LINKS:
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UNDERSTANDING DIGITAL EXPOSURE:
Part 1: Exposure Reduction for Highlight Retention
Part 2: Digital Exposure & Noise
Part 3: When Blocked-up Shadows Aren’t Really
Part 4: Take a Balanced Approach to White Balance
Part 5: Dynamic Range
Part 6: Extending the Tonal Range
Part 7: What’s the Real Difference Between RAW and JPEG?
GENERAL:
1) COST-EFFECTIVE PHOTOGRAPHY
2) CONTROL THE RANGE OF FOCUS
3) IMAGE INTERPOLATION
4) LOSE THE DEAD SHOTS
5) SCANNING 35MM FILM
6) THE RAW vs. JPEG DEBATE…
7) IS PHOTOGRAPHY EASY?
8) MUST EVERYTHING HAVE AN ADOBE SLANT?
9) A CAMERA TO PAINT WITH
10) WHAT'S THIS COMPOSITION THING ABOUT?
Introductory Section: Page 1 | Page 3
Enhancing Your Images in Software
Beyond question the proper editing of digital images is a huge subject and we can’t go into it in depth. But be sure to invest in flexible software specifically designed to edit digital images in detail. It’s important too to buy at least a few really good books on this subject written by seasoned digital photographers.
Using all our technical skills to get the image recorded on the card is usually just the first part of the creative process. Some accept each DSLR shot straight from the camera and tend to shy away from learning how to use software tools. If we choose not to shoot RAW, it's true that cameras can process each JPEG shot for us, and that may suit photojournalists, for example. But in a general context it can be useful to shoot JPEG images that have a more neutral appearance and are minimally sharpened. We can then fine-tune them later in software. Sometimes software manipulation is unavoidable. For example, it can be the only way to fully control and extend a scene's tonal range (see image of kitchen window below).
New photographers may mistakenly assume that because they can't afford the very best and most expensive software programs available there won't be a lot they can do to really transform their images. Not so. To date all the images and graphics on this site were edited and created in the first-rate professional version of Corel’s image and drawing software package—for many years a less costly route to comprehensive image manipulation and graphics creation. Elements, the scaled down version of Adobe’s main image-editing program is very useful and in the right hands will produce excellent results.
We should learn how to work at our images in software, just like a conventional printer works with negatives and photographic paper in the darkroom. The principle is the same. More often than not we will get better results if we take time to hone the original image recorded by the camera. Consider the world’s best black and white photographers and printers. We wouldn't expect them to simply make one straight print from prized negatives. At the enlarger they take a lot of time experimenting with various techniques until they finally craft the unique print they had in mind.
We shoot our images with technical care, thinking about the subject, the light, the composition, depth-of-field, and so on. Later, at home, we should sit back and look over each shot on-screen before creatively using software tools to produce the final image for printing or viewing. Subtle software manipulation can play a significant role in image-creation.
Working on Images in Software1) Kitchen Window
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The Barn
The Barn, Donegal, manipulated image and original RAW image. Camera: 5D, ISO 50
The above shot of a renovated barn is a manipulated version of a 20-second RAW exposure captured just before dark. Before each of several careful exposures the camera’s histogram was checked to see if detail had been lost in the sky. While this particular image was being exposed a passing car conveniently painted light for a few seconds onto the gable wall. Because no work was necessary in RAW conversion software, this image was immediately converted to a TIFF for precise editing in the software's layers format. It was clear from the outset that this image would need manipulation techniques that are impossible to replicate in RAW-editing software.
A sturdy hedge meant it was impossible to get far enough back to avoid converging verticals. This happens when subjects appear to get narrower towards the top. It’s usually best to avoid this if you can. The only solution was to correct (in fact, distort!) the image in software by pulling a new layer out top left and top right until the building was more or less aligned with a drawn thin vertical white lines. To make the most of the stonework, windows, doors, potted plants, and so on, each feature was carefully copied into a layer, enhanced, feathered and sharpened appropriately where necessary. Finally, an ugly TV aerial was cloned out.
Global Adjustments
Global adjustments may not be the best solution. Better results are usually possible if editing tools are applied selectively where they are needed most. Should we warm up an entire image, including faces, neutral tones and overcast skies? Should we apply the same sharpening tool to every texture? Should we apply saturation to every pixel and every colour in the image? Colour-correction adjustments may favour some parts of the image more than others. When working with black and white images is it best to apply the same colour-toning to the highlights, the mid-tones and the shadows? Probably not. Should we reduce noise everywhere? Possibly not. Noise reduction affects image quality.
The same is true of Tone Curves, the most powerful tool in image-editing. Relevant tones can be targeted in separate layers (see above for further information). Working subtly with specifically selected areas that have been copied into separate layers will certainly extend creativity and so enhance the final image.
Getting Help with the Learning Curve
If you’re new to DSLRs or advanced digital compacts you may be thinking about joining an online photo-forum where you can share your new hobby with more experienced photographers. There will be times when you will get the help and encouragement you need, but a word of warning: don’t be too quick to accept all of the photographic advice that's on offer.
Use a card reader to copy your new images to your hard drive, then selectively edit them in software
Sometimes personal preferences and an innocent lack of experience may only serve to compound your difficulties and cause further confusion. For a while at least it's preferable to rely on a few good photo magazines. Read the more practical articles carefully, perhaps cutting them out as you go along and keeping them on file. But best of all, totally immerse yourself in several very good down-to-earth books on the subject.
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