Official Photo Tutorial Thread (Photoshop, Camera Settings, Lightroom, etc)

[charba951]

When you open a RAW file in Photoshop it opens in Camera Raw which gives you some options that you don't get when you open a JPEG. One of these options is Noise Reduction. You adjust the sliders until the noise goes away.

Ah...guess I'll be shooting in RAW now lol. How's this one look?

This one is one of my favorites...

 

[Blown_By_You]

This is what the noise reduction screen looks like.

You should zoom in to at least 100% while adjusting this one..


noise reduction snip by MattWhidden, on Flickr

 

[mstg46]

Ah...guess I'll be shooting in RAW now lol. How's this one look?

This one is one of my favorites...

Is the first one an HDR? Something about the color seems off to me, but I can't put my finger on it. Also try not to cut the subject off unless it's obvious you did it on purpose.

I like the second photo. In the future with a shot like this, use an aperture like 2.5-3.5. It will make the focus point of the photo more dramatic while blurring out the background.

 

[Evil_GT]

Great thread! Thanks, this will help a bunch!

 

[Planter]

I think it would be great for everyone to post the exif data on all the pics posted in here as well.

+65,000

Great thread! Thanks, this will help a bunch!

holy shit, where the hell you been hiding?

 

[Deric]

Dang, I wish I had a working computer so I could play along. This will be a fun thread :beer:

 

[HYBRED]

Don't give me props...give Kat (Hybred) props. she's the one that spurned the idea. I just implemented it. :shrug:

Yeah, I'da done it but I'm feeling lazy today. I have a feeling I'll be making several TL;DR posts in this thread. TO be perfectly honest, I could fill a forum with this stuff by myself.

I like Manfrotto tri-pods. The one I have recently broken (my fault) after years of having it so I'm going to be ordering another from them. Personally I wouldn't go for a cheap tri-pod. I want to get the one Hybred has but it's abour $600 IIRC. You get what you pay for when it comes to tri-pods, like other things.

I'm using this tripod:
Amazon.com: Manfrotto 190CXPRO4 4-Section Pro Carbon Fiber Tripod without Head: Camera & Photo

And this head:
Amazon.com: Manfrotto 322RC2 Joystick Head Short: Camera & Photo

Total is ~$375. Worth every penny!!! I had a couple $50-75 tripods and they just aren't robust enough.

 

[charba951]

Is the first one an HDR? Something about the color seems off to me, but I can't put my finger on it. Also try not to cut the subject off unless it's obvious you did it on purpose.

I like the second photo. In the future with a shot like this, use an aperture like 2.5-3.5. It will make the focus point of the photo more dramatic while blurring out the background.

No HDR. I can't remember what I did to it while editing. I still have the original. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Fox-4]

Pam 2 by FOX-4, on Flickr

The specs on this one:

Full Manual
AF Servo
Continuous Drive.
Canon RAW
ISO 100
F-stop 6.3
shutter speed 1/40, 1/60, 1/125
Processed via Digital Photo Professional and Photoscape

Shot with Canon T1i w/Tamron 28-300 zoom


I'll upload the three originals in a little while.

 

[Deric]

[I know there are other PS people out there that can do this same stuff, but for any beginners I'll put up some of my older before/after comparisons. My lenses are not the best so I spend a lot of time in post processing to make up for it... but I don't mind cause it fun for me.

Any questions on how or why... just ask! (some of my edits are big obvious things, many many are small details you won't notice... sometimes I even forget what I've added or removed)

Amy & Lady
Edits: Coloring and balance - Power line, logs, wrinkles and imperfections removed - Summer tress changed to fall trees, sky added

Nicole
Edits: Shirt opening fixed, simple coloring and levels - other minor things that are hard to notice

Edits: Sky, flyaway hairs, neck and face wrinkles, shirt fixed,, railroad cleaned up, color, levels

My 2009 R6
Edits: Obvious background change, muddy tires cleaned, bolt holes and ID tags and stickers removed, windsheild reflection and much more

Christy
Edits: Depth markers, pool divider, curb, general pool cleanup

 

[Brian95SVT]

Damn those look good. All the changes made them cleaner and clearer. Good job.

I like the signature on the ground under the bike too.

 

[Fox-4]

Pam 2 by FOX-4, on Flickr

The specs on this one:

Full Manual
AF Servo
Continuous Drive.
Canon RAW
ISO 100
F-stop 6.3
shutter speed 1/40, 1/60, 1/125
Processed via Digital Photo Professional and Photoscape

Shot with Canon T1i w/Tamron 28-300 zoom


I'll upload the three originals in a little while.

1/40 by FOX-4, on Flickr


1/60 by FOX-4, on Flickr


1/125 by FOX-4, on Flickr

 

[Deric]

Damn those look good. All the changes made them cleaner and clearer. Good job.

I like the signature on the ground under the bike too.

Thanks!

I usually try to add to a photo by taking away from it.

The signature I put on my photos is usually somewhat camouflaged so it doesn't distract. Check out the coke fridge..

 

[Brian95SVT]

Haha, that's slick! Didn't even notice.

I still need to come up with my signature but have no idea what to do. My name is common so there is probably already someone using most things I can think of.

 

[Brian95SVT]

Yeah, I'da done it but I'm feeling lazy today. I have a feeling I'll be making several TL;DR posts in this thread. TO be perfectly honest, I could fill a forum with this stuff by myself.



I'm using this tripod:
Amazon.com: Manfrotto 190CXPRO4 4-Section Pro Carbon Fiber Tripod without Head: Camera & Photo

And this head:
Amazon.com: Manfrotto 322RC2 Joystick Head Short: Camera & Photo

Total is ~$375. Worth every penny!!! I had a couple $50-75 tripods and they just aren't robust enough.

Haha, damn. I have no idea where $600 came from. Thanks. I have a very similar setup and my locking tabs broke have not a ton of use.

 

[quad]

I know there are other PS people out there that can do this same stuff, but for any beginners I'll put up some of my older before/after comparisons. My lenses are not the best so I spend a lot of time in post processing to make up for it... but I don't mind cause it fun for me.

Any questions on how or why... just ask! (some of my edits are big obvious things, many many are small details you won't notice... sometimes I even forget what I've added or removed)

Amy & Lady

Nicole

My 2009 R6

Haha nice!

 

[HYBRED]

Background removal on the bike is awesome.

1/40 by FOX-4, on Flickr


1/60 by FOX-4, on Flickr


1/125 by FOX-4, on Flickr

I had no idea that was an HDR, great job.

Copied from a thread I made about a month ago?

Got this idea talking to a friend at lunch on Wednesday...Here are some of my most edited photos, side by side in a before/after comparison. This way yall can get an idea of how much "behind the scenes" work I put in after the shoot / event...some of these are so crazy even I'm surprised. Photoshop and Lightroom are amazing programs.

These three are mostly Lightroom tweaks to color and lightning.
1

2

3

Major LR and some general cleanup -
4

Throwing in some minor background/reflection/glare work -
5

6

These next two have probably 4 hours of cleanup work between them.
7

8

Here's another example of reflection removal. Reflections are my biggest pet peeve. This was before I had Lightroom, everything was done in PS.

Couple more with background work...

My PP reflection removal technique -
Find an area that matches the "clean" reflection you want (sky, road, etc) and clone it over. Start small till you get enough to use a bigger stamp. For gradients and to get rid of the obvious circular stamp mark, reduce the opacity of your stamp to 20-40% and gradually blend the area. I go back and forth between the clone stamp and blur tool until I get it smooth "enough." Same concept applies to removing signs from trees, power lines, etc. On body lines and edges, center your stamp on the line in a clean area and clone it over. You'll get a much cleaner line that way than trying to clone up to each side of the edge. Just make sure to use the preview to keep the line straight. Also keep this in mind - go slow, be patient, zoom out frequently and save often to make sure you don't get to a point you can't back up from.

 

[charba951]

^ That's not PS, it's witch craft

 

[chvybeatsford]

Thanks for making a thread. This will help me alot.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Deric]

My PP reflection removal technique -
Find an area that matches the "clean" reflection you want (sky, road, etc) and clone it over. Start small till you get enough to use a bigger stamp. For gradients and to get rid of the obvious circular stamp mark, reduce the opacity of your stamp to 20-40% and gradually blend the area. I go back and forth between the clone stamp and blur tool until I get it smooth "enough." Same concept applies to removing signs from trees, power lines, etc. On body lines and edges, center your stamp on the line in a clean area and clone it over. You'll get a much cleaner line that way than trying to clone up to each side of the edge. Just make sure to use the preview to keep the line straight. Also keep this in mind - go slow, be patient, zoom out frequently and save often to make sure you don't get to a point you can't back up from.

+1 Good advice :beer: