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Post Processing
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<blockquote data-quote="Blacktop" data-source="post: 573803" data-attributes="member: 22693"><p>This is what can happen when a person spends too much time in Nik Tools. In this case Color FX Pro.<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>I started out by looking at this image and almost hitting the delete button. I saw nothing in this shot that even remotely excited me, except maybe the arc of the wings.</p><p>I always like wings on the down stroke, when I shoot BIF so that was ok. </p><p></p><p>Fortunately I had no other shots to process , so I started to play with it.</p><p></p><p>A little insight to my workflow. </p><p></p><p>Most times when I take a shot, there is a purpose and some sort of vision in my head of the outcome, so when I open up the image on my computer, I pretty much have an idea of what I want to accomplish.</p><p>In this case, I wanted to try out my kenko 1.4 TC on the 70-300mm lens, since I had not tried yet, so I wasn't really out to take shots to keep, just wanted to see how it handled really.</p><p></p><p>Ok, back to how I got from here to there.</p><p></p><p>Normally I start in LR and the first thing that I check and fix is the composition, before I do anything else. So I do some cropping a few different ways to see how I like it. I don't follow any rules , just what pleases my eyes.</p><p>The next thing I do, is lower highlights and exposure. I like to start with a little under exposed image at first, which I can correct later if needed.</p><p></p><p>After that I pull shadows to my liking, to get a right balance. The only other thing that I do in LR, is to adjust the "whites", and "blacks" sliders. Sometimes I don't touch those until the very end after everything else is done. It really depends on the shot.</p><p></p><p>Now that I'm done in LR, I'll export to PS. I don't do much in PS really, except maybe take out a few distractions. (content aware tool) . </p><p>Having Nik Tools there is really no reason to do layers and all that stuff in PS, when it all can be done a lot simpler in NIK. </p><p></p><p>In this particular shot, I did some NR in Define2, then I brought the shot into Color FX Pro. </p><p></p><p>At this point I still didn't know what I wanted to do with this shot. The only thing I liked so far was the wings on the dragonfly and the roses around it.</p><p></p><p>Normally when I enter Color Efex Pro, the first thing I adjust is the contrast. I use "Pro Contrast" for this. </p><p>The second thing I go for is, "darken/lighten center". I love this tool, because I can pick where the center point is., It's like a control point in "Viveza" but I don't have to leave Color FX Pro to do it.</p><p></p><p>After I got done with this, I thought that I might try a softer ,dreamy type of an image. I liked the way the roses were starting look, but the dragonfly wasn't really that sharp. </p><p>The thing about sharpening is, that if you don't start out with a somewhat sharp shot or subject, trying to force it to look sharp will do more harm then good. It will certainly ruin a shot.</p><p></p><p>As I was saying, I needed to get a softer, dreamier look, so I played with "glamour glow" until I found the right balance that I liked.</p><p></p><p>I added a little vignetting/ blur to the image while I was still in CFX pro, and then I exported the image back to PS.</p><p></p><p>Normally I do my sharpening in PS, with either "unsharp mask" or "smart sharpen", but this time I skipped and took the shot back to LR for a few finishing touches.</p><p></p><p>I then I pulled some whites and added a tiny bit of overall exposure.</p><p>I also selectively sharpened a few parts of the dragonfly. Mostly the wings, and some parts of the leaves on the rose. That's it I think. I might have forgotten to mention a few other things but for a shot that I was going to trash, I'm almost happy with the result.<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p>So here is the before and after.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]223366[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]223367[/ATTACH]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Blacktop, post: 573803, member: 22693"] This is what can happen when a person spends too much time in Nik Tools. In this case Color FX Pro.:) I started out by looking at this image and almost hitting the delete button. I saw nothing in this shot that even remotely excited me, except maybe the arc of the wings. I always like wings on the down stroke, when I shoot BIF so that was ok. Fortunately I had no other shots to process , so I started to play with it. A little insight to my workflow. Most times when I take a shot, there is a purpose and some sort of vision in my head of the outcome, so when I open up the image on my computer, I pretty much have an idea of what I want to accomplish. In this case, I wanted to try out my kenko 1.4 TC on the 70-300mm lens, since I had not tried yet, so I wasn't really out to take shots to keep, just wanted to see how it handled really. Ok, back to how I got from here to there. Normally I start in LR and the first thing that I check and fix is the composition, before I do anything else. So I do some cropping a few different ways to see how I like it. I don't follow any rules , just what pleases my eyes. The next thing I do, is lower highlights and exposure. I like to start with a little under exposed image at first, which I can correct later if needed. After that I pull shadows to my liking, to get a right balance. The only other thing that I do in LR, is to adjust the "whites", and "blacks" sliders. Sometimes I don't touch those until the very end after everything else is done. It really depends on the shot. Now that I'm done in LR, I'll export to PS. I don't do much in PS really, except maybe take out a few distractions. (content aware tool) . Having Nik Tools there is really no reason to do layers and all that stuff in PS, when it all can be done a lot simpler in NIK. In this particular shot, I did some NR in Define2, then I brought the shot into Color FX Pro. At this point I still didn't know what I wanted to do with this shot. The only thing I liked so far was the wings on the dragonfly and the roses around it. Normally when I enter Color Efex Pro, the first thing I adjust is the contrast. I use "Pro Contrast" for this. The second thing I go for is, "darken/lighten center". I love this tool, because I can pick where the center point is., It's like a control point in "Viveza" but I don't have to leave Color FX Pro to do it. After I got done with this, I thought that I might try a softer ,dreamy type of an image. I liked the way the roses were starting look, but the dragonfly wasn't really that sharp. The thing about sharpening is, that if you don't start out with a somewhat sharp shot or subject, trying to force it to look sharp will do more harm then good. It will certainly ruin a shot. As I was saying, I needed to get a softer, dreamier look, so I played with "glamour glow" until I found the right balance that I liked. I added a little vignetting/ blur to the image while I was still in CFX pro, and then I exported the image back to PS. Normally I do my sharpening in PS, with either "unsharp mask" or "smart sharpen", but this time I skipped and took the shot back to LR for a few finishing touches. I then I pulled some whites and added a tiny bit of overall exposure. I also selectively sharpened a few parts of the dragonfly. Mostly the wings, and some parts of the leaves on the rose. That's it I think. I might have forgotten to mention a few other things but for a shot that I was going to trash, I'm almost happy with the result.;) So here is the before and after. [ATTACH type="full"]223366._xfImport[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full"]223367._xfImport[/ATTACH] [/QUOTE]
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