What do you do to process consistently?

[ancient_mariner]

The more I post-process and the more & better tools I have, the more I'm inclined to experiment. That's a good thing AFAICS but things can get a bit out of hand, and what looks brilliant and exciting while I'm working on it can be a bit hard on the eyes next day. I was wondering what others do to contain 'processing creep'prevent the Motorhead approach (everything louder than everything else). Do you have carefully constructed presets in 'your style(s)', do you have reference images handy or just go back'n'forth a lot??

 

[Steve Smith]

prevent the Motorhead approach (everything louder than everything else

Deep Purple used this phrase before Motorhead.

As I am a film user, I rarely venture into the world of digital post processing, but I understand what you are saying. You do something and convince yourself it looks better whereas it might just look different. I am often guilty of increasing the contrast too much - both digitally and printing with an enlarger.

When looking at what you are adding to an image, it's easy to lose sight of what is being sacrificed to achieve it.

Something I have tried in the past was making an adjustment then backing it off to about half the amount.


Steve.

 

[ancient_mariner]

Thanks Steve.

 

[DayDreamer]

Toni I am guilty of the same problem - trying every bit of PP software going - shoving all sliders as far as they will go & wishing they would go even further

At one stage I had created, & saved, lots of different LR pre-sets but in one of my moments binned them all & thought I will start from scratch with each image

Now I tend to create pre-sets on an image & use it as a starting point for other images from the same batch.

I do save some but am very disillusioned by the pre-set approach preferring individual, as needed, twiddling & have (for now ) become very restrained on the slider extremes preferring a light touch but tomorrow who knows

 

[scott199]

Toni I am guilty of the same problem - trying every bit of PP software going - shoving all sliders as far as they will go & wishing they would go even further

At one stage I had created, & saved, lots of different LR pre-sets but in one of my moments binned them all & thought I will start from scratch with each image

Now I tend to create pre-sets on an image & use it as a starting point for other images from the same batch.

I do save some but am very disillusioned by the pre-set approach preferring individual, as needed, twiddling & have (for now ) become very restrained on the slider extremes preferring a light touch but tomorrow who knows

Sliders I thought they were buttons, like on/off orr all of nothing

Now your telling me something in the middle

Tbh I am the same, recently got a new comp and while moving my images across, found some I'd PP'ed a while ago and instant delete, must of been 300 film stage of my life.

But I have to admit I am trying to just fiddle a tiny bit with each image.

 

[DayDreamer]

Scott perhaps there ought to be built in filters, in the software, so extremities are impossible

 

[scott199]

Scott perhaps there ought to be built in filters, in the software, so extremities are impossible

I think your onto something, that's what I need,

 

[Brian G]

Always remember: "If a thing is worth doing it's worth overdoing."

The variation on this is: "If some is good, more is better, and too much is about enough."

 

[Pookeyhead]

The more I post-process and the more & better tools I have, the more I'm inclined to experiment. That's a good thing AFAICS but things can get a bit out of hand, and what looks brilliant and exciting while I'm working on it can be a bit hard on the eyes next day. I was wondering what others do to contain 'processing creep'prevent the Motorhead approach (everything louder than everything else). Do you have carefully constructed presets in 'your style(s)', do you have reference images handy or just go back'n'forth a lot??

I already have a very clearly defined idea of what I want to achieve before I pick the camera up. I find that helps.

 

[ancient_mariner]

I already have a very clearly defined idea of what I want to achieve before I pick the camera up. I find that helps.

Sometimes I do intentional photography, other times I go out looking for something, and sometimes I'll just 'see' something in passing and want to create a photo. But to be honest, having a pre-plan in my head doesn't always (often) help with the processing because of a desire to experiment and develop my understanding of what's possible, and PP is often as much part of the creative process as actually taking the picture. The issue I'm trying to deal with here is creep in the way I see the image as it's being developed, rather than restricting myself to a very specific final image - the mind adjusts what is 'normal' as it becomes familiar with what's being viewed, so we don't see everything lit by fluorescent lighting as having horrid colours after we've got used to it.

And the the comments in general tell me I'm not alone. I really appreciate having the ability to adjust images as we can, but it was easier in the days the darkroom, where the 'presets' were chosen by the paper manufacturer, and much less adjustable except to dodge & burn, mildly fiddle with contrast/colour balance/exposure, correct perspective and soften images intentionally.

 

[Pookeyhead]

Fair enough, and in that case, it's just a matter of restraint. Get feedback regularly from those who are experienced.

 

[SandyMcClure]

The more I've done PP the subtler it has got in general. That's not to say that I don't occasionally do really heavy edits (actually did one today as it happens) but on the whole I have got more subtle. Every time I do an edit that I like, I save it as a preset so I now have a bunch of presets called things like 'Sandy's retro brown fade' or 'Sandy's crushed blacks' or my favourite (in name) 'Sandy's enhancalot'.

I also have a basic import preset saved that gets applied before anything else that just does a small amount of processing, then I'll usually play around a bit until I like it or if I'm feeling uninspired I'll run through a few of my saved presets to get some ideas.

 

[ancient_mariner]

I'm still fiddling a little with pre-sets, but find I prefer an image-to-image approach. Slightly torn between the desire to make something look a little 'artistic' (euphemism for 'sod up the sharpness and put halos on everything' - hey, I've seen plenty of acclaimed toggers work like this. ) and go for something at 11. It's much less easy to back stuff off without washing everything out, and as I said, my eyes seem to adapt in a way that means I can't easily tell when stuff is just a bit spoilt.

 

[Cagey75]

The usual tweaks, bump of this and that, where suited - then copy & paste are my best buds, if the images are exposed similar. Generally some may need further tweaking, but if you create your own temp-preset for a bunch of images it can save a tonne of time. Even if that preset is merely a bump of contrast or clarity/contrast whatever. If they're all shot under the same lighting, you're laughing.

 

[petersmart]

Once I've finished editing my photos I usually just file them away for at least a week or two then take them out and check them.

That way I can get a much better idea whether they're good enough to put on Flickr or whatever than immediately after I've processed them, because after editing maybe a hundred or so pics I tend to suffer from "editing fatigue".

So leaving then for a couple of weeks seems to restore my ability to see them as they really are, good or bad.
.