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You philosophy on post-processing: How much, how little, why?


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24 replies to this topic

#21
M.Beier

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The problem with .jpg and other lossy formats is that it recompresses every time you save it. This leads to visible posterization after remarkably few iterations. If you use LR, this is no problem as the changes during editing is made to the recipe in the database and not written to file until export but if you want to save snapshots during editing in conventional editors, .jpg is the wrong format. 

Ahh, thats what he/you meant.

I thought as for storing JPEG, that shouldnt impact...

It is true that when opening to change, it does impact quality significantly.



#22
Ron

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If you're going to work with jpegs in Photoshop, for example, saving your work as a TIFF can help lessen the problems associated with repeatedly saving a jpeg. Of course, this isn't a panacea so if you're planning to do extensive retouching or other modifications as an integral part of your workflow then you better get used to shooting RAW as a matter of course. 

 

As far as how much post-processing... well, I don't have a criteria that I use for how far to go when I edit an image. I've surely gone too far (or not far enough) on occasion which is why I sometimes wince when I look at some of my earlier work. And, yeah, it's nice to get everything right in camera but few of us have a batting average that good. And, with the tools we have now, (no more growing a second set of fingernails from too often immersing our hands in developer) it's foolish, in my humble opinion, not to use them. 

 

--Ron



#23
TBonz

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The problem with .jpg and other lossy formats is that it recompresses every time you save it. This leads to visible posterization after remarkably few iterations. If you use LR, this is no problem as the changes during editing is made to the recipe in the database and not written to file until export but if you want to save snapshots during editing in conventional editors, .jpg is the wrong format. 

 

Yup...that is what I was speaking of...Most of those who shoot JPEG only ingest into PhotoMechanic from the card, call their editor of choice from PM and then upload to whatever site they are working for...



#24
dcbear78

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I've been thinking about doing this since I originally read this thread and finally got around to it. This is my level of post processing of the photos that I take. I like to show as much as I can when I participate in the editing challenges, but this is the steps I have done in my own images. This is basically just revealing the existing layers I have in Photoshop. Nothing is too dramatic (in my mind anyway) and hopefully it is things that are done that you would've just thought the final photo was a really nice photo of a pretty girl (in these cases). Please excuse dodgy hand writing.

 

G4i8myf.jpg

 

And the final image

29694992645_729c019cca_c.jpg

Brianna by Crew One Photography, on Flickr

 

And another....

 

5UIsxbp.jpg

 

30049549692_2e1bc4c3be_b.jpg

Maddie by Crew One Photography, on Flickr

 

I apply sharpening to these images after this but haven't added that specifically. In the case on the Maddie one I also adjusted black levels when I came back to Lightroom to get details back into the eye lashes. Also you will see I dual processed the raw file. I made a copy of it. Processed it until I was happy with skin tones. Then on the second processed it purely looking at the make up. This one was much more saturated and made the skin look orange. I then used layers to blend them together. This is a process I saw Julia Kuzmenko McKim do with her raw files. She tries to work with them as much as possible as there is more colour detail in the raw file.

 

I am still very much a learner with this type of retouching. Still so much more to learn, not only about how to use Photoshop, but what to work on.



#25
Thumper

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Excellent work, dc.  Thank you for the write up on that also.  Great examples.