Moth

[ucci]

Caught this little chap having a nap, up under verandah cross beam around noon. Conditions = The verandah faces North, in Southern hemisphere. Fairly sunny day, around 28C with mainly blue skies. Because of overhead angle of shot, camera hand held whilst standing on a stool. ( me standing on the stool, that is, not the camera.)

And perhaps rather naive question, if I may. Are there objective limitation guidelines as to how much digital enhancement is permissible on a photo file? Or is it basically subjective and determined by producing an end result in which the work done is not readily discernible to the eye of a normal, non expert observer of the final presentation?

[jiro]

And perhaps rather naive question, if I may. Are there objective limitation guidelines as to how much digital enhancement is permissible on a photo file? Or is it basically subjective and determined by producing an end result in which the work done is not readily discernible to the eye of a normal, non expert observer of the final presentation?

That is a very intuitive and good question! My personal answer would be YES.

OBJECTIVE LIMITATION - This would deal with white balance correction, horizontal alignment, highlight correction, black level correction, saturation of colors, sharpening of elements, and others. They are objective because the eye can normally spot these kinds of error or anomalies in a photograph. Correcting them is a kind of enhancement in its sense.

SUBJECTIVE ENHANCEMENT - This is where your inner vision kicks in. There are no rules here since it is your vision that you are trying to bring out from your originally captured image. If you want to make it dramatic by saturating the colors then you are free to do so because that is how you want it to be. The only hindrance to this is if all your adjustments does not combine wholly to create a single strong image. What I mean by that is, if by adjusting one element of the image you are now creating 2 opposing element that is not a part of your intended idea or vision then you have failed to make a strong statement on your work.

If I will use these 2 in my way of reacting to your posted image I would say that:

1. You have done a good job isolating the moth because you put him in a lighter background thereby accentuating his natural color. That is objective. You positioned it diagonally which denotes a strong composition style. Whether it is a pure luck or a deliberate effort on your side it is a good way to emphasize an element.

2. Subjective, The color of the background leans on the warm side, which would probably mean you want a strong emotional feeling to be seen by the viewer. The addition of the cobwebs would denote stillness (non-moving), another subjective element. If I will share my reaction to your image, I would say I felt a sense of stillness or an immovable state. Not like a rock but more like a being that can react anytime depending on the environment. The idea is - play around with your image until you see the vision that you saw in your mind. You have to BE OBJECTIVE first in WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ADJUST to arrive at the SUBJECTIVE elements that YOU WANT TO BRING OUT. I hope I am making sense here. Hahaha!

To make the story short, YOUR ADJUSTMENTS ARE GUIDED BY THE INNER VISION THAT YOU HAVE. You can have a perfectly exposed and adjusted image but does not solicit any emotional response from your viewers because the elements was adjusted by the book. Once you add your own twist to the image that's the time the emotional content comes out. I must be groggy telling all these stuff from drinking 4 cups of coffee. 'nuff said.

[Donald]

Excellent response Willie. That's one of those that should be saved for use in the future, because every now and then someone comes along and asks a, broadly, similar question, but not as clearly and succinctly put has Ken has done above.

[ucci]

Thank you, Willie, for such a clear and informative response. Made heaps of sense to me. It has clarified many points for me on which I was most uncertain. A lot of facts and great information to process..... will need far more than the support of your 4 cups of coffee to achieve this... looking at quite a few percolators worth. There was considerable luck in the shot, such as the moth just happened to alight on the lighter coloured background. But I am pleased that you picked up my intention of portraying an aura of passitivity by the moth, resting free from any potential threat to its security.
Ken

[ucci]

Hey Willie
Just an afterthought. Sure wish you hadn't mentioned those darned cobwebs. Got an earful from the missus over that one! To do with me showing the world a few measly cobwebs which she had missed in her usual dusting whirlwind attacks on these things; took it as a personal affront to her excellent housekeeping efforts. My defence of artistic merit etc., didn't get me off the hook.

[jiro]

...But I am pleased that you picked up my intention of portraying an aura of passitivity by the moth, resting free from any potential threat to its security.
Ken

I was able to "see" your intended concept so that shows you already achieved something - getting your message across by the way you processed your image. Very good job, Ken!

[jiro]

Hey Willie
Just an afterthought. Sure wish you hadn't mentioned those darned cobwebs. Got an earful from the missus over that one! To do with me showing the world a few measly cobwebs which she had missed in her usual dusting whirlwind attacks on these things; took it as a personal affront to her excellent housekeeping efforts. My defence of artistic merit etc., didn't get me off the hook.

As for the cobwebs... tell the wife "...but Willie told me to add them to the shot for artistic purposes so it's not your fault, Dear."

[Geoff F]

And perhaps rather naive question, if I may. Are there objective limitation guidelines as to how much digital enhancement is permissible on a photo file? Or is it basically subjective and determined by producing an end result in which the work done is not readily discernible to the eye of a normal, non expert observer of the final presentation?

Well, Ken, my considered opinion would be: 'It depends . . .'

If for example you just want to produce an pleasant artistic image; then do whatever pleases you, and don't worry about what anybody else thinks. If, however, you are creating a perfect representation for identification purposes, you need to faithfully reproduce all the colours, etc, perfectly.

[ucci]

Thanks Geoff, I take your point.
Yes, I see the need to be clearly aware on the intended final purpose for the piece and, as Willie puts it so clearly, to have a clear inner vision of what you are trying to achieve and work towards hopefully achieving that result.

[ucci]

Tried telling her that it was Willie who suggested the cobwebs were essential for artistic purposes. Not a good move. Now we are both in trouble! It will pass. Always does. Time to go and take some more pics, me thinks!

[jiro]

Tried telling her that it was Willie who suggested the cobwebs were essential for artistic purposes. Not a good move. Now we are both in trouble! It will pass. Always does. Time to go and take some more pics, me thinks!

Oooops!!! Sorry, wrong suggestion.