Gus - Week 2 Example 1 Take 2

[mikemeister_admin]

I moved my first attempt into RGB, set multiple neutral points and sharpened.  How does this look?

[ggroess]

better....much better...

I'd still like you to try to hold the detail in the skull if you have time to revisit the image...

Let me know if you need more help...

Greg

[mikemeister_admin]

Greg -

What do you mean by "holding detail"?  Do you mean reducing the amount of "burned out" highlights or ??

I'd appreciate your input on how do you know when you are "done" adjusting a picture -- is there a list of items that we should check before deciding that we are finished? Your guidance here would be appreciated!

Gus

[ggroess]

There is more detail in the skull than I am seeing in the image posted to the web...
sometimes the web images give us a bad impression so I usually ask...

I know I'm done when...

1) Any change I make seems to lessen the impact of the image or make it unbelievable.
2) Any change I make really screws it up.
3) I have fixed all of the problems I can Identify ...to my satisfaction.

I would get in the habit of making notes, mental or otherwise...
I usually start by looking at the image, and getting hyper critical..sort of what if-ing it to death...What if I fix this...how will that look...
I then use the same old drill I used when I taught B&W photography...
Shadows have detail?
Highlights have detail?
Full tonal range if possible?

Sometimes you can work too long and reach what I think of as deminishing returns...
I start to ask what am I doing this for?...how perfect do I need this?
I will also save the curve...close the image and walk away...come back in half an hour and reload the curve...
If..

I like what I see I leave it be... If not I usually start over...
Sorry for the long winded response but that was a great question...

Greg

[mikemeister_admin]

Greg,

Great response.  I found what you said very useful.  So you save every curve that you apply...I was really missing the capability of revisiting an adjustment layer and tweeking a few settings.

If you start working on an image in LAB space and make some adjustments do you have to get out of CM and back in again if you want to make some additional adjustments in RGB? or can you switch color spaces directly?

Really appreciate your comments and advice!

Gus

[ggroess]

I don't always save the curve...If I am doing a series of photos that were shot at the same lighting i.e. portraiture,  I can reuse the same curve by just clicking the "Filter Menu" and selecting the curves 2.0 from the top of the menu. It re-applies the last filter and settings you used.

If I have to come back to the images at a later time I'll save the curve and reuse it. Saves time....

LAB and RGB do not translate to each other.  You would have to save your changes and re-open the image in CM to apply RGB changes.  You can switch color spaces while in the program but your LAB changes are not applied to the RGB curves.

Sounds to me like you are trying to figure out a workflow...

This is always an interesting discussion...when to go to curves... when to change color spaces...  I work in LAB first since I can have a big impact on the image in a short time frame.  If I need to make specific changes after that I save and go to another space...Sometimes the HSB space is the answer...don't forget to use it when you need to...most of the time for WEB and photo prints I go to RGB as needed to finish.

It is really easy to abandon RGB once you get the hang of LAB but the images shown in this thread are a great example of why you need to work in RGB and be comfortable...you cannot fix the image as well as you like without RGB and multiple neutrals...

Greg