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01/24/2011 02:47:47 PM · #51 |
| I am also curious about gradients, I always thought they were legal in advanced editing. Are they allowable in certain uses and not others? At what point does a gradient become illegal? Also at what point does the dodge and burn become illegal? If I take a picture and the background is snow (mostly white) and I use the dodge tool to edit out some imperfections (some can be quite large such as shadows in the snow), is that illegal? |
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01/24/2011 03:01:33 PM · #52 |
Originally posted by sjhuls:
I am also curious about gradients, I always thought they were legal in advanced editing. Are they allowable in certain uses and not others? At what point does a gradient become illegal? Also at what point does the dodge and burn become illegal? If I take a picture and the background is snow (mostly white) and I use the dodge tool to edit out some imperfections (some can be quite large such as shadows in the snow), is that illegal? |
The answer is that it is all gray. There is no bright line of demarcation that you cannot go beyond. The more you do, the more you risk a DQ. End of story. |
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01/24/2011 04:16:22 PM · #53 |
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
Originally posted by sjhuls:
I am also curious about gradients... |
The answer is that it is all gray. There is no bright line of demarcation that you cannot go beyond. The more you do, the more you risk a DQ. End of story. |
So you're saying that the DQ scale is something of a gradient? ;) |
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01/24/2011 04:38:55 PM · #54 |
| Aw, Christophe, please continue to post the stories with you creations - I love reading them! This place can be discouraging at times. Just ignore that aspect of it and do your thing. There are many who use your work as inspiration to raise the bar on their own work and that is a very valuable thing. Don't let the naysayers keep you down! |
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01/24/2011 04:57:58 PM · #55 |
Originally posted by sjhuls:
I am also curious about gradients, I always thought they were legal in advanced editing. |
It depends what you mean by "gradient." In Advanced editing challenges you might add a "gradient" in the following ways:
-Add a "vignette" effect, where you fade the outside edges (usually an oval shape) to white or black.
-Use a gradient as a mask for an adjustment layer, so that the adjustment effect is applied with a gradual transition from one area to another -- be careful here, an adjustment which changes the image to the extent of creating a new feature or shape. (see below)
-Use a gradient mask to apply a filter (such as Unsharp Mask) with a gradual transition from one area to another -- be careful here, a a filter which changes the image to the extent of creating a new feature or shape.
You cannot use/add gradients to fill a background which has features or is solid, or to use as a mask to create a new shape or feature, such as a beam or ray of light or a rainbow.
There are probably other ways to use them as well. It would help if you could post a specific example -- preferably Before and After images and the editing steps, just like for a validation -- which shows exactly what you are concerned about. |
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01/24/2011 06:14:53 PM · #56 |
Speaking of vignette's GeneralE.
Originally posted by GeneralE:
-Add a "vignette" effect, where you fade the outside edges (usually an oval shape) to white or black. |
Would these vignette's be legal in both or either "basic & advanced editing"
Is this  vignette legal in todays DPC?
Here's another recent entry  that utilizes the vignette.
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01/24/2011 07:00:24 PM · #57 |
Here are two examples both pretty horrible pictures, sorry I was in a hurry and just quickly edited the first two I could find.
These have a pretty obvious gradient and changes the background considerably. I am assuming this would be illegal not that anyone would want to do this, just an example:
original edit
This one just enhances the color of the sky and I assume is legal?
original edit
By the way I also asked about using the dodge tool the monster photo can be an example of that. My original background had some slight texture to it and a few shadows that were caused by wrinkles, I used the dodge tool to get rid of them is this legal? |
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01/24/2011 07:09:52 PM · #58 |
Originally posted by Carlo21:
Speaking of vignette's GeneralE.
Originally posted by GeneralE:
-Add a "vignette" effect, where you fade the outside edges (usually an oval shape) to white or black. |
Would these vignette's be legal in both or either "basic & advanced editing"
Is this vignette legal in todays DPC?
Here's another recent entry that utilizes the vignette. |
My understanding is your examples would be OK in advanced but illegal in Basic. |
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01/24/2011 09:46:50 PM · #59 |
Originally posted by PapaBob:
Originally posted by Carlo21:
Speaking of vignette's GeneralE.
Originally posted by GeneralE:
-Add a "vignette" effect, where you fade the outside edges (usually an oval shape) to white or black. |
Would these vignette's be legal in both or either "basic & advanced editing" |
My understanding is your examples would be OK in advanced but illegal in Basic. |
That's right, although in the second example, if there was a slight, natural vignette to begin with, it could be "enhanced" in a Basic challenge by using an adjustment like Curves or Levels, as long as you don't make any selections in the process, but apply the adjustment to the entire mage uniformly. Here is an example of a Basic-legal shot which deliberately has a noticable vignette:Original:  Edited:  |
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01/24/2011 09:51:32 PM · #60 |
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01/24/2011 09:58:41 PM · #61 |
For the first example, in an Advanced editing challenge, removing slight wrinkles is probably OK, adding the gradient background is not.
In the second example, you could be in the "gray area" as some people will view it as a simple "color enhancement" while others *may* see the gradient as an added feature; the only "natural" gradient I see runs from the upper left corner towards about "4 o'clock" on a diagonal, not up and down as in your edited version.
If you are not up against the submission deadline, you can usually submit a ticket with your before/after versions and your editing steps and get an "informal opinion" from one or more SC members as to whether your edited version is valid, though it is possible that later information or further discussion or added opinions could change that. We never "pre-validate" an image officially before the submission deadline.
Hope that helps. |
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01/24/2011 10:14:08 PM · #62 |
| Yes that does help. Basically these tools are meant to enhance what was already there. |
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01/24/2011 11:13:22 PM · #63 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by sjhuls:
This one just enhances the color of the sky and I assume is legal?
original edit |
In the second example, you could be in the "gray area" as some people will view it as a simple "color enhancement" while others *may* see the gradient as an added feature; the only "natural" gradient I see runs from the upper left corner towards about "4 o'clock" on a diagonal, not up and down as in your edited version. |
(rant on)
The day we make that sort of sky gradient illegal in advanced editing is the day we become the laughingstock of serious photographers everywhere. It's also the day you go back and retroactively DQ practically every landscape I've ever submitted. This sort of gradual darkening of the sky in landscape photography has been going on for a hundred years. It's ridiculous to even suggest that this might be an illegal enhancement. And the fact that "some people" might see it as an "added feature" is neither here nor there. Some people might see a flat earth, too...
(end rant) |
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01/25/2011 12:01:25 AM · #64 |
| hehe. I thought of Robert the second I saw that sky gradient. I knew he'd pipe up... :) |
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