Basic Quick Edit Workflow?

[Barbelfisher]

Afternoon Everybody,

I am new to digital photo editing and would like your suggestions for a basic first edit routine that is quick to carry out before going onto more complicated editing if needed? I am working in jpeg at present. I would suspect Levels and Shapening to be there, i would appreciate your suggestions please.

[pdxrjt]

May not be popular, but I usually start with the automatic settings..... just to see what they will do. I may edit those, or start from scratch. Usually start with Exposure and Contrast when editing from scratch....

[Grazie]

May not be popular, but I usually start with the automatic settings..... just to see what they will do. I may edit those, or start from scratch. Usually start with Exposure and Contrast when editing from scratch....

Same here.

Often I don't know WHAT I want until I try a few "approaches". What I have learnt, over the decades, is that their is a remedial process and then there is the importing a "feel" exploration. Often these two activities are blurred together and become one. What is useful/essential to the capable artist-technician-mechanic is knowing the difference between the two, but also be able to execute the most effective of the two and make a balance between these two forces of remedy and grading.

Bottom line? It is all about telling a story and engaging firstly yourself and then, if you want to, the wider circle which is the Human Race! - Although what ever happens that without an authentic, emotional or even NON-emotional engagement the photo/picture/scuplture will remain - neah......

Grazie

[Barbelfisher]

Hi,
Thank you both for your replies, I must admit that i am more interested in doing the editing manually agree that the quick fix could give you a better starting point but prefer to use manual route. It looks like though a few features do the same job roughly as one an other, maybe its the brightness contrast, saturation, noise removal, sharpening route? Any thoughts please?

[pdxrjt]

Well there are tools that have a "similar" goal but get there differently....such as the high pass sharpener vs the unsharp mask. There are also tools which produce slightly different results such as saturation vs. vibrancy. And there are lots of processes which will get you similar, but slightly different results, such as direct editing versus using blend modes in a layer. Some of these differences are easier to see on particular photos than others or in some situations than others. In one sense, that's why it is nice to know what each process is attempting to do and how. Personally, I am always amazed (and usually impressed) when I am watching a video tutorial on the net and see before/after shots. I'll look at the before and often think it looks pretty good..... while the expert sees lots of things than can use minor tweaks. Post processing is an art form in itself and takes lots of work and creativity (IMHO.) (Not that I think that there is a right or wrong way to develop a workflow....after all, it is what works for you!...but that's why I start with automatic.... it is like a quick insight into how someone else "sees" the photo. Sometimes I'm impressed and check out the settings, sometimes I'm not, but I've found it a good learning tool.)

[MarkZ]

John:

To tweak exposure I find that histogram adjustment gives the most even results, with a bit of negative midtone adjustment. If the exposure is good, applying curves with a slight increase in the top and decrease at the bottom end, an S curve, gives the image some "punch". I most often use the adjustment layer rather than adjust because that allows subsequent changes to the adjustment. Some images need the Highlights/Midtones/Shadows tool. I occasionally experiment with local tone mapping and fill light/clarity. If I use Adjust I use a different layer for each adjustment.

Cropping is an important tool to achieve the best result and here I use "crop as new image" in case I want to go back easily.

I touch vibrancy and saturation on occasion but do nothing else with colour as I'm colour blind - I see colour but can't distinguish some shades. Noise reduction on some high iso images. And almost always finish off with sharpening but that process requires a gentle touch to avoid artifacts.

You'll soon develop your own preferences.

[Barbelfisher]

Mark and Pd thank you for your replies, certainly a lot of good food for thought there, know what you mean regarding the before and after pics, trouble is when a pic looks good to me i wouldnt know how to approach it with a view to improving it, i can see that this is going to be a steep learning curve for me. Levels and Curves look like powerful tools? In Curves are we always towards an S curve? Would you recomend Unsharp Mask or High Pass sharpening? I have Diane Koers PSP X6 book on order it sounds like a good starting point?

[McKinnan]

Hi,

After reading your posts, I think we both are in similar places when it comes to PSP.

Wanted to make sure you saw the advertisement for a PSP workshop/mentoring thing that is starting soon. It's free and I joined. I think the deadline to join is Feb. 8.

http://bw-forums.com

[Barbelfisher]

Hi McKinnan,

Thank you for the nod on that and the link, it could be very helpful...I have just joined and i seem to be in the waiting area at the moment....Will look out for your good self.

[dsigman]

While I shoot most of my pictures in RAW and use AfterShot Pro to start, I find that the PSP X6 Ultimate plugin, Perfectly Clear, often gives me a great one click starting point for nice contrast, exposure and vibrance.

[MarkZ]

Mark and Pd thank you for your replies, certainly a lot of good food for thought there, know what you mean regarding the before and after pics, trouble is when a pic looks good to me i wouldnt know how to approach it with a view to improving it, i can see that this is going to be a steep learning curve for me. Levels and Curves look like powerful tools? In Curves are we always towards an S curve? Would you recommend Unsharp Mask or High Pass sharpening? I have Diane Koers PSP X6 book on order it sounds like a good starting point?

Regarding sharpening, I use both High Pass and Unsharp Mask, the latter most often. It gets rid of or avoids the artifacts that become visible with the sharpening. Start at very low radius and look at the detail at the edge between dark and light areas. I avoid the light band in the transition zone or the speckly appearance that results from too much sharpening. Read about sharpening in the help menu and on line.

Curves affects colours as well as contrast and lighting. Most tools work best in moderation and the S curve gives a good transition across the spectrum.

Trying different things and seeing what works for you is what works best.

[Barbelfisher]

Hi Mark and Dsigman,

Thank you both for your help, Yes i have been playing around with curves and levels and i am starting to get the hang of basic editing, i also like the sharpening with the unsharp mask tool. the sharpen option seems to give that speckled effect but the unsharp mask seems to give a nice clean sharpening with my pics..

Dont know about plugins where would i get the ultimate plugin perfectly clear from i will check it out...

[Barbelfisher]

Just found that perfectly clear plugin, thats a little expensive...

[dsigman]

Perfectly Clear comes as a freebee with PSP X6 Ultimate

[Barbelfisher]

Right, i only have PSP X6....