Thank you so much for your time
I do appreciate your comments. I am fairly good (advanced beginner) in getting my shots in camera. Most of your suggestions I do currently employ. Oh yes, I do miss exposure more frequently than I would like to admit, but at least I have a clue as to why I missed it.
My PP skills are not what I would like them to be. I have advanced beyond the "DPP and then save" mode, now using LR and PS, but there are some things-you mention WB and color management skills, that need a lot of work. Thank you for the effort on my picture. I do certainly see the difference.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Steve Kaluski
Hi James, sorry for the initial earlier short reply, it was more 'on the hoof', but your comment shows great mentality and a very positive attitude which I'm sure will put you where you need to be!
Just a couple of points in basic 'House keeping' which hopefully may help, or I may be covering previous points in earlier postings.
Camera
- Are you shooting Raw in camera, and is the Colour setting set to Adobe RGB?
- Is the camera set to Servo AI?
- Do you shoot Manual & ETTR (Expose to the right) this is absolutely key to getting an almost perfect Exposure
- Can you read a Histogram on the back of your camera, this to me is your best friend
- Do you use 'back button focus?
- Do you have Highlights enabled in camera?
PP
- Do you calibrate your monitor, is it Desktop or laptop? If so, do you calibrate when you feel like it, or is it per month/when the monitor tells you, as this needs to be done at least once a month
- All PP work needs to be done in Adobe RGB or PRO RGB, but the file then needs to be then saved with all layers in tact, (do not flatten) this is you Master file. Once finished you then cropped for output, sharpen and convert to sRGB and then Save AS, not save!!!
James it's knowing which tool to use, if you are using it in the Raw converter you are doing 'GLOBAL' changes which will affect all colours. Yes you can make changes, however you may find that changing the Red say, may require changes to (at the same time) other colours like yellow, or purple in this case. Ramping up say the Red in Saturation can 'flood' the area masking detail, It's a case of 'Cause & Effect', what you change in one part affects another and so perhaps using PS is better (Colour balance, Selective Colour as dan mentioned, saturation, Brightness & Contrast), rather than within the Raw converter? Unless you have a good eye with colour, adjusting the Hue can/maybe a bit of a Bear trap, but no harm in exploring.
I feel your main issue and you are not along here, is that you need to achieve a better WB when you first start and if you are using LR then it 'drills down' in a logical/systematic matter ie WB first then Exposure... If you are using LR, avoid Adobe Colour like the plague, in the WB setting, it's absolute pants along with the various option filters, keep to Adobe Standard. Likewise using Black and especially Contrast within LR with a light hand, ramping these two seems the fashion and is so wrong.
Hope this may help.
Steve