Before and After - The Weekly Editing Challenge

2. Lighting windows. Various ways to go here. Sometimes the daylight image will have windows that don't need much alteration. Here (1) the curtains are usable pretty much as they are. I selected them and used a curves layer (2) to brighten them. Then used that selection to knock holes in the DTN layer (3). You could also vary the brightness -- maybe a bright spot to suggest a lamp behind the curtain. You could also add color with a photo filter or a blank layer in color blend mode.

More often, though, windows aren't usable as they are. In those cases I usually just fill with color. One simple technique is to create a fill layer, put a black mask on it, then select windows and knock holes in the mask. In this case (4) the window was large, so after applying a fill layer (5) I selected and brightened a shape inside the window to resemble the ceiling, and also varied the light to suggest lamps (6). In a few cases I've actually pasted in a photo of a living room with furnishings.

3. Analyze light behavior. Take a minute to analyze how light will behave in any particular situation. This house had a pair of floodlights next to the side door. If you think about it, you can see that light from the floods would not reach into area 1. They would shed more light on area 3 than area 2. And they would put the most light on the ground, area 4, because they're aiming downward. Paint with black accordingly on the DTN layer mask, using selections to control these separate areas. Also note that where the light falls on area 3, the transition between light and shadow grows more diffuse as you move away from the bulbs. So it will look more realistic if you progressively blur that line.

FOOTNOTE: Forgot to add this important point about how light behaves. We know where light exists either because we see the direct source (the sun, a light bulb, etc.), or we see light from that source reflected by other objects (like the sides of that house and the pavement). We don't see light as it travels through the air unless there's something in the air to reflect it -- water droplets, smoke particles, dust, etc. The classic example (below, left) is light beams at sunrise lighting up mist in the air. When there is no atmospheric mist or smoke to reflect light (as in an art gallery), don't add light beams between the light source and the reflecting surfaces.

4. A few more details. When tree branches or other objects partially obscure windows (or other lighted surfaces), it's important to paint them out on the layer mask so they'll appear to be in shadow between the camera and the lighted surface. Tedious, but important. The devil is always in the details.

By similar token, when lighted people or other objects partially obscure a dark background, you want to light the people carefully so the light doesn't spill into the background shadows. Note the people in the street scene who are bathed in light against a shadowy background.

If you have questions about any of this stuff, feel free to ask.

Since I'm piling on, let me add one more illustration. I said in #1 that the DTN layer was useful for more than just nighttime conversions, and also that the two hue/sat layers offer much more flexibility than a color lookup. In this version, I just shifted the color from blue to a sepia dusky tone, and lightened it up a bit with the other hue/sat layer. Since the sky and horizon gradient were separate fill layers, I could easily shift their colors by clipping a hue/sat adjustment layer to each.

A lot of information there Peano - thank you for the time you've put in to share with us.

NigelD wrote in post #19307018
A lot of information there Peano - thank you for the time you've put in to share with us.

Well said.

Peano, much appreciated, thank you !!!

Thanks! Lots to practice!

In case anyone wondered where this location is. Porto, Portugal. We are headed to one of the bridges which what this city is famous for. We are going back to Portugal in January but won't be visiting Porto this time.

https://justmovingarou​nd.com …ridges-of-porto-portugal/

It was a tough to decide. My first choice the submission by RDWP. I like the crop, the tone and the lighting. The mood is appealing.

https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=19304996

Second goes to Stiga. I really like the punch and contrast of this one. Brings out a lot of details. Is Aurora an HDR product. I'm usually not a big fan of HDR but this was done well IMO.

https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=19305469

Third goes to Peano. Nice work with the sky, the tones and I really like the touches with the lighting.

https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=19305692

Yes, I did wonder where you had taken that shot. And, yes, Aurora is an HDR product and comes out of the Skylum stable.

Congratulations to Rob (RDWP)

Anyone here know why your image automatically becomes cropped when using Topaz AI D-noise?

Any way to prevent that from happening ? I tried a couple different ways using it, and it still becomes cropped

Stiga wrote in post #19307112
Yes, I did wonder where you had taken that shot. And, yes, Aurora is an HDR product and comes out of the Skylum stable.

Congratulations to Rob (RDWP)

Not all my stuff is B&W but this edit is from a few years ago.

Bianchi wrote in post #19307116
Anyone here know why your image automatically becomes cropped when using Topaz AI D-noise?

Any way to prevent that from happening ? I tried a couple different ways using it, and it still becomes cropped

There is nothing in DeNoise preferences I can see. What software are you importing files from? I use LrC and I just tried it. No crop.

Bianchi wrote in post #19307116
Anyone here know why your image automatically becomes cropped when using Topaz AI D-noise?

Any way to prevent that from happening ? I tried a couple different ways using it, and it still becomes cropped

Sounds similar to the issue I'm having with Topaz Sharpen, described back in my post:

RDWP wrote in post #19305134
Question: Anyone using Topaz Sharpen Ai as a plug-in from Aurora HDR? Used to work fine but lately - most of the time - when it is imported back into Aurora it is a cropped version of the original - rest of the image missing (see screen captures below, before and after). Not related to the area I was previewing in Topaz. Doesn't happen when saving from Topaz as a stand-alone. Can't see anything on this on POTN Aurora or Topaz threads. Only thing on the WWW I've found is that someone reported similar when Topaz was used as a plugin with another software, not related to Luminar products. No solution I've seen. Wonder if its a quirk of the software or my hardware combo.
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Will try Denoise and see if I get the same. Were you coming via a Plug-In too?

Thanks! Nice image to work with, and good efforts by all.

Will hunt up some candidates and post shortly for the next round.