basic editing - DPChallenge Forums

02/20/2011 09:25:28 AM · #1

is silver effects pro allowed in basic editing? I would think since topaz is allowed then silver effects should be as well.

bspurgeon

Fujifilm x100

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

02/20/2011 09:40:21 AM · #2

Yes. You can't use the control points or add/correct vignettes. Stick with the global slider as well as the toning feature.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS II USM Lens

02/20/2011 09:53:24 AM · #3

To be safe, avoid the presets and just work with the sliders. Some of the presets use vignettes.

Brightness, Contrast, Structure, Shadow/Highlight, Color Filters, and Toning should all be legal.

R.

hahn23

Canon EOS-5D Mark IV

02/20/2011 10:36:16 AM · #4

I agree with the comments above. The global adjustments should be fine in Basic. Might be a good idea to document your adjustments (or create a custom preset which would duplicate the exact settings you used) so you don't have to remember how you produced such a magnificent monochrome.

The real monochrome power in SilverEfexPro resides in the ability to use the colors to enhance the b&w. To be clear, you can't use the sliders and control points and then claim you didn't. (That goes without saying.)

SIlver Efex Pro 2, which releases next week has a magnificent Intuitive Adjustments History. What I intend to do is screen capture the list.... for DPC validation purposes.

02/20/2011 11:35:02 AM · #5

yeah i was going to stay away from the presets, am i allowed to work with the colors when adjusting the look?

I'm not real familiar with the program, i just downloaded the trial and played with it briefly, just using the sliders and color buttons i made some really nice enhancements to a test photo. i have no idea what control points are.

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

02/20/2011 12:26:34 PM · #6

The "colors" are digital equivalents of filters in front of the lens in B/W photography. If you use a red filter, you block green and blue light whilst letting red light through. In other words, skies and foliage darken. Orange and yellow are like red, but less pronounced. Green filtration lightens foliage, darkens skies and skin, basically. Blue filtration lightens everything blue, specifically meaning that skies get lighter and shadow areas, which are filled with reflected blue light on clear days, open up a bit.

These "filters" are legal to use in basic editing if applied to the entire image.

R.

mefnj

Nikon D7100

02/20/2011 04:51:41 PM · #7

another generic Basic Editing question...

would an irregular boarder be acceptable as long as it clearly a boarder? i am thinking along the lines of using a lasso-like tool to freehand draw the boarder, as opposed to a tool that only draws rectangles. an example might be

this

vs. this

AND, as a follow-on, if you create a specific shape of border (heart, star, etc.) instead of the basic rectangle, would that also pass muster under Basic Editing?

-mefnj

Message edited by author 2011-02-20 16:53:36.

vawendy

Sony Alpha 1

Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS

02/20/2011 04:57:45 PM · #8

Nope. You'd have to select something to do that. (Of course, I'm completely guessing, but I think I'm guessing correctly.)

giantmike

Canon EOS R6

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

02/20/2011 06:44:04 PM · #9

I'm going to have to disagree with you Wendy, I think it would be legal: "You may not use any selection tool, including but not limited to the marquee, lasso, layer masks, quick masks, or any similar tool to select a portion of your image for any reason other than cropping or creating a border."

However, I must inject some personal opinion. If I saw a border like that, I would almost certainly vote the image down because of it. It makes me feel like you are trying to hide something.

bob350

Sony Alpha 1

Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM

02/20/2011 07:10:18 PM · #10

Could that irregular edge be made without using a layer containing pixels?

It is ok in Basic to make a border by enlarging "canvas" size. But many fancy border effects depend on using a pixel layer over the image layer. That would be a problem in Basic Editing, because of the rule that says: You may "use only Adjustment Layers (or their equivalent). An Adjustment Layer is a special type of layer containing no image data that lets you experiment with color and tonal adjustments without permanently modifying the pixels. Adjustment Layers must be applied in Normal mode."

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

02/20/2011 07:56:42 PM · #11

This one passed validation, and it's not the only time "wedge borders" have been approved:

To make this one you increase the canvas size by a LOT then rotate the image and crop to the corners. It's a far cry from what's being proposed here, though, and it required no selection other than for the crop.

R.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

02/20/2011 08:17:24 PM · #12

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

This one passed validation, and it's not the only time "wedge borders" have been approved:

To make this one you increase the canvas size by a LOT then rotate the image and crop to the corners. It's a far cry from what's being proposed here, though, and it required no selection other than for the crop.

R.

In Photoshop you don't even need to do that much -- just set the Background color and rotate the image (Image > Rotate Canvas > Arbitrary) by whatever amount you want, and the Canvas will automatically enlarge to include the wedges of BG color.

ShutterPug

Canon EOS-6D

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

02/20/2011 09:14:12 PM · #13

I sent in a ticket asking about basic editing and if using the High Pass in PS was okay....haven't gotten a word back. Anyone here know if it's legal or not?

02/20/2011 09:15:39 PM · #14

Originally posted by GeneralE:

This is true, but I find it easier to play with the colors doing it "my" way.

R.

02/20/2011 09:15:55 PM · #15

Originally posted by ShutterPug:

I sent in a ticket asking about basic editing and if using the High Pass in PS was okay....haven't gotten a word back. Anyone here know if it's legal or not?

Definitely not legal. High Pass requires a layer mode other-than-normal, specifically "overlay" or "soft light", and that's not legal.

R.

Message edited by author 2011-02-20 21:16:44.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

02/20/2011 09:45:16 PM · #16

well i got some great images using silver efex i just used the three slider bars and the shadows and highlights slider plus applying a filter to the whole image. i really like the way the image turned out, hopefully i didn't do any thing illegal, i saw the control points and i have no idea what they do, so i left it alone...

brought it back to lightroom and played with the curves.

now i just need some willing folks who aren't entering to help me pick my image. i have two great shots with three different crops and i have no idea which one is the best.

ShutterPug

Canon EOS-6D

02/20/2011 09:52:38 PM · #17

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Originally posted by ShutterPug:
I sent in a ticket asking about basic editing and if using the High Pass in PS was okay....haven't gotten a word back. Anyone here know if it's legal or not?

Definitely not legal. High Pass requires a layer mode other-than-normal, specifically "overlay" or "soft light", and that's not legal.

R.

Not even if applied directly to the image, not as a layer?

Promaster 28-200mm f/3.8-5.6 XR IF

02/21/2011 12:22:13 AM · #18

Originally posted by ShutterPug:

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Originally posted by ShutterPug:
I sent in a ticket asking about basic editing and if using the High Pass in PS was okay....haven't gotten a word back. Anyone here know if it's legal or not?

Definitely not legal. High Pass requires a layer mode other-than-normal, specifically "overlay" or "soft light", and that's not legal.

R.

Not even if applied directly to the image, not as a layer?

There's no way to do that: it turns whatever layer it's on into a neutral gray with varying amounts of edge contrast imposed. Then you set the layer mode to overlay or soft white (the neutral color for both of these is gray) and it pops sharpness up in the form of increased contrast. You adjust the intensity of it by varying the radius of the selection criteria.

Sounds like gobbledygook, but the only way to make it work is to dupe a pixel layer and then set it to one of those modes.

R.

atupdate

Pentax K-R

02/21/2011 07:31:43 AM · #19

Originally posted by ShutterPug:

I asked that same question a couple of years ago for Paint Shop Pro and the answer was no.

Tim

kichu

Canon EOS-1000D Rebel XS

02/21/2011 10:44:30 PM · #20

Not that I know a thing about editing, but for basic editing, is it ok to use selective gaussian blur for a portion of the picture?

I don't think it is ok, because it says no spot editing or something, I think. I actually know like, 2 things about editing, so please bear with my stupid questions.

Thought I would check. I don't like how grainy the background of my lonely shoes entry is and I wanted to fix it.

02/21/2011 10:51:29 PM · #21

Originally posted by kichu:

No, you can't do that. Not in basic. You can't select out any particular physical section of your image and apply an effect only to that area.

If you have a noise reduction program that allows you to do the noise reduction on particular color ranges, that would be legal. In other words, if your excessive noise were in a blue sky and you applied noise reduction to the blue channel with Neat Image, Noise Ninja, or Topaz DeNoise (to name three programs) that would be legal. (I'm pretty sure, I've never done it, but noise reduction is legal and color-channel adjustments are legal, so...)

R.

kichu

Canon EOS-1000D Rebel XS

02/22/2011 12:07:35 AM · #22

ok, thanks! :)