localized dodge/burn, maybe even a color gradient to bring some color to the sky would work to further make it POP.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

06/10/2007 11:08:53 AM · #6

In addition to an "S-curve" tone adjustment, you can often enhance the contrast using a high-radius Unsharp Mask filter. Try settings something like these for a start (Photoshop terms used):

Amount: 15%
Diameter: 50
Threshold: 0

Play around with the first two numbers until you get an effect you like.

This can sometimes blow out some highlights, but I find that those areas are often less important than the areas which are enhanced.

shalrath

Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF

06/10/2007 11:09:46 AM · #7

using the aforementioned soft light layer and a quick levels adjustment... sure the sky is blown but you can counter/prevent that.

06/10/2007 11:23:02 AM · #8

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

Just get really aggressive with the curves. basically you have a photo that lacks contrast ans saturation.

Now that is what I'm looking for. I was so excited to get some good shots too. You can barely see the other side of the water- which on a not so humid day you can see clearly from that area. As soon as I stepped out the door Fri. morning I knew pictures were going to be a problem. I was sitting next a guy who does professional work and he wasn't even taking pictures. But I had 4 kiddos wanting pictures so ever ship, I took pictures lol.

Thanks for the tips guys, going to go fiddle around with them and come back with what I got.

Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM

06/10/2007 11:50:32 AM · #9

Okay this is a different one- posting the edited version- basically the originally was about like the first one I posted the original of.

course now that water is the wrong color haha.

I'll have to mess around with this more tonight.

Thanks again for the tips. I have a good 50 ships to do this to lol. All so a 4th grade little girl who is homeschooled can do a power point presentation.

Message edited by author 2007-06-10 11:51:48.

xantangummi

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

06/10/2007 12:00:30 PM · #10

tonemapped

Prism

Pentax K-30

Pentax SMC DA 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 AL WR

06/10/2007 12:05:00 PM · #11

Here's my go at your shot. I put all the details of what I did to it in the details under the shot. I mad it quite blue with the colour balance levels I used but you can always play with the colour balance levels if you want to change the water colour.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

06/10/2007 12:21:02 PM · #12

Image/apply image/screen mode, then image/autolevels gives you the following, a great spot to start your local editing from:

Same image with skew tool to level ship, selective color sky and water with separate masks, gradient in sky, slight vignetting, sharpening:

R.

Message edited by author 2007-06-10 12:40:57.

MattO

Nikon D4

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

06/10/2007 12:22:08 PM · #13

First things first,

Levels, curves, but please dont forget that tilted horizon! I feel like I'm falling off the back of the ship.

MattO

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

06/10/2007 12:43:58 PM · #14

Originally posted by MattO:

First things first,

Levels, curves, but please dont forget that tilted horizon! I feel like I'm falling off the back of the ship.

MattO

That's generally good advice, for sure, but in the case of images with a lot of haze, it's better to do the "apply image" approach as a first step: in the dialogue box you can cycle between the different modes and see which one works best for you. Then you do the levels/curves on top of that. It's easy to get lost in the complexity of pulling a shot like that out of the murk with curves alone, especially.

R.

06/10/2007 02:01:06 PM · #15

I'd straightened the rest of them, forgot that one lol. Normally I have very straight horizons but thanks for the reminder.

06/10/2007 02:02:15 PM · #16

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Originally posted by MattO:
First things first,

Levels, curves, but please dont forget that tilted horizon! I feel like I'm falling off the back of the ship.

MattO

That's generally good advice, for sure, but in the case of images with a lot of haze, it's better to do the "apply image" approach as a first step: in the dialogue box you can cycle between the different modes and see which one works best for you. Then you do the levels/curves on top of that. It's easy to get lost in the complexity of pulling a shot like that out of the murk with curves alone, especially.

R.

Thank you Rob, I'm going to try that. I don't do a lot of editing so this is good. Whole reason I joined this place to begin with- to learn.

Now the one you did- I have ps7 and pse4.0. The edit you have, that is what I'm aiming for- the bluer sky without turning the ship blue and bringing out the detail. So you're saying use "apply image" and it will have better results?

I have a notes now hehe.

Message edited by author 2007-06-10 14:04:23.

fotomann_forever

06/10/2007 02:17:18 PM · #17

I've got to say that Robert's looks the best of all the attempt. Making the best of a hazy situation, huh Bear? :-)