The Official non-auto Image thread

deky · 26th April 2009, 13:07

Seeing such great photographs from all of you I was ashamed to put some pics of my own. But then I realised till I do not put pics and get feedbacks from all of you, how would I realise what wrong am I doing and proceed further.

So here I am posting a pic of a "Maina" bird, and would like all the Guru's to comment about it so that I can make it better next time.

The things I have done to the pic
1. Crop
2. Sharpen
3. Used the luminance curve (just played with it, no idea what I was doing actually)

Thanks
Dhiraj

redrage · 26th April 2009, 14:30

@deky: Nice photograph, its a eye level shot. The bird is a red vented bulbul. To start you can work on the composition a bit, you have tried a different angle to catch this bird to avoid the grill in the front, that would have given an even bg throughout without distractions, You say you have sharpened the image but the details are a bit soft on the bird, you could try unsharp mask in CS and you will definitely find it more sharp. Next time you focus set the focus point to the eye, if that's in sharp focus nothing like it. Hope its ok and you don't mind that i provided a critique. What equipment do you use btw?

I just tried to re-edit your image, i did a shoddy job but i would have preferred the compo this way

The Official non-auto Image thread-bulbula.jpg

deky · 26th April 2009, 19:45

Wow, that certainly looks better. The comments are most welcome, thats how I will learn to be a better photographer. For eg:- focussing on the eye is a great idea.

By the way what do u mean by "try the unsharp mask in CS"???

And sorry for calling a bulbul a maina.

I am using Sony A200 with Kit 18-70mm lens and 70-300 Minolta AF lens.

Torqueguru · 26th April 2009, 21:03

@deky
I would tell you ditto what Redrage just said! Nice start!

One more from my 50mm.

The Official non-auto Image thread-3476724302_8037fef802_b.jpg

Regards,
TG.

clevermax · 26th April 2009, 22:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by deky

By the way what do u mean by "try the unsharp mask in CS"???

Unsharp mask is the perfect filtering tool available in PS to make softer subjects look sharper. Try it out.... Youtube certainly will have simple tutorials on this. You may need to play around with the amount, threshold and the radius depending on the type of photograph (landscape, macro etc), its resolution etc.

ritayan · 26th April 2009, 23:41

I don't frequent these parts often, hears a pic taken in 2007 when I had taken my team from a drive.

The Official non-auto Image thread-cimg03732.jpg

deky · 27th April 2009, 13:58

Thank you Redrage, TG and clevermax for all the imputs. I have tried to re do the photo as you guys suggested. Do you think its better now?

Torqueguru · 27th April 2009, 22:09

@deky
Looks a little oversaturated to me.

The California coastline, just before the storm struck.

The Official non-auto Image thread-3479846986_b03c62fe94_b.jpg

Regards,
TG.

Rudra Sen · 27th April 2009, 22:43

TG, my sincere suggestion to you is this: Get out of pseudo HDR treatment.

In fact get out of this HDR trip.

Once in million HDR gives realistic tonal balance.
It does look dramatic, I agree. But it kills your sense for right exposure.

Over and above, if you're not super experienced with photoshop or any other edit software.. flaws will stick out like a sore thumb.

I hope you'll take my views in right spirit.

The Official non-auto Image thread-tg.jpg

tsk1979 · 27th April 2009, 23:11

Is that the lone cyprus.
Agree with Rudra here. The tone is off

Torqueguru · 28th April 2009, 00:03

@Rudra
Thanks for that Rudra. I got what you said. This was not exactly a psuedo HDR, since i generated the 3 Exposures in photoshop and then merged them in photomatix. But yes, i totally got what you said and it is a pleasure to hear you critique my work

I will as always take your critique very seriously and work on it.

@TSK
:(

Thanks,
Regards,
TG.

chevelle · 28th April 2009, 09:43

1. Dubai as seen from a plane
2. Clouds

Comments and criticism would be appreciated from experts.

piper.gates · 28th April 2009, 11:51

@chevelle,

2 pic is awesome, good capture. Feels like heaven.

@torqueguru, the coastline picture is good. Nevertheless, the Guru has a good feedback on the picture, which also applies to lot of my work as well.

All I would say is Learn, Learn, Learn and Finally Excel!

Torqueguru · 28th April 2009, 12:16

@Rudra
I worked on that shot for an hour after i returned from class today. Was seriously inspired after reading your comment.
Here is the result. This time, i did the exposure blending manually in photoshop.Waiting for more critique.

The Official non-auto Image thread-3479846986_2636ff1001_b.jpg

@piper
Well, when gurus advice, shishyas follow

Regards,
TG.

tsk1979 · 28th April 2009, 12:26

This is much much better. Much more balanced tone, and more appealing. Where is this place? The lone cyprus?
Next time you get a chance, try this with a ND filter, With a 0.5 second exposure, you will see that the water gets a dreamier quality, and if the clouds are not moving too fast, you still freeze the motion.

26th April 2009, 14:30	#5222
redrage BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 557 Thanked: 106 Times	@deky: Nice photograph, its a eye level shot. The bird is a red vented bulbul. To start you can work on the composition a bit, you have tried a different angle to catch this bird to avoid the grill in the front, that would have given an even bg throughout without distractions, You say you have sharpened the image but the details are a bit soft on the bird, you could try unsharp mask in CS and you will definitely find it more sharp. Next time you focus set the focus point to the eye, if that's in sharp focus nothing like it. Hope its ok and you don't mind that i provided a critique. What equipment do you use btw? I just tried to re-edit your image, i did a shoddy job but i would have preferred the compo this way Last edited by redrage : 26th April 2009 at 14:43.

26th April 2009, 19:45	#5223
deky Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Jaipur Posts: 1,194 Thanked: 1,251 Times	Wow, that certainly looks better. The comments are most welcome, thats how I will learn to be a better photographer. For eg:- focussing on the eye is a great idea. By the way what do u mean by "try the unsharp mask in CS"??? And sorry for calling a bulbul a maina. I am using Sony A200 with Kit 18-70mm lens and 70-300 Minolta AF lens. Last edited by deky : 26th April 2009 at 19:47.

26th April 2009, 21:03	#5224
Torqueguru BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Seattle Posts: 277 Thanked: 165 Times View My Garage	@deky I would tell you ditto what Redrage just said! Nice start! One more from my 50mm. Regards, TG.

27th April 2009, 13:58	#5227
deky Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Jaipur Posts: 1,194 Thanked: 1,251 Times	Thank you Redrage, TG and clevermax for all the imputs. I have tried to re do the photo as you guys suggested. Do you think its better now? Attached Thumbnails

27th April 2009, 22:09	#5228
Torqueguru BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Seattle Posts: 277 Thanked: 165 Times View My Garage	@deky Looks a little oversaturated to me. The California coastline, just before the storm struck. Regards, TG.

26th April 2009, 13:07	#5221
deky Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Jaipur Posts: 1,194 Thanked: 1,251 Times	Seeing such great photographs from all of you I was ashamed to put some pics of my own. But then I realised till I do not put pics and get feedbacks from all of you, how would I realise what wrong am I doing and proceed further. So here I am posting a pic of a "Maina" bird, and would like all the Guru's to comment about it so that I can make it better next time. The things I have done to the pic 1. Crop 2. Sharpen 3. Used the luminance curve (just played with it, no idea what I was doing actually) Thanks Dhiraj

26th April 2009, 23:41	#5226
ritayan BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Back in Delhi Posts: 228 Thanked: 48 Times View My Garage	I don't frequent these parts often, hears a pic taken in 2007 when I had taken my team from a drive.

27th April 2009, 22:43	#5229
Rudra Sen Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11,752 Thanked: 6,871 Times View My Garage	TG, my sincere suggestion to you is this: Get out of pseudo HDR treatment. In fact get out of this HDR trip. Once in million HDR gives realistic tonal balance. It does look dramatic, I agree. But it kills your sense for right exposure. Over and above, if you're not super experienced with photoshop or any other edit software.. flaws will stick out like a sore thumb. I hope you'll take my views in right spirit.

27th April 2009, 23:11	#5230
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,695 Thanked: 23,484 Times View My Garage	Is that the lone cyprus. Agree with Rudra here. The tone is off

28th April 2009, 00:03	#5231
Torqueguru BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Seattle Posts: 277 Thanked: 165 Times View My Garage	@Rudra Thanks for that Rudra. I got what you said. This was not exactly a psuedo HDR, since i generated the 3 Exposures in photoshop and then merged them in photomatix. But yes, i totally got what you said and it is a pleasure to hear you critique my work I will as always take your critique very seriously and work on it. @TSK :( Thanks, Regards, TG.

28th April 2009, 09:43	#5232
chevelle Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: sacto Posts: 1,298 Thanked: 554 Times View My Garage	1. Dubai as seen from a plane 2. Clouds Comments and criticism would be appreciated from experts. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by chevelle : 28th April 2009 at 09:45.

28th April 2009, 11:51	#5233
piper.gates Newbie Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 10 Thanked: 7 Times	@chevelle, 2 pic is awesome, good capture. Feels like heaven. @torqueguru, the coastline picture is good. Nevertheless, the Guru has a good feedback on the picture, which also applies to lot of my work as well. All I would say is Learn, Learn, Learn and Finally Excel!

28th April 2009, 12:16	#5234
Torqueguru BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Seattle Posts: 277 Thanked: 165 Times View My Garage	@Rudra I worked on that shot for an hour after i returned from class today. Was seriously inspired after reading your comment. Here is the result. This time, i did the exposure blending manually in photoshop.Waiting for more critique. @piper Well, when gurus advice, shishyas follow Regards, TG.

28th April 2009, 12:26	#5235
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,695 Thanked: 23,484 Times View My Garage	This is much much better. Much more balanced tone, and more appealing. Where is this place? The lone cyprus? Next time you get a chance, try this with a ND filter, With a 0.5 second exposure, you will see that the water gets a dreamier quality, and if the clouds are not moving too fast, you still freeze the motion.