Editing: Step five - a final choice

I checked through the second sort and decided to use image DSC_3083 (last one on the list of the previous post. I felt this had the most potential but still needed some work on it due to the low light level and poor angle of the door frame.

As you can see the whole image is rather dark and the door frame is not upright. The lighting needs attention using Image/adjustments/shadows and highlights in Photoshop. The door frame needs to be skewed using the Edit/Transform/Skew in Photoshop.

Here's the final image with corrections for lighting and skewed door frame.

I used Levels to lighten the whole image, Edit/Transform/Skew to straighten the door post and Shadows/Highlights to lighten his face. Each function only needed a bit of tweeking to produce a much better image.

Editing: Step four - group and review

I've gone over all the pictures that I took during the session with John the winemaker and feel those selected for first and second sort do bear keeping.

Those I rejected were, in the main, copies of the selected images with one or two small variations.

Editing: Step three - the first selects

I worked my way through the images that I had selected with my first sort and labelled my choices using the second level yellow labels:

Image 3067 is rather dark but has potential.  It can easily be corrected using both Levels and Shadows/Highlights.

Editing: Step Two - the selects

I have never really used Adobe Bridge before preferring to work through Windows Explorer (or My Computer) to delete or select and organise the good slides from just plain bad to technically poor. But I decided to give it a go and here are the results based on my photo shoot with John the Winemaker.

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Initial sort of Winemaker folder in Adobe Bridge using labels system

I worked my way through the images that I had selected with my first sort and labelled them 'Select'.  This gave me a selection of 9 images.



Editing: Step one - the technical edit

I have never really used Adobe Bridge before preferring to work through Windows Explorer (or My Computer) to delete or select and organise the good slides from just plain bad to technically poor. But I decided to give it a go and here are the results based on my photo shoot with John the Winemaker.

I worked my way through the images that I had selected with my first sort and labelled the second sort using the second level labels.

Exercise: Editing

I had to take some pictures of a local man from Lyme Regis called John.  He not only made wine, collected saucy Victorian postcards but also wrote poetry.  The local newspaper wanted to feature him as he had published a book of his poems which were to go on sale at a local bookshop.  I arranged a date to go and see him to take the pictures. He works in his garden shed so I featured him in the shed (which was very small and lit by fluorescent lights).

He did not have time for me to do a pre picture visit to look at his facilities so I had to take the shed as I found it.  I chatted to John and as we spoke I took pictures of him against various backgrounds with him arranging the items behind him as we spoke.

Here's all the pictures I took in the time available:

They needed sorting into usable, technically poor and compositionally poor.

Exercise: Histograms

As part of this exercise I was asked to find three types of pictures, that of low contrast, average contrast and high contrast. As I took each image I had to bracket the shots to give images that were one stop under exposure, the correct exposure and one stop over exposed. I had to remember that my camera, the Nikon D5000, when asked to bracket some pictures, gives the correct exposure first then the under exposed then the over exposed images.

Once I had taken the pictures I had to put them into Photoshop and display the histograms, through the Levels pallette to show how different the profiles of each type of image was. Here's my images below:

Low contrast:

Average contrast:

High contrast:



I've always been a bit confused about what histograms show but having to read up about them, in the Martin Evening 'Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Photographers, it has made what they show a lot clearer. I put each of the three images into a new image and did a screenshot of each histogram showing the detail so that I could compare them.

Workflow second stage

Second Stage

The remit in the study guide was for a portrait session, so elaborated on that idea to see what I could achieve in for a shoot that had to have a "limited time constraint".  I had been working on a project of photographing Lyme Characters – people of Lyme Regis, where I live, who I felt were interesting in some way in natural light if possible.

My aim would be to make sure I got as many different photos of each person. I also wanted to practice using my on camera flash, so practised reducing and increasing the output of the flash. Knowing I would be in several different locations, and moving about, I felt that I shouldn’t take too much equipment; eventually deciding on an

18 -105mm f3.5-5.6 zoom and a 35mm f1.8 prime lens, and the flash guns. I also had a 20” white/gold Lastolite reflector available.

After each event, photos were imported into the computer.  Have become used to using EOS utility, and simply plug the camera in via USB, and dial on the camera to push only the new images I have taken.  These get moved into a directory which simply has a date stamp for uniqueness.  I tend to do my initial sort in MS Picture Manager as it’s quick and easy to access and can rotate and delete as required.  Maybe because I have so much disk space, I tend to keep even the mistakes.

My backup routine seems OK, but there is room for improvement.  I always store my initial work in a general holding file in the folder for each module.  Then, I would create another file for each project/assignment so there is another safe source.  I also have a Transcend 500 Gb portable external hard drive where I archive all my work.  This is done on a regular basis in case there is any problem with my computer hard drive.
My Lightroom DB - although this is backed on the computer by Lightroom itself, this needs to be backed up to USB too - So a note to self to create a new Sync toy mapping.

Project - A sequence of actions

DPP - Exercise 1 - Workflow Notes  

First Stage

Recently I've been taken to shooting things whilst out walking, and below are some of the notes of a workflow to follow. 

Planning workflow:-

Pre-Shoot Planning / Location Research
Can I check out a place using online mapping tools such as Google maps, Google street view?
Has anyone else taken photos there, are there any photos on Google maps. Would I just be shooting a cliché? Is there any way to shoot it differently?

Preparation - What kit will I need?

Have I charged batteries, do I need to charge them the night before?
Have I charged my phone?
Do I need to tell someone where I am going?
Will the time of day have an effect?
Memory cards, are they formatted from last trip out?
Will I be able to carry all that I need?

Shooting

Have I reset the camera from my previous trip, ie, macro, change of lighting?
Handheld, or Tripod, Polarise or Not, Graduated Filter?
Am I rushing? - am I thinking about what I'm doing rather than just click click click?
Am I safe - going into people’s houses can be risky?

In-Shoot Review

Are images sharp? (Zoom in on camera display).
Are images exposed as I intended? Have any blown, or shadows clipped?
Do I have time to re-shoot any?

Back Home

Import everything into computer.
Backup everything - do I do this now or later? Once images are in the computer, they will exist in only one places; my memory card so it’s likely that I may forget to do an external backup later... plug in USB drive, and backup asap.

When images are on the USB drive, photos would exist in duplicate - memory card, and external drive... I am extremely reluctant to remove from memory card until I have processed images into general, specific and back up folders.  I have in the past deleted images only to find that I didn’t copy them all across and I lost the best ones.

Processing
I sort out what I think are the better images, relevant to the remit, but never work on the original files - so that I can always refer to an original image.

Development or Upload to Web
Do I need to sharpen prints for screen, or do I process differently for printed media? What size print? Print at home, or print from online shop? Or take to photographic shop?

Post-Match Analysis / Critique
Am I happy with what I have done?
Is there anything I would have done differently?
is there anything technically that I learnt and would apply again?
Any accidents (photographic not injuries) that came out well, could they be repeated?
 Back up ImagesKeep images backed up as, if the work is any good, you need to be able to access it in case of loss.