Photo Editing Criticism and Feedback

[Charlie Spencer]

I really like that photo and how you cropped/processed it.

Thanks!

Regarding the cropping, I crop everything to a 4:3 ratio, starting at 2000x1500 pixels (as in this case), then adjust in 400x300 increments if the first try was too close or far. That's why I started this discussion; I'm trying to get beyond that self-imposed restriction. The only place my cropped images get used are as eBird attachments / Macaulay. That use makes identifiability my primary consideration, but I'm trying to be a bit more creative than just centering on the bird and cropping close.

I didn't process this photo beyond cropping, and I rarely do. My big stumbling block is I don't know what I'm aiming for, what my goal is. With no artistic background, I try to reach a definitive objective 'right', which obviously doesn't exist in a subjective art form. I don't know what adjustments to make, when I've done enough or too much of any individual adjustment, or when to quit with the image as a whole. So cropping is all I do to all except in extreme cases where I'm trying to salvage a rarity or lifer.

[Lonestranger]

I really like that photo and how you cropped/processed it.

Thanks!

Regarding the cropping, I crop everything to a 4:3 ratio, starting at 2000x1500 pixels (as in this case), then adjust in 400x300 increments if the first try was too close or far. That's why I started this discussion; I'm trying to get beyond that self-imposed restriction. The only place my cropped images get used are as eBird attachments / Macaulay. That use makes identifiability my primary consideration, but I'm trying to be a bit more creative than just centering on the bird and cropping close.

I didn't process this photo beyond cropping, and I rarely do. My big stumbling block is I don't know what I'm aiming for, what my goal is. With no artistic background, I try to reach a definitive objective 'right', which obviously doesn't exist in a subjective art form. I don't know what adjustments to make, when I've done enough or too much of any individual adjustment, or when to quit with the image as a whole. So cropping is all I do to all except in extreme cases where I'm trying to salvage a rarity or lifer.

I ignore my pixel count until I am done cropping the image, I can always achieve the desired finished size without limiting myself before I start. In other words, if my desired crop/framing comes out at 3000x2000 pixels, I can then resize it to 1500x1000 afterwards IF necessary. Since more pixels typically means better quality, the larger file is preferred, especially for uploading to websites like Flickr and/or Macaulay where larger files are allowed and often preferred for the better detail they provide. I typically constrain my crops to the same aspect ratio as the camera's 3:2 ratio and very seldom try different aspect ratios. I wouldn't even call the aspect ratio a personal preference, it's more of a it is what it is attitude.

As for post processing, I usually try the Auto Tone adjustment first and see what the program suggests and then try adjusting a few sliders only if the Auto Tone adjustment didn't quite get it right. Like you, I often don't know what adjustments to make so I often use the Auto Tone as a starting point and try making adjustments from there. I work mostly in JPG now and find myself doing less and less post processing though, hopefully because I am get better at getting it right in the camera.

[Charlie Spencer]

I ignore my pixel count until I am done cropping the image, I can always achieve the desired finished size without limiting myself before I start.

I'll give that a try. My concern is that without a pre-defined box, I'll get even more wrapped around decisions. Bad enough having to decide what to capture within the box; you want me to determine the horizontal and vertical boundaries on the fly too? Being able to set a default box size is one of the reasons I stick with this particular app (paint.net).

As for post processing, I usually try the Auto Tone adjustment first and see what the program suggests and then try adjusting a few sliders only if the Auto Tone adjustment didn't quite get it right.

I don't think I like the effects of paint.net's 'Auto-Level' tool. The first is how it looked that foggy morning.

Before.png (203.57 KiB) Viewed 44 times

The second doesn't capture the experience. I also makes me want to get an 55-gallon drum of Visine. But if I liked the second one, I don't know what adjustments it made, which tools to use to reverse them, or where I would draw the line between the two.

Damn, that's awfully whiney. Let's rephrase that. If I wanted to undo some of the automatic adjustments, how would I determine what was done and which tools to reverse them?

After.png (285.37 KiB) Viewed 44 times

[Charlie Spencer]

If I wanted to undo some of the automatic adjustments, how would I determine what was done and which tools to reverse them?

Well, I could read the manual...

[Lonestranger]

If I wanted to undo some of the automatic adjustments, how would I determine what was done and which tools to reverse them?

Different software may make any explanations irrelevant. Paint.net isn't available for Mac so I can't refresh my memory on how it works, so I can't speak specifically to your editor.

First off, when I open an image in the Develop tab of Lightroom, I have a totally different view of the adjustments than I when I am viewing the same image in the Library tab. The Library tab has many Auto adjustments, but I can't see what's going on when they're used. In the Develop tab, there is a "Tone" section, among others, to the side of the image with sliders for Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites, and Blacks. By clicking the Auto button within the Tone section, the sliders in that section get moved + or - with a visible +/- # at the end of each slider showing how much it was moved from the centre/starting point. If the image looks totally different, I'll usually start with the most adjusted slider and see if moving it towards the other end makes things better or worse. Sometimes adjusting one slider is enough to satisfy my objective, other times I play around with all the sliders, and other times I end up hitting the reset button and go with the out of camera exposure adjustments.

I usually don't like the initial Auto Tone adjustment, I find the Exposure slider is often moved too far to the right, often exposing the photo for the entire scene based on a dark background, while overexposing the bird in the process. I almost always take the sliders back towards the centre/starting point and very rarely take any slider past 3/4 of the way to the outer limits.

I'm probably not the best person to offer editing advise since I don't really know what I'm doing, and know even less about what you're doing.