NOOB Squirrel

As the username suggests, this is the first shot I've posted here. I took the photo with a 40D, Canon 75-300 , with a Kenco 2x tc. (the best model listed under the TC thread.)

I Couldn't get him into an angle of view where bright overcast skies weren't directly behind him.

I don't know the correct term for what was going on in the original, but the edges of the twig he's on were very purpleish blue. I ran it through Lightroom (again, complete NOOB)
and here's what I came up with.

C&C Welcome.

P.S. Full Size image before processing can be found Here

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EOSNewbie wrote in post #6559244
I don't know the correct term for what was going on in the original, but the edges of the twig he's on were very purpleish blue.

That's called chromatic aberration. You can read about it here. You did a nice job despite the blown out skies.

Unsharp Mask is not your friend, at least not always. The one thing you have to be careful about when PP'ing images is the level of sharpening that you apply. Over-sharpening is probably the single most obvious darkroom mistake so it stands out to photographers & viewers alike. Obviously sharpening your digital files is ok, alot of times it's mandatory but you still have to be careful because like everything else, you can have too much of a good thing!
That said though, as far as composition & subject goes, I really do like your shot. Squirrels aren't the easiest creatures to shoot either, I've been having an ongoing battle with a big female that lives in my parents backyard for years now & still haven't got that one shot where I can say "ok, it's not gonna get any better than this".
Just try to keep in mind that aside from the obvious reason of "improving image quality", the next most important thing about PP is to make it look like the image isn't processed in the first place.

Thanks for the replies.

That sounds reasonable, as far as PP'ing goes. Could someone recommend a good walkthru or tutorial regarding Steps to take, and the correct order to use them while adjusting, cleaning, and sharpening images during Post processing?

I can give you the personal post-processing workflow I wrote out when I first started if that helps, although I have to say even I don't always stick to this script, sometimes you just have to go with the image. Over the years you'll just pick up on what needs done & how much to do it but keep in mind the goal is to have a better image than when you started, without being able to tell that you edited it.

1) Import "selects" or "keepers" or whatever you call your best images from a photoshoot.

2) Crop & Straighten

3) Adjust Exposure (I usually use Levels and Curves, in that order)

4) White Balance (I do white balance "after" exposure because sometimes an exposure shift will reveal a WB problem that you couldn't see before)

5) Color Balance, Saturation, Hue adjustment, etc

6) General Sharpening

7) Cloning, Spotting, etc

8) Spot adjustments

9) Resizing, Output Sharpening, Finishing Touches (borders & frames & such)

Wow,

I'm printing that as we speak. That should definitely get me headed in one direction anyway. I'm assuming that there's really no right and wrong, as long as the result is acceptable.
By the looks of the list it looks like Lightroom could handle most, if not all of those tasks.

I am using the trial version now and it's pretty straight forward. I haven't even looked at the price yet.

Are there really any 'Must Haves' as far as post-processing goes?

Are the freeware alternatives comparable? ie; Gimp, FSViewer, etc..

I could keep going, but probably should start a new post, or s... ssee... search and read.

Thanks for your reply,