Comparison for Edits

[Shadowman]

First edited in PSE8

2nd in NIK software.


f/4.5, ISO 320, 1/4000sec, 110mm

[IzzieK]

I like second one for the mood it created. I especially like the way the clouds are captured...very rich. The first one is warmer .... but is that the one you think that you like the atmosphere of? Just my thought...

[Shadowman]

I like second one for the mood it created. I especially like the way the clouds are captured...very rich. The first one is warmer .... but is that the one you think that you like the atmosphere of? Just my thought...

Isabel,

Thanks for the comments. The first image evolved because of my desire to enrich the clouds as well as the land area. The second image is basically a series of presets applied by the NIK software, the only difference is I can select from a series of changes and in the second I chose a neutral density gradient layer. I would have chosen the same effect for the first image but didn't get around to doing it as I liked where it ended up, so yes the first is what I envisioned but only to spread a bit of dynamic range within the scene.

[ShaneS]

I like the richness of the first and see that was more like what you experienced when you took the shot. I think that the second is too cool and wonder if somewhere in between would be ideal...nothing like sitting on the fence huh?

If you were to start with the first I think that a tad more brightness in the buildings and additional structure and brightness in the clouds would be a good way to split the difference and maintain the warmth of the first edit.

John, the presets in NIK often confound me with all of the choices! I like the tonal adjustment in color efex but sometimes I think that it appears overdone so I bring it down a bit. Viveza might be all you need for tweaking the overall brightness and structure of the clouds if you wanted to give that a try.

Thanks for sharing both edits as I think that it is good to see the different ways an image can be taken with processing while still maintaining good image quality.

[Shadowman]

I like the richness of the first and see that was more like what you experienced when you took the shot. I think that the second is too cool and wonder if somewhere in between would be ideal...nothing like sitting on the fence huh?

If you were to start with the first I think that a tad more brightness in the buildings and additional structure and brightness in the clouds would be a good way to split the difference and maintain the warmth of the first edit.

John, the presets in NIK often confound me with all of the choices! I like the tonal adjustment in color efex but sometimes I think that it appears overdone so I bring it down a bit. Viveza might be all you need for tweaking the overall brightness and structure of the clouds if you wanted to give that a try.

Thanks for sharing both edits as I think that it is good to see the different ways an image can be taken with processing while still maintaining good image quality.

Shane,

Thank you for the comments and suggestions. I will apply your methods on others from the series, I shot this particular scene in both portrait and landscape mode, so further exploration will occur.

Regarding the NIK software, I am at day eight of the trial period, quite a bit of a learning curve even if It is mostly presets. I haven't tried the Viveza set yet, I'll give that a go. And yes there are way too many choices in the Color Efex set. Another issue I am having is the workflow order. I read somewhere that Color Efex should be applied before Dfine (noise reduction) and I thought the order was a bit odd. But sure enough, if I apply Color changes second, the preset introduces more noise to the image. So changing your working style is critical when using NIK software.

[Brownbear]

Hi John,

I prefer the warmer version but I do think that an image somewhere between these two would be perfect. The 2nd image is too cold (the feeling) for me and the uppermost clouds seem to have lost some detail.

[Shadowman]

Hi John,

I prefer the warmer version but I do think that an image somewhere between these two would be perfect. The 2nd image is too cold (the feeling) for me and the uppermost clouds seem to have lost some detail.

Christina,

Thanks for the comments and critique. In the second image the preset applied an upper and lower tonality curve but it seems to affect the land mass only. I'll give it another go with the NIK software.

[ShaneS]

I will look forward to seeing more images and how you choose to deploy NIK in your presentation so be sure to post some here for comparison.

[Shadowman]

A few NIK adjustments.

Viveza level and curves adjustment.


Color Efex detail extractor

[ShaneS]

Do you have a preference for one of the two new edits John? They both still look a bit cool to me...would you mind if I have a play in Nik with the first image as long as I share what I did?

[Shadowman]

Do you have a preference for one of the two new edits John? They both still look a bit cool to me...would you mind if I have a play in Nik with the first image as long as I share what I did?

Shane,

If possible, I'd like to combine the two, the dark mysterious clouds of the first with the pastel like colors of the landmass of the second.
Be my guest.

[ShaneS]

Here is what I came up with John...I'm not sure if this is what you had in mind but it was a fun exercise for me and helped me get some more practice in with Nik.



I first used Viveza and here were my settings:



Then Color Efex and I masked out the buildings an surrounding grounds so the main impact was on the clouds in the upper part of the image and the reflection in the lower portion.:



As you can see I really toned down the default tonal contrast as I usually find it a bit much.

I added a few control points to tweak thing a bit more but nothing really had a major impact. You know how it is when you start an edit...

I didn't sharpen for presentation here but I would imagine it would have a bit more pop had I done so.

[Shadowman]

Shane,

Nicely done, the image has lost the coldness as Christina described. I just started using the Viveza filter, only used it twice, and will have to start utilizing it more. Thank you for providing the steps you'd taken.

[ShaneS]

You are welcome John and I hope my settings helped you in your experimentation.

I will say that this shot is a challenge in terms of color temperature because the sky is very cool and the buildings and dirty ice in the foreground are quite warm. I tried playing with the color temperature of the sky/foreground independently but that only made things worse and did not represent what was natural to the shot.

Keep experimenting with Nik - I am really glad that I spent the money on the product and it has furthered my understanding of editing overall. It is hard to explain but experimenting with the presents has given me a deeper understanding of the various changes that can be made to an image and how they impact the overall feel of the presentation. I find that I can make similar changes with the various adjustment layers in Photoshop now just because I can visualize them better as a result of experimenting with Nik.

There are so many different ways you can go with an image that it is mind boggling and I now feel like I better understand the concept of visualizing a shot when the shutter is pressed and I try to have that in mind before I start an edit rather than just trying to make an image look 'better' if that makes any sense. So I look at the raw file, try to visualize the finished image and then start my edit. I still play around sometimes but that visualizaion really helps me to have some direction in my editing.

[Shadowman]

You are welcome John and I hope my settings helped you in your experimentation.

I will say that this shot is a challenge in terms of color temperature because the sky is very cool and the buildings and dirty ice in the foreground are quite warm. I tried playing with the color temperature of the sky/foreground independently but that only made things worse and did not represent what was natural to the shot.

Keep experimenting with Nik - I am really glad that I spent the money on the product and it has furthered my understanding of editing overall. It is hard to explain but experimenting with the presents has given me a deeper understanding of the various changes that can be made to an image and how they impact the overall feel of the presentation. I find that I can make similar changes with the various adjustment layers in Photoshop now just because I can visualize them better as a result of experimenting with Nik.

There are so many different ways you can go with an image that it is mind boggling and I now feel like I better understand the concept of visualizing a shot when the shutter is pressed and I try to have that in mind before I start an edit rather than just trying to make an image look 'better' if that makes any sense. So I look at the raw file, try to visualize the finished image and then start my edit. I still play around sometimes but that visualizaion really helps me to have some direction in my editing.

Shane,

One thing I'll do is view the tutorials a few times and also have it running in the background while I am editing. I've been thinking of using it on people wearing very shiny, contrasting outfits. I took a few images of women wearing satin like gowns and I think the Color Efex or Viveza presets will compliment the outfits.