View Full Version : Lots of fiddling
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/chrisareid/aframes/IMG_3508.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/chrisareid/aframes/IMG_3508copy.jpg
First of I used the masking and sharpening technique, then adjusted the brightness at the hotspot in the centre. I then removed the back scatter, cropped it and then modified the levels and contrast ever so slightly. I am not happy with the blurry circle above the dorsal fin as that is signs of the elipse I used to remove the hotspot, but some blending should get rid of that, just thought I would show the difference.
Time spent around 20-30 minutes in CS2
alexmaclennan
30-01-08, 00:28
20 to 30 mins - You need to get out more. Perhaps a spot of diving :D.
Mind you - I'm loking at this while downloading music, so who am I to criticise :o
alex
great bit of work there, chris :)
I am not happy with the blurry circle above the dorsal fin as that is signs of the elipse I used to remove the hotspot, but some blending should get rid of that
Dramatic improvements on a tough project Chris. Backscatter is the killer of many a good capture. You are turning that shot into a keeper. Work at it, rest then come back for another go.
Sometimes reducing the opacity of your P.S. changes by about thirty percent looks a little more natural than when first made. I nearly always overcook the alterations first go. A second more measured approach often does the trick.
Also, to make the alterations less obvious feather the selections, it helps them blend in.
cool edit - I agree it could maybe use a little toning down to make it look a little more natural but it's a hell of an improvement.
How do you light your shots? It looks like you're using your main dive lamp to do it which is maybe why it's blown out in the first place? Try using the edge of your beam, and holding it off to one side to reduce the backscatter.
Zan
What program do you use to edit your pics? I have an olympus one that came with a camera - I don't know whether I'm just not using it properly or maybe the program is just rubbish.
What program do you use to edit your pics? I have an olympus one that came with a camera - I don't know whether I'm just not using it properly or maybe the program is just rubbish.
If you are using Olympus Master to edit U/W images then life editing will be hard. That program is extremely basic, I dumped it fast and went for a decent editing program like Adobe. It’s a beast to learn but once sorted it’s a doddle.
The learning curve can be smoothed by getting a book specifically biased toward Adobe/underwater editing. You don’t need to learn the full shebang. Just master the tools pertinent to U/W editing as detailed in a good book.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adobe-Photoshop-Underwater-Photographers-Drafahl/dp/1584281898
Chris can we have a go torturing your image in our own editing programs :eek:. We probably won't do better, but different outcomes may be good to learn from.
Bash on Olddog!
I use Photoshop CS2 (pm me if you would like to..ahem..recieve a copy)
Lighting I use my own torch or someone elses, I do try and use the edge of the beam to avoid hotspots and I have built a diffuser for it from an old milk carton which works ok
Scuba-Doh!
31-01-08, 09:30
Bash on Olddog!
I use Photoshop CS2 (pm me if you would like to..ahem..recieve a copy)
A freely distributed alternative is GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/) which I use occasionally in place of Photoshop.
Lighting I use my own torch or someone elses, I do try and use the edge of the beam to avoid hotspots and I have built a diffuser for it from an old milk carton which works ok
Still not made myself a diffuser for my UK D4R, I tend to take lots of photos of the same subject with the torch in many different positions to try and catch the light just right. Also, playing with the manual white balance on subjects you can photograph in ambient lighting can produce brilliant photos however there's seldom enough light.
Gimp looks quite good, I might try that out.
Bash on Olddog!
Olldogs edit
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/ranchuolddog/IMG_3508cutcopy.jpg
Hi Chris, I think I bit off more than I can chew on this one. Fiddled for half an hour but was never satisfied that the result looked natural.
I managed to blend the backscatter selections. But the blowout detail on the fish had me beat. Half my problem was that I have never seen one of these fish myself so I don’t know what the real colouration should be. This computer has only PS7 on board. I would have liked to have worked it over with CS2 or 3 at home, perhaps then the highlights and shadow alterations would have looked more natural.
In conclusion the image has me beat. That's about the best I can bash out in half an hour. But keep working at it with your full resolution image. Take it a stage at a time.
It’s a tough one the way it was lighted. But fun trying.
originals
]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/chrisareid/aframes/IMG_3508.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/chrisareid/aframes/IMG_3508copy.jpg
Ta daaa....
http://www.regthing.co.uk/images/chris.jpg
OK, it took a bit longer that half an hour but here we go...
Using CS3. First of I used the magnetic lassoo to select the fish only. Using the layer correction methods as per Olddogs post (http://www.congeralley.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2063).
On top of this once I have adjusted each channel I then go back to the RGB channel and play with this to bring the brightness and contrast.
All of this editing only effects the selected area, the fish.
Now invert the selection: Right click>Select Inverse
This now selects the rest of the image minus the fish. Play with the colour channels again.
To fix the backscatter in the background I again selected the area using the lassoo tool. Did some guassian blurring then back into brightness and contrast, play with these to darken the scatter out.
After that some general touch up. Where there is a bit of an edge where the selections where made I used the blur tool (teardrop icon) adjust the brush size and hardness to suit and blur the edges.
Now play with the colour channels, brightness and contrast of the whole image.
One trick I like is if you can't get enough adjustment on the brightness or contrast then make all other changes you want to make and save as a jpg. Close the image and reopen. You can now get another full range of adjustment ;)
Looked a bit dark so brightened up a bit
http://www.regthing.co.uk/images/chris2.jpg
of course the other alternative is to scan a photo of one of these fish & use that instead! :D
only kidding... I like to "touch 'em up" as much as the next guy (if you know what I mean) :o
dive granny
01-02-08, 00:28
As one who hasn't a clue about that kind of thing, I am well impressed. Looks good:)
i hope you dont mind but i had a little 'fiddle' with the same pic myself.
i generally play with video so this is something new, im not great by any means and certainly not even close to the leauge in which you gents above are.
i followed some of the steps you guys used but i just cant seem to see where im going wrong.
can anyone help?
this is the before pic...
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35/chrisareid/aframes/IMG_3508.jpg
and this is the after pic.....:rolleyes:
http://nottakingsides.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/goldfish.jpg
Hi Scot, Yer first edit looked dark and moody and perhaps a little overcooked. Looking at your edit, I think my effort looked stark cold and a bit lifeless. In yours the blow outs on the fish are far more controlled. Yer second edit has better overall tonal balance. But I think you would have benefited from lowering the saturation before the final lightening (this would have cured the overcook).
The detail on the fish vastly improved from the original and I think that that was the most challenging aspect of this edit. The real goal would be now to balance the correct colouration (species unknown to me, perhaps others will have seen one) of this fish without the blowouts, against a background that still lets it pop.
Nice to see other editors in action. Due to lighting the shot will never be perfect, but it’s a valuable exercise for people to see what is possible to rescue a keeper from less that ideal shooting conditions.
The power of photoshop, may the force be with you. Keep um commin.
Stew me thinks the red channel needs a tweekin in your edit :D
Good point on the saturation. I've toned it down a bit.
Discovered the sponge tool as well. This is handy to "soak" up some colour as well.
http://www.regthing.co.uk/images/chris3.jpg
Good point on the saturation. I've toned it down a bit.
Discovered the sponge tool as well. This is handy to "soak" up some colour as well.
Scot , try selecting some individual areas of the fish and experimenting with sharpening tools. Remember the eye must always be the sharpest point in the shot. If it is, the viewer's eye will naturally flow to it.(asuming you want it to in a given shot).
P.S. your edit is firming up into a viable keeper :) .
Here is V2 of Olddogs edit. I liked the moodiness of Scots edit :p so took inspiration and created a simulated strobe spotlight effect. Hope it's now lost the cold fish on a slab look.
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h39/ranchuolddog/IMG_3508cutcopyv2.jpg
I selected the eye and used layer adjust to darken the black and lighten the white.
http://www.regthing.co.uk/images/chris4.jpg
I'm not a fan of the sharpen tool as I find it pixelates the image. And I can't say I notice much difference before it goes wrong.
I'm not a fan of the sharpen tool as I find it pixelates the image. And I can't say I notice much difference before it goes wrong.
Scot the sharpening tool is hard to get spot on without pixilation as you say. I find a combination effort of all four sharpening tools available in CS2 gives invaluable results. As in all effects, subtle fade reduction is worthwhile about 70% is a good starter.
Its got to be mastered soft subject images are OK for wedding shots and binners for U/W shots.
Mmmmmmm., looking at my last posted effort I think Im overcooking the edit. :mad: It's starting to look like a tropical fish :o. Wish I knew what this species looks like in the wild .Its hard to edit on a guesstimate. :confused:
nice work guys, I do think some of the edits went a bit too far and dont look "natural" enough. But I have learned somethings from these edits, a lot is trial and error though.
Loved Stewarts effort, thanks Stewart, probably once I have better viz I will be back to video again, although just invested in some macro lenses so I can get some nudi's down St Abbs in the summer.
Dive Tramp
01-02-08, 11:42
Mmmmmmm., looking at my last posted effort I think Im overcooking the edit. :mad: It's starting to look like a tropical fish :o. Wish I knew what this species looks like in the wild .Its hard to edit on a guesstimate. :confused:
Have a look here http://www.finstrokes.com/pelagic/black_goby.html , it appears to be a Black Goby.
nice work guys, I do think some of the edits went a bit too far and dont look "natural" enough. But I have learned somethings from these edits, a lot is trial and error though.
Loved Stewarts effort, thanks Stewart, probably once I have better viz I will be back to video again, although just invested in some macro lenses so I can get some nudi's down St Abbs in the summer.
I dont think any amount of editing will have this pic looking natural. SISO :D ;)
Just get yourself a strobe and stop burning out pics :D
Loved Stewarts effort, thanks Stewart, probably once I have better viz I will be back to video again, although just invested in some macro lenses so I can get some nudi's down St Abbs in the summer.
it was nothing mate really, took me less than 5 minutes to come up with that one but im so glad you like it, a good tip from olddog about the colour balance is noted....:D
so if anyone else wants a total transformation of their raw image... then please dont ask me :D
i have a raw pic of a manta ray somewhere i will let you guys have a crack at, will post it on another thread.