When Post Prcessing

how, what, or when, helps you decide that enough is enough? Or like me, are you rarely satisfied? Just curious.

It's a relatively easy answer if you're a photographer...just get it like you remember the scene and do it only once.
It becomes more difficult when one aspires to be an artist and cannot determine what direction to take an image.

You are not alone, Adams rarely PP his images the same way twice.

Good answer Chauncey... I have major difficulty trying to answer subjective, philosophical, or rhetorical questions.

Confidence helps. Stop trying to impress people and be happy with what you do. Then anything you do will be enough.

Of course that can also lead to mediocrity(sp?)

I think it's natural to swing like a pendulum between overstated and underdone, looking for a balance that will satisfy your "vision".

This is especially true when you are trying something new, whether it is a special effect, HDR, selective sharpening/blurring or whatever. And, your vision and sense of balance naturally evolve over time. What looks "cool" to you when you are first learning and experimenting with something may look "tacky" a year or two from now, but so what?

Take on new projects, practice and learn, post examples for C&C, and don't get discouraged, especially by people with different tastes whose only comment is something like "I don't like this" or "that doesn't do anything for me".

I see a lot of photos that are completely over processed, and look subsequently completely ridiculous, though that is my own opinion.

I make a change on a duplicate layer until it looks just right.

Then I reduce the opacity 50%.

And discover that looks just right.

Jahled wrote in post #7976172
I see a lot of photos that are completely over processed, and look subsequently completely ridiculous, though that is my own opinion.

Of course! That's part of the learning curve, and an opportunity to give constructive criticism. If someone who is just learning posts an early attempt, and you just say "that looks completely over processed, and completely ridiculous" you will only have offered destructive criticism, IMO. If you suggest a tweak here and a tweak there to "tone down" things, that's what I consider positive/constructive criticism.

tonylong wrote in post #7976313
Of course! That's part of the learning curve, and an opportunity to give constructive criticism. If someone who is just learning posts an early attempt, and you just say "that looks completely over processed, and completely ridiculous" you will only have offered destructive criticism, IMO. If you suggest a tweak here and a tweak there to "tone down" things, that's what I consider positive/constructive criticism.

I agree with your comment about constructive criticism...however it seems that the popular trend is to over process images with Lucis, DAP, Topaz and move 3 sliders to create an image that is off the wall. Taking it far from what it originally was. Rather than learn about the subtlety of textures or correct use of dodge and burn people just apply a filter and fiddle with some sliders.

This all of course is just my opinion. Do what makes you happy.

To the OP's original question...there will always be something that you can do to the image. You just have to make a judgment call and say enough. Usually when you start to worry about things that nobody else would worry or notice is when you need to stop.

One of our biggest problems is that we see with our brains AND eyes. Our eyesight is adaptive. The longer you look, the better it looks.
Leave it for a while and take a fresh look at it.

Add a couple beers to that and you're in PP heaven!

Tony, you're getting mellow in your advancing years.

chauncey wrote in post #7977140
Tony, you're getting mellow in your advancing years.

'hic', huh?

tonylong wrote in post #7977043
Add a couple beers to that and you're in PP heaven!

there are a lot of one armed men around because of this.

The fact that you are rarely satisfied with an image is to me a good thing. I have never been satisfied with any image I've ever taken. Proud of it? Yes, of many, but I've always got a little piece of my mind thinking how I might improve a shot if I took it again.

And if that goes for shooting the image, it goes double for post processing.