Rate the Photo Above you

[cc143]

7 minutes ago, xQubeZx said:

I would first make the horizon straight. Then add a lot of warmth as the WB is kinda meh. Add a gradueted filter to up the exposre on the lower half of the image. Make a tone curve where I remove the clear blacks (Make them a slight gray tone). Crop the image so you get rid of the bottom part where you see your fence. Try to fix the green lights. Do you have the RAW? So maybe we could play around a bit?

 

Do you mean slightly rotate the image? 

 

I have added a grad already, cropping made the image look a bit worse, I wanted to get rid of the railing as well. 

 

Yes, I do have the RAW, I just can't upload it here due to size restrictions (its well over 20mb).

 

EDIT: I played a bit more, here's what I got, I don't like the crop because it cuts that Golf there in half (my dislike has nothing to do with the car, I find it hideous;Ρ). 

[xQubeZx]

34 minutes ago, cc143 said:

Do you mean slightly rotate the image? 

 

I have added a grad already, cropping made the image look a bit worse, I wanted to get rid of the railing as well. 

 

Yes, I do have the RAW, I just can't upload it here due to size restrictions (its well over 20mb).

 

EDIT: I played a bit more, here's what I got, I don't like the crop because it cuts that Golf there in half (my dislike has nothing to do with the car, I find it hideous;Ρ). 

Like this one better, but can't you link the to the raw in a dropbox or google drive? Would be fun to play around with the file as it seems to be sligtly difficult to edit 

[cc143]

13 minutes ago, xQubeZx said:

Like this one better, but can't you link the to the raw in a dropbox or google drive? Would be fun to play around with the file as it seems to be sligtly difficult to edit 

Yes sure, not that much over 20mb, but still can't upload here. Please show me what you come up with. 

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zxfpvurfm75lnpt/DY0A0834.CR2?dl=0

 

If you like that one better, perhaps you might like this one as well, its an HDR shot I thought I'd experiment a bit more, but I haven't really edited it much apart from combining the original pics. This was a bit before the lights turned on. 

[AkiraDaarkst]

15 hours ago, cc143 said:

 

The biggest problem with your photo is the light post that's smack right in the middle.  It's position in the frame acts as a sort of barrier that blocks everything else.  Like some weird stranger photobombing a group photo you take of your friends by jumping right in front of everyone.

 

Looking at the RAW file without making any modifications, there is a bit of lens distortion, but you can correct that by enabling the profile corrections in Lr or ACR.  This is the first thing you should always do before moving onto other editing tools and settings.  Don't just enable the profile correction and assume everything looks OK.  You may want to adjust the distortion and vignetting sliders a bit to improve things.

 

Now as someone already mentioned there seems to be a tiny bit of tilt to the horizon, which you can fix in Lr.  Or even better use a plugin like DxO Viewpoint.  Because if you just rotate the image slightly to fix the horizon and straighten the buildings in the background, it may make the buildings in the foreground (right side) appear tilted. DxO viewpoint lets you correct these sorts of tilts and slants in images based on multiple points.

 

Apart from these, there's so many styles of editing that can be done in Lr and PS.  We can only provide editing methods based on how we imagine the final image should look, but that's not necessarily how you may have envisioned it.  It's sort of like color grading movies where different color graded looks create different styles that evoke different emotions and feelings.

[cc143]

2 hours ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

The biggest problem with your photo is the light post that's smack right in the middle.  It's position in the frame acts as a sort of barrier that blocks everything else.  Like some weird stranger photobombing a group photo you take of your friends by jumping right in front of everyone.

 

Looking at the RAW file without making any modifications, there is a bit of lens distortion, but you can correct that by enabling the profile corrections in Lr or ACR.  This is the first thing you should always do before moving onto other editing tools and settings.  Don't just enable the profile correction and assume everything looks OK.  You may want to adjust the distortion and vignetting sliders a bit to improve things.

 

Now as someone already mentioned there seems to be a tiny bit of tilt to the horizon, which you can fix in Lr.  Or even better use a plugin like DxO Viewpoint.  Because if you just rotate the image slightly to fix the horizon and straighten the buildings in the background, it may make the buildings in the foreground (right side) appear tilted. DxO viewpoint lets you correct these sorts of tilts and slants in images based on multiple points.

 

Apart from these, there's so many styles of editing that can be done in Lr and PS.  We can only provide editing methods based on how we imagine the final image should look, but that's not necessarily how you may have envisioned it.  It's sort of like color grading movies where different color graded looks create different styles that evoke different emotions and feelings.

Yes I had that conversation with my flatmate when he looked at the pictures, but its not like I can cut it down for a while and it was basically in front of what I was trying to capture. 

 

The tilted horizon is due to my baclony being too small for me to stand while the tripod was there and my tripod having no level, so although it might seem level on the camera screen it turns out to be a bit off afterwards. I will certainly try the plugin you suggested. 

[Aaronius_Leonius]

19 hours ago, cc143 said:

Just a half hour ago on my balcony in Glasgow. 

 

I'd appreciate any input to improve in LR, I played with it a bit but I feel there's more that could be done

I really like this one. I don't think it needs much work other than darkening the light from the streetlamps. Then, I would likely use this as my wallpaper. You are a good photographer.

[xQubeZx]

@cc143

 

Okey, here is my edit after a lot of quick and dirty Photoshop. Wouldn't do this normally (As I would have not picked this for an edit for that reason or would have tried to go around it while shooting by taking two frames a meter apart so I could merge the two images) but that post did distrurb the image a lot for me. How you edit an image is very personal though. 

 

 

[.spider.]

That's how I'd do it

Some adjustments with the brush, image straightened, increased the wb just a bit.

And most importantly don't pull the shadows up too much it looks odd without increasing the local contrast.   

 

And why the hell f22? Because of the tiny streaks in the background? 

[Aaronius_Leonius]

4 minutes ago, .spider. said:

That's how I'd do it

Some adjustments with the brush, image straightened, increased the wb just a bit.

And most importantly don't pull the shadows up too much it looks odd without increasing the local contrast.   

All it needs is the light from the streetlamps hidden and it would be perfect in my opinion

 

[.spider.]

7 hours ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

 

Now as someone already mentioned there seems to be a tiny bit of tilt to the horizon, which you can fix in Lr.  Or even better use a plugin like DxO Viewpoint.  Because if you just rotate the image slightly to fix the horizon and straighten the buildings in the background, it may make the buildings in the foreground (right side) appear tilted. DxO viewpoint lets you correct these sorts of tilts and slants in images based on multiple points.

 

It is possible in LR too.

[AkiraDaarkst]

6 hours ago, cc143 said:

Yes I had that conversation with my flatmate when he looked at the pictures, but its not like I can cut it down for a while and it was basically in front of what I was trying to capture. 

 

The tilted horizon is due to my baclony being too small for me to stand while the tripod was there and my tripod having no level, so although it might seem level on the camera screen it turns out to be a bit off afterwards. I will certainly try the plugin you suggested. 

DxO Viewpoint is worth every penny you pay for it.  And it does a much better job at it than Lr.

http://www.dxo.com/us/photography/photo-software/dxo-viewpoint

 

 

Your camera doesn't have any sort of digital indicator for leveling in the viewfinder/LCD screen?  You can always buy a bubble level for the camera, to mount on the hotshoe.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Camera-Tripod-Levelers/ci/10832/N/4075788748

 

 

4 hours ago, xQubeZx said:

@cc143

 

Okey, here is my edit after a lot of quick and dirty Photoshop. Wouldn't do this normally (As I would have not picked this for an edit for that reason or would have tried to go around it while shooting by taking two frames a meter apart so I could merge the two images) but that post did distrurb the image a lot for me. How you edit an image is very personal though. 

 

 

Might want to be a bit extra careful with the clone brush tool...   But what you did looks fairly nice.

[cc143]

1 hour ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

DxO Viewpoint is worth every penny you pay for it.  And it does a much better job at it than Lr.

http://www.dxo.com/us/photography/photo-software/dxo-viewpoint

 

 

Your camera doesn't have any sort of digital indicator for leveling in the viewfinder/LCD screen?  You can always buy a bubble level for the camera, to mount on the hotshoe.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Camera-Tripod-Levelers/ci/10832/N/4075788748

 

 

Might want to be a bit extra careful with the clone brush tool...   But what you did looks fairly nice.

It does but due to the lack of an arm on the tripod it's difficult to set just so, that's how it is somewhat not straight a horizon;P  I've been putting off buying a bubble level for some time now, I was torn between that or a proper photo head, even though that would be a bulkier solution, defeating the purpose of getting a travel tripod. 

 

@.spider. Its at f/22 because of that strip of light and buildings in the background, I wanted for them to be sharp since the sunset is the main subject and its quite a bit away. I didn't bother playing with it anymore because I was just about out the door before I looked out the window, I saw the scenery and thought its picture worthy. I took this and attempted to make an HDR, which didn't turn out so good.  

 

I do like your editing, subtle but substantial. 

 

@xQubeZx I don't like the exposure of the sky that much, I like for the darker parts to be a bit more distinguishable, but its in the eye of the beholder I guess. I also think the brush was bit overdone, its very visible around the corner. I like how you removed both lamp posts though, it would be odd and borderline distracting for the one on the other side of the road to be there alone.   I do have to commend you on your editing skills though, I doubt i'd manage for the adjustments to look anywhere close to as good myself. 

 

I'm basically put off getting a proper set of grad filters right now due to their price, I'd like to get the Lee kit, but the holder, adapter ring, big stopper and a grad runs me about £350 which is more than I can stomach given I'm not a professional. I might get one before the summer, since I'll travel a bit, it being the last one I'll have the time to do so for the next 10 years or so;P 

[xQubeZx]

1 hour ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

DxO Viewpoint is worth every penny you pay for it.  And it does a much better job at it than Lr.

http://www.dxo.com/us/photography/photo-software/dxo-viewpoint

 

 

Your camera doesn't have any sort of digital indicator for leveling in the viewfinder/LCD screen?  You can always buy a bubble level for the camera, to mount on the hotshoe.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Camera-Tripod-Levelers/ci/10832/N/4075788748

 

 

Might want to be a bit extra careful with the clone brush tool...   But what you did looks fairly nice.

I know its a horrible fix in Ps with the clone brush hah. It was quick though and made my point on how I would have preffered the composition. I think that doing an exposure 1m to the left would have made it able to merge the images so you could have gotten a lot cleaner fix in Ps instead of just cloning everything. 

[xQubeZx]

8 minutes ago, cc143 said:

It does but due to the lack of an arm on the tripod it's difficult to set just so, that's how it is somewhat not straight a horizon;P  I've been putting off buying a bubble level for some time now, I was torn between that or a proper photo head, even though that would be a bulkier solution, defeating the purpose of getting a travel tripod. 

 

@.spider. Its at f/22 because of that strip of light and buildings in the background, I wanted for them to be sharp since the sunset is the main subject and its quite a bit away. I didn't bother playing with it anymore because I was just about out the door before I looked out the window, I saw the scenery and thought its picture worthy. I took this and attempted to make an HDR, which didn't turn out so good.  

 

I do like your editing, subtle but substantial. 

 

@xQubeZx I don't like the exposure of the sky that much, I like for the darker parts to be a bit more distinguishable, but its in the eye of the beholder I guess. I also think the brush was bit overdone, its very visible around the corner. I like how you removed both lamp posts though, it would be odd and borderline distracting for the one on the other side of the road to be there alone.   I do have to commend you on your editing skills though, I doubt i'd manage for the adjustments to look anywhere close to as good myself. 

 

I'm basically put off getting a proper set of grad filters right now due to their price, I'd like to get the Lee kit, but the holder, adapter ring, big stopper and a grad runs me about £350 which is more than I can stomach given I'm not a professional. I might get one before the summer, since I'll travel a bit, it being the last one I'll have the time to do so for the next 10 years or so;P 

I defentivly know the Ps is very messy and could be done better with more time but it was not ideal either with thr cars behind the post. 

 

And everyone can get good at editing. Just practice and try different things and play around a lot. 

 

And for tripod, I would strongly suggest to get a ball head. Its small and is very useful imo. I bought a very travel friendly tripod from Siriui (if thats how you spell it..) it has a ball head, weights 1kg ish and is max 40cm folded up, including the ball head. Its the T-005BX model if you wonder. 

[cc143]

46 minutes ago, xQubeZx said:

I defentivly know the Ps is very messy and could be done better with more time but it was not ideal either with thr cars behind the post. 

 

And everyone can get good at editing. Just practice and try different things and play around a lot. 

 

And for tripod, I would strongly suggest to get a ball head. Its small and is very useful imo. I bought a very travel friendly tripod from Siriui (if thats how you spell it..) it has a ball head, weights 1kg ish and is max 40cm folded up, including the ball head. Its the T-005BX model if you wonder. 

My tripod has a fixed ballhead, it's just not easy to make microadjustments with. I was considering getting the manfrotto photo head for £45, but unless I'm fairly close to home, or have large capacity when travelling by plane (because I'm cheap, have 5 t-shirts and 2 pairs of pants and never spend on luggage, that's practically never). That's why I decided against that. Had I known I'd get another tripod in the first place but... high sunk costs at this point.  

[AkiraDaarkst]

18 hours ago, cc143 said:

I've been putting off buying a bubble level for some time now, I was torn between that or a proper photo head, even though that would be a bulkier solution, defeating the purpose of getting a travel tripod. 

A bubble level is very cheap, but yeah it's not something that you essentially need if the camera contains a digital level.  It's just helpful when you can't use the built-in function.

 

17 hours ago, cc143 said:

My tripod has a fixed ballhead, it's just not easy to make microadjustments with. I was considering getting the manfrotto photo head for £45, but unless I'm fairly close to home, or have large capacity when travelling by plane (because I'm cheap, have 5 t-shirts and 2 pairs of pants and never spend on luggage, that's practically never). That's why I decided against that. Had I known I'd get another tripod in the first place but... high sunk costs at this point.  

Which tripod/ballhead do you have?  Ballheads are not really meant for micro adjustments, for microadjustments you can buy tripod heads with handle knobs which can be turned to make minute adjusts in 3-axis.

[cc143]

20 minutes ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

A bubble level is very cheap, but yeah it's not something that you essentially need if the camera contains a digital level.  It's just helpful when you can't use the built-in function.

 

Which tripod/ballhead do you have?  Ballheads are not really meant for micro adjustments, for microadjustments you can buy tripod heads with handle knobs which can be turned to make minute adjusts in 3-axis.

My tripod is the manfrotto befree one, I found a good deal on it and bought it, but had not realised it was the befree live. It's very compact, less than 40cm when packed and is quite steady, even for a 5d3 with quite chunky lens. 

 

I was considering getting a 3-way head, bnut 1 issue is price, the other is the fact that the ballhead on the tripod is fixed, so I would basically have to put the extra head on top of the ballhead anyway, and 3, I'm not sure I'd use it that much due to its volume. 

[AkiraDaarkst]

2 minutes ago, cc143 said:

I was considering getting a 3-way head, bnut 1 issue is price, the other is the fact that the ballhead on the tripod is fixed, so I would basically have to put the extra head on top of the ballhead anyway, and 3, I'm not sure I'd use it that much due to its volume. 

I wasn't suggesting you replace the head or add another on top.

 

Just try to get it as close to level when you set up the camera, and then in post make any final adjustments if necessary.  It's a lame excuse to say "the ballhead on my tripod is fixed" or "I didn't have room to stand" or "I couldn't see through the viewfinder/LCD to check the digital level".

[AkiraDaarkst]

@cc143

This article might interest you.  It shows how photography students and pro photographers seem to pay more attention to details when looking at an image compared to the average person.

http://www.diyphotography.net/canons-experiment-shows-how-obsessed-photographers-are-over-the-details/

[.spider.]

3 hours ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

@cc143

This article might interest you.  It shows how photography students and pro photographers seem to pay more attention to details when looking at an image compared to the average person.

http://www.diyphotography.net/canons-experiment-shows-how-obsessed-photographers-are-over-the-details/

Meh, a mediocre ad.

[AbrahamoLincolni]

11 hours ago, .spider. said:

Meh, a mediocre ad.

I'm sure it's still infinitely better than anything you can do.  Man, your statement is f**king hilarious, someone whose only criteria for a photo is "it is in focus" by taking a photo of a warning sign at some sort of strip mining area while something that looks more interesting was blurred in the background. 

 

Eye movement analysis can show how different types of people behave towards different situations and photographers tend to be the sort of people who are very detail oriented.

 

On 1/31/2017 at 5:49 PM, cc143 said:

Just a half hour ago on my balcony in Glasgow. 

 

I'd appreciate any input to improve in LR, I played with it a bit but I feel there's more that could be done

As @AkiraDaarkst and @xQubeZx have said.  If the composition is bad from the beginning, you will have to resort to Photoshop to improve the image or look for a better position for the camera next time.  The key thing about your photo looks like the sunset on the horizon, but it's centered in the frame.  Taking the photo from a higher angle (if possible) would've been better.

 

Michael Freeman wrote a great book regarding composition and design for a photographer.  You should read it.

https://www.amazon.com/Photographers-Eye-Composition-Design-Digital/dp/0240809343/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486106194&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+freeman

[AkiraDaarkst]

1 hour ago, AbrahamoLincolni said:

Michael Freeman wrote a great book regarding composition and design for a photographer.  You should read it.

https://www.amazon.com/Photographers-Eye-Composition-Design-Digital/dp/0240809343/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486106194&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+freeman

Yep, I recommend this book too.

 

1 hour ago, AbrahamoLincolni said:

I'm sure it's still infinitely better than anything you can do.  Man, your statement is f**king hilarious, someone whose only criteria for a photo is "it is in focus" by taking a photo of a warning sign at some sort of strip mining area while something that looks more interesting was blurred in the background. 

 

Eye movement analysis can show how different types of people behave towards different situations and photographers tend to be the sort of people who are very detail oriented.

 

Exactly!

[bob345]

1 hour ago, JDubb said:

I thought the lamp posts were fine but different strokes (ha!) I guess.  8/10.

 

Here is mine. Shot on Canon AE-1 Program w/ Lomography 100 iso color negative.

 

Looks great! 9/10. Gotta love those old canons. I have a similar one, a canon AT-1 and it is quite nice to use.

 

Here's a shot i took messing around with product style photography. Pretty happy with how this came out. Its a jpg straight out of the camera.

 

crkt snap lock by Tauss ., on Flickr

 

[cc143]

19 hours ago, bob345 said:

 

 

8/10, I think if this is like a picture for a website you should use a deeper DOF to have the entire product in focus, I like the effect myself, I just find it would be  better if the thing would be displayed on a website etc. That said, it is incredibly sharp.

 

I went out shooting today, got a couple of shots of the BBC Scotland building (I used the level this time). I like this one of the lot, it had just started raining, the river was too calm before, its basically a perfect reflection in all other images (even at 1/4!)  2nd picture is to demonstrate that, I ended up shooting at 13" to get the lights to be sharp all round. (Not the best of the bunch, just the only one that would fit in the 20mb restriction along with the 1st one I wanted to show. 

[Xafer]

I love the photos 9/10

There are a few minor details that could be improved imo, but nothing major. 

I would love to see the "Best of the bunch" cause these are stunning.