My first post here, looking for honest critique of my lighroom adjustments

[Todd Suttles]

Thank you in advance,
-t

[Tony Jay]

Hi Todd - welcome to LuLa!

The image itself looks fine however, not knowing how it looked pre-adjustment makes it hard to critique any "Lightroom adjustments."
Perhaps there is more to your request than meets the eye?

Tony Jay

[slackercruster]

Look Ok

[Todd Suttles]

Thanks Tony for the welcome. Here is the original with just "auto" and pulling down the Hilites to fix over-exposed sky. Specifically, thank you, I am working on understanding sharpening, contrast and color. I have some versions of this image that approach HDR feeling. I guess I am looking for feedback on what is the correct amount of sharpening, saturation, etc. Is this sharp/punched enough, would more be better, or tacky. Thank you for taking the time to reply..
-t

[Sheldon N]

I like the first image better than the second. What jumps out at me is the three zones of the image, distant hills, near hills, and field. In the first image the middle zone is good, perhaps just a tiny bit too much with the "Blacks" slider. However the near field and distant hills zone both lack contrast. I'd probably be reaching for a gradient adjustment layer for both the top and bottom to correct for that. However most of this is rooted in how YOU want the image to look, not what I'd be doing.

[Ed Blagden]

Thanks Tony for the welcome. Here is the original with just "auto" and pulling down the Hilites to fix over-exposed sky. Specifically, thank you, I am working on understanding sharpening, contrast and color. I have some versions of this image that approach HDR feeling. I guess I am looking for feedback on what is the correct amount of sharpening, saturation, etc. Is this sharp/punched enough, would more be better, or tacky. Thank you for taking the time to reply..
-t

Todd - welcome to Lula.  Possibly the friendliest and most civilised photography forum on the internet, and there are plenty of people on here who really know their stuff.

Beyond saying I quite like your image (although the middle stripe of trees might benefit from being more central) I don't really want to "critique" your LR adjustments because it is your image and only you can be the one to visualise what you want.  It isn't really for us to tell you if the image needs more or less clarity, vibrance etc.  Doing image adjustment "by committee" on the internet is the road to hell and will drive you crazy!  As for sharpening, it isn't possible to assess capture sharpening adjustments by looking at a down-ressed jpeg of the whole image on a computer monitor.

I don't know how experienced or knowledgeable you are about LR, so now would be a good time to get in my granny sucking eggs disclaimer.  However if you want to see in some more depth what all the sliders do in the develop module then a good starting point would be George Jardine's online set of tutorials on the develop module.  I looked at these recently and even though I have been using LR for 6 years I promise you I learned something new from each tutorial.  It does cost ($30 I think) but good value for money IMO.

Another good introductory video to the Develop Module is Tim Grey's B&H Seminar on optimising photos in LR.  You can find this on YouTube and it is of course free.  Not as much depth as the George Jardine series, but a good starting point.

Good luck and keep posting.

Ed

[RSL]

Hi Todd, and welcome. I endorse what Ed said, though I'm not going to comment on the picture. I think you'll enjoy LuLa.

[Todd Suttles]

THANKS ED! I bought the Jardine Develop videos and appreciate your help. I am new at digital processing and very much appreciate everyone sharing their knowledge and experience. Thanks again,
-t

[Todd Suttles]

Thanks Sheldon- I applied your suggestions and it is much better.  I know ultimately the images have to be "how I want them" but I am still in the stage where many of others' suggestions are ideas I would not even be aware of as options. Thank you for telling me your ideas and taking time to reply.
-t

[Alan Klein]

I always all my self off I like the way it came out.  If it looks good to me, I assume it will look good to others. 

[Ed Blagden]

THANKS ED! I bought the Jardine Develop videos and appreciate your help. I am new at digital processing and very much appreciate everyone sharing their knowledge and experience. Thanks again,
-t

No worries.  Just three pieces of advice:

• Always shoot RAW.  Always.  Shoot.  RAW.  Not only will you get better results after spending time in the develop module, you will also be forced to really look at your photos and develop some understanding of the art of the capture.
• Get a good understanding of the develop module and the process of developing a digital negative.  Apart from the two resources I pointed you to, there are plenty of others out there.  You might want to look at these two ageing hippies talking about photography and digital processing in LR.  Lots of wisdom there.
• Post one photo per week or more to LuLa.  You will get a lot of feedback, mostly from people who know what they are talking about, and most of it helpful.

Have fun.



Ed

[Todd Suttles]

Already follow the Hippies! Like 'em. Was one myself back in the day. Thanks again Ed.

[Christoph C. Feldhaim]

Welcome aboard!

I like how this image has been processed.
It has quite natural colors and good enough separation between foreground, the 2 middlegrounds and the background.
Composition wise I'd prefer to have a bit more space above the hills for them to breathe.
Apart from that there is a lot of room for experimenting with this image concerning
selective local contrast, color, sharpness, tones and so on to make it stronger, but there are also many ways to destroy it when done wrong.
You might want to tone down it a little to get more pop in the colors, but keep the light zones up.

Cheers
~Chris

[Todd Suttles]

Thanks Christoph for taking the time to share input. I will experiment with your suggestions this weekend. Being new at all this processing stuff I am always concerned about doing too much; seems to be the greater sin. That is why I am so excited about finding this critique forum. And... I have heard several comments about allowing more breathing room in composition; so that is good input too.  Thank you again,
-t

[wmchauncey]

Lots of sound advice offered toward your foray into the world of post processing...gone are the days of leaving the those decisions to the camera's software gurus.
Your no longer bound to the world of "the right look", but rather the "look in your mind".  Save those RAW images as that "look" will change every time you revisit the images.   

[Isaac]

Being new at all this processing stuff I am always concerned about doing too much; seems to be the greater sin.

Do too much! Push the sliders to extremes! Push out of the comfort zone.

[Todd Suttles]

 Title: Onion in Petunia Patch

[Isaac]

The sky isn't very blue yet :-)

Can you make the foreground green regrowth dominate the straw?

[Todd Suttles]

Thanks for suggestions; I will apply those this weekend
Thanks, t

[Isaac]

The majority of viewers of the horizontal image think that it was a sunlit scene. When I explain that it represented diffused lighting from the sky and also reflected light from distant clouds, some rejoin, "Then why does it look the way it does?" Such questions remind me that many viewers expect a photograph to be the literal simulation of reality; of course, many others are capable of response to an image without concern for the physical realities of the subject. Either the photograph speaks to a viewer or it does not. I cannot demand that anyone receive from the image just what I saw and felt, the image will contain qualities that may provide a basis for imaginative response by the viewer.

page 64, Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs, Ansel Adams.