Screwing around with Photoshop
- This topic has 14 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated May 12, 2009 at 3:03 pm by
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Hey dudes –
Lately I’ve noticed that certain of my photos get more attention from some editors than others.
Some nice adaptations there Zach
Basically, and not to over-simplify, but I’ve noticed that the “edgier” the magazine, the more likely an editor is to lock onto a photo that I’ve heavily photoshopped than one which is more or less right out of camera. With the mainstream magazines, heavy photoshopping is more taboo.
For what it’s worth, in my experience, this kind of image would sell better to a smaller magazine targeting a younger demographic, or to an online publication looking to “print the photos the magazines won’t print.” By my count there are now at least six of those in fly fishing.
Don’t think theres much to simplify, meaning there isn’t much more to it than that, and that the commentary is pretty accurate. Whether it’s a conscious marketing decision to
a) Dare to be different, show something different than the tried/true, etc
b) Cater to younger demographics
c) Whatever, it is what it is. Call it a natural extenuation, growth, continuance of trends from Trout Bums 🙂I’ve been seeing a lot of images that are fairly heavily PSd, whether they are HDRs, tone mapping, heavy contrast and/or saturation that are gaining popularity.
I’ll play around with some images, and like you I tend to do it with images that have flaws of one type or another. Or they are images I like but have virtually no inclination to send to anyone. Basically why risk a prefectly good/suitable cover that stands alone pretty much right out of the camera and over bake it/transform it into something more
One area I want to explore more fully and get reasonably proficient at is composites. When done well, they can be things of beauty.
Personally, for me photoshop is just a part of the process and a tool to help convey the emotion or feeling in the photo. Sometimes I do quite a bit and sometimes not much … I like the B&W (#4) shot.
YuckYuckYuck !
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
I’ve been waiting for the Obama poster plugin for Photoshop! Everyone should have a image like that of themselves. I wonder how a super wide angle shot of Cathy Beck holding a big bone fish would look run through the Obama poster effect! That would be iconic! Found it!
http://vector.tutsplus.com/illustration/create-an-inspirational-vector-political-poster/Sorry, too be clear – I say ‘yuck’ about post processing and not your shots Zach.
Generally, I think your stuff is really good.
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
I was going to try the poster thing but I don’t have Illustrator. I try a lot of filter packages and plugins for Photoshop and Aperture. There are several really good ones from Nik Software. If you dig BXW I would encourage you to try Silver EFX Pro trial. I’m real close to buying it. I just can’t make up my mind if I want to buy a bundle deal for Aperture or for Aperture and Photoshop that has their full suit of products. Imagenomic makes some really good stuff as well. I think whatever you apply to a image you need to ask yourself is this a artistic enhancement or does it come off as a gimmick?
http://www.niksoftware.com/index/usa/entry.php?
http://www.imagenomic.com/index.aspxPhotoshop is an amazing tool with tremendous flexibility for different professional applications. Like every other piece of technology it can be applied to different skill levels, from amateur to advanced. When used correctly it is indispensable. I have spent the last 6 months immersed in PS because it was necessary for tone mapping my medical macro images. Along the way I have seen tons of both good and bad examples of PS application for photography. An example of good application is the photographer who uses the technology to “subtly” enhance a photograph for photorealism – some of my best images have 15 or more layers, each with only a very subtle correction. An example of bad application, IMHO, is the use of filters without a solid understanding of the fundamentals of photography – don’t get me wrong, filters are fun and often very useful for saving time, but many people gravitate toward filters (e.g. HDR) without knowing when something looks “baked”. This discussion could go on forever without a conclusion . . .
I really like the examples Zach provided above. They have a place in publication and also the occasional edgy or pop effect adds variation to a slide show, etc. However, I know he employs these sparingly. That is the key. At my local camera club meetings I tend to quickly get annoyed when people flood my sensors with baked/filterized/fakey images.
Are we photographers or graphic designers? That is the question. Getting a good picture is a skill. Creating a graphic composite is a skill. They are not necessarily mutually exclusive but generally one is independent of the other. It is tempting to be both (very tempting once you get good at PS).
BAKED
NOT BAKED
BAKED
NOT BAKED
LUKE WARM (MICROWAVED) This is Tone Mapped to correct white balance, a bit on the fake side, there is only so much you do with an image that is lacking from the start.
BAKED
NOT BAKED
NOT BAKED
BAKED
WARMED (NOT BAKED) This image is exposure blended. Took forever (298mb file and 12 layers), still a bit on the “fake” side. After all that work I have come to dislike this picture but it taught me how to reshoot in the future.
BTW, David . . . Silver EFX Pro is an awesome filter. One of my favorites. The above B&W images where done in Silver EXF.
Nice examples Neil! Especially the sepia stuff.
Because I’ve been shooting chrome for decades right up to my digital transition and trained to get on “film” a final image for my client, I used to look at some photoshop as gimmicky and somewhat of a crutch. However, I’ve changed my tune and welcome a little enhancement from time to time.
Zach, don’t take this the wrong way but DUDE when are you going to change your profile shot? I do love the B+W dog/fisherman image though.
🙂
Douglas
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