I'm loving RAW, but help...

...I suck at converting and PP. The photo below was shot in RAW. I opened it in PSE 3 RAW converter and adjusted white balance. That's all I did! Once in JPEG, I adjusted USM. I think I need to do more to make this photo pop. What do you all think? Please help me. I'm just starting with RAW and I really want to learn how I can make my workflow better.

Thanks in advance!

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i think all it needs is a slight bump in contrast. nice capture, btw!

roeddel wrote in post #3092234
i think all it needs is a slight bump in contrast. nice capture, btw!

Thanks! Does that have to be done in the RAW processing window? Sorry, I don't really know much about RAW since I just started using it.

do everything in raw. first, adjust WB, next work on your saturation, contrast, levels, etc. then do your sharpening. you can even do your custom frames ... when youre satisfied, save & convert to JPEG.

How to do Leveling and sharping in Raw? I do raw in CS2, I only can do WB, contrast, Exposure, saturation..? I have to do sharping and level in Jepg format in CS2....

Galaxy99 wrote in post #3092482
How to do Leveling and sharping in Raw? I do raw in CS2, I only can do WB, contrast, Exposure, saturation..? I have to do sharping and level in Jepg format in CS2....

Levels is really just setting the white point (exposure), black point (shadows), and midpoint (brightness). These are all part of the RAW convertor. Save sharpening for LAST unless you are doing creative or capture sharpening.

you do the same as when editing JPEG. when you open your CR2 file, after adjusting WB, contrast, etc, instead of saving it via ACR, click on Open and edit away. after which, you can Save As JPEG. hope this helps.

roeddel wrote in post #3092274
do everything in raw. first, adjust WB, next work on your saturation, contrast, levels, etc. then do your sharpening. you can even do your custom frames ... when youre satisfied, save & convert to JPEG.

How much more contrast do you all think I need for this photo? I just left the auto settings. I thought it did pretty well, but then again I'm just afraid to touch anything else except WB.

Are there any good books out there for PSE RAW workflows? Can't afford to buy the PS big brother, so I'm limited to what Elements can do.

dont be afraid to change anything in RAW. think of RAW as your digital negative. you can do all the post processing you want and still get it back to your original "AS SHOT" settings.

roeddel wrote in post #3093064
dont be afraid to change anything in RAW. think of RAW as your digital negative. you can do all the post processing you want and still get it back to your original "AS SHOT" settings.

Thanks, roe! This is why I love POTN...you all are so encouraging! I've been digital for a couple of years, but just now had the courage to delve into shooting RAW. It took me a couple of days to adjust. At first, I was very cautious, shooting RAW and JPG. Just in case! Then I realized I was wasting space on my CF card. So I figured, what the hey...I'll just shoot RAW! And I'm loving it...I think I need a WhiBal, though. I've been using the whites of the eyes for WB.:o Not always constant results, but for now it's working for me.

Any advice for white balance?

Try a little local contrast USM (15,20,0)

Before/After

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Since you allow editing of your photos, I thought I'd take a shot. I don't know what I'm doing, but let me know what you think. Yea, or nay. Used the Levels tool. Adjusted brightness just a bit, and increased the contrast just a bit.

You've done the majority of the work by taking such a stunning shot in the first place.

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stefeb wrote in post #3093163
Since you allow editing of your photos, I thought I'd take a shot. I don't know what I'm doing, but let me know what you think. Yea, or nay.

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Not bad, but it might help the OP if you tell what you did.

In2Photos wrote in post #3093151
Try a little local contrast USM (15,20,0)

Before/After

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forum: RAW, Post Processing & Printing

Mike, that is awesome! Is that USM setting standard for adjusting contrast? If so, I'll be using it all the time!

stefeb wrote in post #3093163
Since you allow editing of your photos, I thought I'd take a shot. I don't know what I'm doing, but let me know what you think. Yea, or nay. Used the Levels tool. Adjusted brightness just a bit, and increased the contrast just a bit.

You've done the majority of the work by taking such a stunning shot in the first place.

Thanks for the comment! I would love to know how you did your edit!