CondyK Strikes again, only not

[elTwitcho]

A while ago Condyk posted this shot, which I really liked but mentioned that I wasn't fond of the post processing job as it looked a bit flat to me. He offered to let me have a go at his work, and so I did. I had hoped to keep with the theme of his original set but put my own twist on it, and so I present to you a different but not necessarily better version of his photo.

Condy's original
http://www.buzzdns.com/localitypetrol.jpg


And here is my reworked version
http://www.pbase.com/eltwitcho/image/57358292.jpg

Now one thing I want to emphasize here is that I was not particularly interested in screwing around with the cropping. Doing that you're really getting into the entire visualization of the shot and it IS condy's shot, not my shot and I didn't want to rework what he had envisioned for the photo by doing anything new and extreme with the cropping. In fact, I literally did a very quick selection box and crop without much thought because I was only interested in showing a different way of processing the shot, I think his crop was quite nice and I had no desire to screw with that.

There are two techniques I used here that I'm not interested in explaining the mechanics of. Using layer masks (http://www.ephotozine.com/techniques/viewtechnique.cfm?recid=334) and Using the Curves tool (http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/photoshop-curves.htm#) are both powerful techniques I suggest being among the first you learn if you don't already know them, I have linked to a tutorial explaining each. I avoided using any of my more advanced techniques out of the kindness of not overwhelming everybody and because some of them I consider trade secrets and do not discuss with anyone (I have one technique I actually created myself and have yet to see anyone else use it, it dies with me when I go, lol)

Each step was performed on a seperate layer as this is how I work all my images. It lets me backtrack easier and it allows me to walk step by step through my technique afterwards as well, and I can also "undo" a step much later in the process without having to go all the way back to that step by just deleting that layer. For that reason I stress, ALWAYS WORK IN LAYERS, and ALWAYS HAVE AN UNEDITED LAYER ON THE BOTTOM so that you can draw from an original if you need to.

Ok, so the first thing I did was open the photo in camera raw and apply a slightly warmer colour balance. Condy's was likely a bit truer to life, but sometimes life can be depressing :lol:
http://www.pbase.com/eltwitcho/image/57358293.jpg

From there, I made a copy to begin my adjustments. The first thing I wanted to adjust was the background, because I could afterwards make everything more or less match it afterwards. I find large sections of tone are usually the best thing to edit first as it helps the image remain cohesive rather than having certain sections that just "look wrong" and don't seem to gel together. On my copy layer I adjusted the curves so that ONLY THE BACKGROUND would look nice. Any other areas I wasn't concerned with because I knew I would address them in another layer if I needed to. So I chose a curve that I think made the brick wall look it's nicest, applied it and was done with it.
http://www.pbase.com/eltwitcho/image/57358294.jpg

Now I would have to look at the parts of the image I thought could further be improved on. I didn't like how the asphalt looked so I took another copy of my base layer, moved it on top and adjusted the curves only for how I wanted the asphalt to look. I ignored that it made the brick wall in back look terrible because I was going to mask it and use the other layer for that look. After I applied the curves I added a layer mask basically making everything but the asphalt and the pumps transparent. What this in effect did, was allowed this layer to be the adjustment curve for the asphalt and the pumps, and the other layer to be the adjustment curve for the brick wall. Doing this, I could use an adjustment curve that was custom tailored to how I wanted the image to look.
http://www.pbase.com/eltwitcho/image/57358295.jpg

Last but not least was the pumps. I used the same method and put the layer on top, and made everything transparent but the pumps. If you look on the far right you can see the layer masks I used and the layer order
http://www.pbase.com/eltwitcho/image/57358296.jpg


And that was it. This is a technique I use very commonly and find it extremely useful. It allows you to have customized areas of contrast in different parts of the image, which allows you to affect how the different compononents of the image come together.

In the end I'm not trying to present a better version of Condy's image to everyone, but rather explain how you can use this post processing technique to achieve a more custom tailored look to the images allowing you to achieve exactly what you want from them. While the image may not necessarily be better in my version, it's the version I like more because it's how I would prefer to see it.


Hit me with any questions you might have or wherever I was unclear.

[getting-started]

Wow. You definately know your stuff. A lot of what you said went right over my head, but I've bookmarked your links, and they're something I'll definately look into really soon, when I'm not so tired. Thanks for all the info!

[elTwitcho]

I know my stuff better than I can explain it, likely some of it went over your head because of my ineptitude in explaining my methods ;)

To give an example of the usefullness of this technique, I have a quick snapshot I can demonstrate with. It's a very quick hackjob of an edit, but it illustrates the real world practical uses of this technique. First shot is the edited version, second shot is unedited

[cdifoto]

I like the original better. The edit looks too punchy, given the location of the shot. It's good...but a bit much.


Excellent technique to know though...definitely. Thanks for sharing that.

[condyk]

I like the original better.

:lol: :lol: Yippeeee!

I like bits of mine and bits of Rich's. I see how the layers jobbie makes a big difference to flexibility and detail. The background is possibly a tad closer to reality in his while mine is blown a bit. Look at the paint flecks for example. The darker paint around the garage name is also closer ... tho' darker than the actual wall itself. I like the barbed wire in his too ... I cropped it and that left it a bit too clean looking, but my focus was more on the pumps themselves. they seem too dark on his and there is a loss of some detail for me around the pumps ... but they are better a tad darker, just maybe less so. On my big boy monitor rather than my laptop mine looks less washed out and flat. It's hard to PP when each monitor is different. Both mine are pretty well calibrated but if I PP in the laptop they lose something. This weekend I will PP on the big boy for the first time and see if it makes a difference. My lappie just leaves all my shots not quite right when they upload ... tho' they are good on the lappie :confused:

Cheers Rich ... good to see what you did step by step above. I'm wondering about how you'd really do it if it were your shot and you used the secret ingredient. Boy tho', that looks like a lot of work for lazy little me :confused: I'm a quick crop and curves kinda guy I reckon. I have to digest and try what you did tho'.

[BottomBracket]

Excellent tutorial Rich! Something's lacking though, you forgot to say how you did the selections. Now if you'll give us a tutorial on your other shots, to get the "El Twitcho" look..... :)

[DavidEB]

Neat job. I like the original, and I like the processed photo (diplomat...).

I use elements, and can accomplish something very similar even though it doesn't have layer masks. Two ways to get around this, both demonstrated here.

1) make your selection, in this case I selected the gray rectangle along the left edge of the picture. With the selection made, add an adjustment layer (here, levels). I made the rectangle darker. After the adjustment layer is created, you can undo your selection.
--or--
2) duplicate the background layer. Make your selection (in this case the pumps and concrete). From the menu, use selection -> invert, then delete the selected parts leaving behind the stuff you're interested in. Now you have a layer with just that, the rest transparent. Create an adjustment layer (in this case, I used saturation). Make sure the "link to underlying layer" square is checked (that's the little chain link icon). Your adjustments will apply only to the layer immediately beneath.

As for curves, there's a plugin for elements that replicates curves functions, available here (http://www.earthboundlight.com/)

[frs]

Thanks for the tutorials..

[Keiffer]

Man, I need to take a class or hire someone to really go into some of these details. Makes me feel kind of stupid for it not clicking in my head. Nice work rich! Without a doubt the Barbed wir does wonders for the shot, kind of puts the location in perspective.

[condyk]

Apologies Rich ... I still haven't attempted layer 'mastery' which is a bad move as really PPing is my weak point and is now starting to hold me back and frustrate. I will try what you did this weekend. Thanks for the reminder about this thread in your own thread.