Post Processing 101Questions

Ok, probably really WAY before 101......

I have NEVER done any kind of post processing. There, I said it, kill me.

I've owned a 10D since 2004 after a long history with film, and recently purchased a a 50D. I have a 28-70 L 2.8, a 70-200 L 4, and a 400 L 5.6, so I have a bit of what I think is quality glass from when I shot film backs. I'm new here on POTN, and really blown away with what you guys and gals are posting while I myself am consistently unimpressed with my photos. At 100%+ crop, my photos seem to lack "pop", and aren't quite as sharp as I think my quipment should be capable of.

I shoot it jpeg, and open/review/print in Microsoft Office Picture Manager. Other than occasionally doing a little cropping, adding a little saturation, or brightening a photo a bit, I have never done any post processing.

So my questions are two fold.

First, is it possible/probable that the flat or seeming lack of sharpness can be atributed to just living with my photos straight of the SD card?

Second, where does one even begin to develop a post processing routine and with which programs for a beginner?

Advice welcome, beatings likely deserved.......

Most people are using one of the Photoshop variants, and most help is geared around use of it.

Do you have any other programs you are using aside from Micrsoft?


Flat colors as you already know can be a matter of lighting, subject, or anything in between. If you these are shots that you feel are good, but are lacking what your film shots would have shown, you can try adjusting the camera settings.

If you only do one thing, I would suggest shooting in RAW/ CR.2, and opening your images in DPP (which came with your camera). That will allow you to play around with sharpening and some other settings. See if that helps.

First I would just get something simple like Photoshop. The main thing to push your photos to make them pop I find are strengthening greens and reds with a dash of a stronger contrast.

Photos are stored digitally so shouldn't make a difference if they are saved as a JPEG to SD or CF. With your JPEG settings also, you should be able to tell your camera that you want a higher sharpness, contrast or saturation IRRC.

Reflections2000 wrote in post #9625244
First, is it possible/probable that the flat or seeming lack of sharpness can be atributed to just living with my photos straight of the SD card?

Yes, especially if you're noticing this on the unprinted image on the computer. If you're only noticing it on the print, it may just be a printing issue.

I would recommend Photoshop Elements for a beginner - not only is it much more affordable but a lot of the features it's missing likely won't be used by a beginner anyway. Once you feel like you've outgrown Elements, you can upgrade to the full version of Photoshop for a lower cost.

I also recommend picking up a Scott Kelby book: http://www.amazon.com …oks&qid=1266414​311&sr=8-1

Reflections2000 wrote in post #9625244
Ok, probably really WAY before 101......

I have NEVER done any kind of post processing. There, I said it, kill me.

I've owned a 10D since 2004 after a long history with film, and recently purchased a a 50D. I have a 28-70 L 2.8, a 70-200 L 4, and a 400 L 5.6, so I have a bit of what I think is quality glass from when I shot film backs. I'm new here on POTN, and really blown away with what you guys and gals are posting while I myself am consistently unimpressed with my photos. At 100%+ crop, my photos seem to lack "pop", and aren't quite as sharp as I think my quipment should be capable of.

I shoot it jpeg, and open/review/print in Microsoft Office Picture Manager. Other than occasionally doing a little cropping, adding a little saturation, or brightening a photo a bit, I have never done any post processing.

So my questions are two fold.

First, is it possible/probable that the flat or seeming lack of sharpness can be atributed to just living with my photos straight of the SD card?

With the lenses you have Jpeg's straight from the camera can be usable as is. That said, you would have to make adjustments to the Picture Style selections. The camera will process jpegs internally with the sharpness, contrast, etc., settings you specify. The alternative would be to use more neutral settings and post process the images after downloading to the PC. You may want to check now to see what picture style is currently set in the camera. This could be some of the problem your seeing now.

Second, where does one even begin to develop a post processing routine and with which programs for a beginner?

There are as many processes as there are photographers Budget, skill level and a host of other things dictate how you may want to proceed. GIMP is a free open source image editing program. There are threads in POTN and online elsewhere that may offer different techniques and would be a matter of doing some research. Also, many good books out there to refer to. Sometimes visiting a book store and browsing thru some publications can be a good learning process.

Advice welcome, beatings likely deserved.......

...............

Thanks all for the feedback. In answer to the questions, here some more info;

No other programs loaded at this time, but as mentioned, I do have DPP software, so I'll load that and give it a try. I shouldn't ask before loading, but will that allow me to go from RAW, do some post processing, and convert to a JPEG? Will it also allow me to do some work with my current JPEGs or just new RAW files?

I haven't done anything with picture settings/styles, I'll take a look at those as well. Whatever was factory set on my 50D, is what it's at today. Thanks Seaside and Stickman. Follow on question, do these setting only affect the JPEGs, or both JPEG and RAW files?


Elysium, thanks for the heads up on Photoshop Elements and guide. I assume I want the latest software version (just checked amazon, would appear to be V.8)? Looks to be available for around $80.

Seaside, your comment about the number of post processing routines is what has my head spinning. Starting at this point is a bit like trying to solve an algebraic formula with 4 variables, and 4 unknowns..... Remember when the big decision was which velvia film to buy?

Upside is that the sun came out today, and I can switch my camera to RAW,load some software tonight and see what I can do...

Thanks for your comments, I welcome all the guideance I can get.

Holy crap I wish I had found this site and all my smarter brothers and sisters earlier..... or at least read a manual.

Seaside, the picture setting style was "portrait" and had a setting of 2 (scale of 7), all else set at neutral (0). I moved it to "standard", moved the sharpness to 4, contract of 2, and saturation to 2. What a huge difference. Cant't wait to try a little post processing....

Thanks Again

Picture style settings only have an effect on the way the camera processes jpeg images. RAW files are just that - RAW files and picture style settings have no effect on them. RAW can be converted via DPP to jpg, tiff, etc.

Portrait style is designed to process natural skin tones and keep sharpening to a minimum. Instead of changing the portrait settings you can switch the picture style to one of the others, i.e., landscape. Or, Create a custom picture style and register it in the camera.

As far as routines for PP some convert RAW via DPP, others; DXO, Abobe ACR, Capture One, SilverFast and others. Editing jpeg or RAW the important thing to remember is the last step - and thats sharpening. Sharpening is specific to how the image is used. Sharpening for web usage is typically different than that for printing. Typically, large prints require different amounts of sharpening than a small print.

Thanks Chris. I did leave portrait style alone and changed "standard" style settings. ajust seeing photos come out more like I was expecting was very helpful as it tell me it is possible. Just curious, I assume that the smaller the image need, internet vs poster, the less sharpening needed? I notice that my photos look good until I go to 100% crop or more.

Reflections2000 wrote in post #9630625
Just curious, I assume that the smaller the image need, internet vs poster, the less sharpening needed? I notice that my photos look good until I go to 100% crop or more.

If only it were that simple don't worry about it for now.

NOsquid wrote in post #9631189
If only it were that simple

You have a mean streak in you......

Hey Reflections, fellow Vancouverite, if you are starting off with Raw go ahead and keep your camera in Standard or if you want to be more accurate Neutral or Faithful. Open in DPP and by default the software will apply the in-camera settings to the Raw as a "starting point".

Now the magic of Raw shooting sets in when you see that those "in-camera-settings" are not fixed -- you have the freedom to move things around until they represent what you see for your shot so that the outcome is better than what a jpeg would produce.

Go ahead and do some Raw + jpeg shoots so that you can compare a jpeg shot with a Raw shot that you have massaged to bring the best out of the image.

And, if you haven't already checked it out, see our Raw Conversion thread:

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=684360

John has already done it: page 2, post #58

Once you open the door of post processing, to it's hard to shut it.

Thanks guys, I'll do some reading on the thread provided. I was wondering about the reasoning/rational behind shooting RAW + JPEG. I assume it is more than just comparing post processed RAW photos with unprocessed JPEGs? I assume that some people may be able to use many of their JPEGs, and if shooting both, they can use some without processing, but the RAW gives a safety net, or is that not the reasoning? Just seems like there would be twice the archiving/storage issues shooting both on an ongoing basis.

This is where NOsquid says "if only it were that simple..."

Edits
- Back adrer a quick look and read of several post on the two threads refereneced to say thanks and man, I have some reading to do. If my wife thought she hated the time I spend on my hunting and fishing sites, she is going to REALLY hate POTN, lol.

- Tony, I missed your comment about being from the Couv! I should change my location as I'm not really from Vancouver, but from Battle Ground. Good to know that there are some local gurus here that I can draw on...