Transmogrification: Before & after.

First of all, according to dict.cc "transmogrification" is apparently a real word. I am not sure if it is useful in this context, but it looks interesting :-)

This section of the website is about post-processing of photographs. The world of digital photography offers endless possibilities to edit your pictures. In my eyes image processing therefore is an amazingly interesting element of digital photography. Below I am going to give some insights in what I am used to do when processing my photographs. Herefor, I compare different pictures before and after processing and I shortly describe all adjustments made to achieve the final result. Moreover, I have put together some interesting links concerning image editing software.

PHOTOGRAPHY AT ITS BEST

Aug 21st, 2011

Get inspired by some really nice pieces of digital art.

  • 500px.com – Photo community including reveral stunning portfolios.
  • flickr.com – Probably the most successful photo community on the web. Always useful to get some inspiration on new places you are planning to visit.

HDR PHOTOGRAPHY

Aug 21th, 2011

When dealing with digital photography you will sooner or later come across the magical term "HDR" which is the short form of "high dynamic range". Imagine taking a photograph of a scene with dark and bright areas (e.g. dark shadows in the foreground and a bright sky). In this case you may have the problem that either the bright areas are overexposed or the dark areas are underexposed. The main idea of HDR imaging is to merge multiple exposures of the same scene in order to represent all details in both the dark and the bright areas of a picture. Processed results may vary from realistic and classy to totally strange and surrealistic. HDR imaging is therefore discussed controversially. You may love it or hate – I see myself among the former group, but you have to decide on your own :)

If you are not familiar with HDR photography check out stuckincustoms.com. It's probably the most popular website in the HDR scene offering a great tutorial and lots of examples. More great HDR images can be found at hdrspotting.com.

Switch on auto bracketing and give it a try!

B&A: CAPDEPERA BELL

May 16th, 2011

Since every picture is somehow unique, there is no universal processing formula which is equally applicable to all of your shots. Nevertheless, it's quite easy to strengthen the overall look of a picture by applying only few modifications. See for example the two pictures below.

On the left-hand side you can see the original photograph taken at Capdepera Castle (Isle of Mallorca, Spain). To achieve the final edited image on the right-hand I have done only a few adjustments described below (see a bigger version of the picutrehere):

  • For me, processing usually begins with sharpening. Although I am always doing my best to get a sharp picture from the beginning, it usually won't do any harm to increase sharpness digitally a little bit. Today every processing software offers some kind of sharpening function. If you are using Photoshop go to "filters > sharpening > unsharp mask" and play with the settings. Use the preview to check the result. For more infos search for "unsharp mask" using Google.
  • Since the original shot looks kind of "flat", I tried to add depth to the image by overlaying a HDR version of the picture. If you are using Photoshop search for keyword "blending mode". In this case I have adjusted "soft light" for the layer with the tonemapped HDR image. The blended HDRI is based on three different exposures from the original RAW (-1, 0, +1 EV).
  • After that, I have increased contrast slightly more and made some changes on colors using "adjustment layers". My advice is to always use adjustment layers, because it allows you to easily customize settings afterwards without changing the picture permanently.
  • At least, I removed the top of the hill in the bottom right corner of the picture using the copy tool, because I did not want to crop the image.
To learn more about the basics search the web for "HDR image from a single RAW", "copy tool (Photoshop)", "blending mode (Photoshop)" and "adjustment layers (Photoshop)".

SOFTWARE LINKS

May 16th, 2011

You may get started with the software delivered with your camera. According to my experience working with this software is mostly unsatisfactory. I therefore put together a short list with links which are worth having a look at in my opinion.

  • Picasa by Google (for free) – Helps to organize your pictures on your computer. Offers some basic and easy to use editing tools. Very useful for creating online galleries for family and friends when you have a google account.
  • Gimp (for free) – Open source image processing software. Need to confess that I haven't worked with it at all so far.
  • Adobe Lightroom (about 250€) – Professional tool offering a bunch of functions for managing your photographs from organizing to processing to printing or creating flash-based galleries. Fortunately bought it as student edition which is not that expensive. Totally worth it! Lightroom supports all kinds of RAW formats.
  • Adobe Photoshop (anything but for free) – The most prominent image editing software these days. If you are interested in graphic design, there is no way around it :-) Instead you may go for Adobe Photoshop Elements which is way cheaper than the pro version.
  • Photomatix by HDRSoft (70-80€) – Merges different exposures and creates HDR image. Prominent application which is recommended in most tutorials.
  • Grooveshark.com – Listen to music while processing your pictures (strongly recommended ;-).