Making an overcast day look interesting

S4TW

S4TW

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Edit My Images
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I realise that what I am about to ask is a very subjective matter and there are as many opinions as there are people, but that's probably a good thing in the context of this. So, suppose you are take a photo of something on an overcast day (just like below) and of course in the RAW image everything is flat and looks terrible and boring. How would you go about making such a photo look interesting? I have a number of photos from San Francisco taken on an overcast day, as such I'd dump them if I couldn't find a way to make them look nice, but I like the subject matter in some of them and that makes me want to persevere through the editing process. This particular photo is also admittedly over-exposed.

Here is the unedited RAW shot:

View attachment 19575

As a bit of a background, I am familiar with most tools in Lightroom and know how to use tone curves, split toning, various local adjustments etc. - the difficulty lies in trying to create something that pops and looks interesting, without the image being butchered with effects and stylizations, and horrible things like selective colour. I am also not a fan of B&W for cluttered shots like this. Colour helps you to focus on the subject matter.

I added the link to the RAW file below. Feel free to edit and throw up your own interpretations!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4at3bs8hkyan27p/SF Overcast.NEF?dl=0

Thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing your advice.
 
Hi

Rather than work on the RAW I have tweaked the one above in a rough and ready run at it in PS > USM with LCE (Low Contrast Enhmacment) settings > curves to boost contrast and set the white point on the white van and lastly a small curves adjustment to add a tad more boost. As I said just quick go to make the tram more of the focal point?

View attachment 19578
 
This all assumes that an overcast day is NOT interesting.

You can't change lighting in processing, so stop trying. The matter is whether the lighting is appropriate for what you wanted. If you want dramatic or exciting lighting in your images, stop shooting on overcast, dull days. Simple as that. I appreciate that if on holiday you may not have the leisure to wait around for the light... but tough titties basically.

It's a shot of a tram in a street. First image, and second image are the same image. One has more contrast... that is all. The lighting is the same in both. I prefer teh second, but it doesn't change anything really.


S4TW said:
How would you go about making such a photo look interesting?
Click to expand...


It is what it is: Nothing you do in processing will change the lighting or subject matter. You may give it a different aesthetic treatment, but the interest comes from the subject matter and how you photographed it.
 
I'd be more inclined to just make the most of what it is. Just had a think about this, and here's what I would have done.

yJODIbP.jpg



Straightened, and cropped.

You can't disguise the flat lighting... so I never tried to hide it. I ran it through a custom made Portra 160VC preset I made, as portra 160VC is really nice in low contrast lighting, and the slightly pastel colours it gives works well with the dull grey day.

Other than that.... it is what it is. If it's not exciting enough for you, that was decided when you pressed the shutter.
 
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Hi S4TW

I don't use Lightroom, but in Paint.net .... I've straightened, cropped and sharpened.

You said you didn't want it butchered but I think doing something about that sky brings a new dimension. So I selected it and painted it blue.

sanfran.jpg
 
I often go mono if the light isn't too inspiring:

7296-1409407454-d90ae50ca78ef760895a0aab8840f92e.jpg


Had a little play around with raw file for this.
 
Like David says if you aint got the light you aint got the light.

7297-1409414136-0e2740cf736f2260190413cff5ed13eb.jpg


My edit was to put the tram in its own layer, brighten it up a bit.
Quieten down the background adding a touch of field blur.
Add a mask to hide the foreground blur on a copy layer.
Darken the windows on a 50% grey overlay layer.

Rhodese.
 
Pookeyhead said:
I'd be more inclined to just make the most of what it is. Just had a think about this, and here's what I would have done.

yJODIbP.jpg



Straightened, and cropped....
Click to expand...

This gives a sense of being there and has a better look and feel to it...
 
I ended up going with this PP.

View attachment 19645

Yes, I agree there is no way to mask the dullness no matter how hard you try. Days like this are probably perfect for B&W shooting, but I don't feel it works for San Fran. You can paint the sky blue and make the image nice and warm but there is no way of fixing the soft shadows that a day like this brings.

The simplest solution (after deleting) is probably: increase contrast, increase vibrance and move on.
 
Original edit was great. Fitting to the image. I love the trees and the contrasting colors. Nothing wrong with the edit, I would have shot it higher getting some of the buildings in and less tram track though.
 
Overcast... Mmm, add contrast :)
I messed with the raw, knocked back the exp by half a stop put contrast up +14.
Bit of lens correction and cropping.
Now I know you all hate it , but decided to open image in Photomatrix and give it a tiny bit of HDR.
I liked David's blue sky so used my stock "blue sky and clouds".
It's different but not sure whether it's an improvement!
Thanks for posting, it's fun to play with other people's shots :)View attachment 19886
 
Farmerjim said:
Thanks for posting, it's fun to play with other people's shots :)
Click to expand...

I like that Jim. And yes it is fun to play with other people's shots.

Is there a thread where we can do this? or go further by merging different pics together? Best way to learn.
 
Farmerjim said:
Thanks for posting, it's fun to play with other people's shots
Click to expand...

You missed a bit Jim, but I FIFY

Knf9LFW.jpg


d00d said:
I like that Jim. And yes it is fun to play with other people's shots.

Is there a thread where we can do this? or go further by merging different pics together? Best way to learn.
Click to expand...

There WAS.... and could be argued that technically there still IS!

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/the-how-would-you-edit-this-photo-game.302434/

or a more simple PP thread, http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/the-pp-game.347318/

Jim has made sterling contributions to both. :)
 
overbez said:
You missed a bit Jim, but I FIFY
:)
Click to expand...

D'oh! :) Not that I would have ever dreamed of inserting a cartoon character of course... :naughty:

Thanks Graham! Yes, the "How would you edit this game" has been on holiday through the summer but perhaps it's time to kick the old girl back to life, do ya copy that Rhodese?
 
Maybe it's because I'm Irish and used to it, but I quite like white skies and flat lighting. Scattered cloud can be very distracting and I'm not a fan of adding in a blue sky in post. A bit of grain (not to everyone's taste, I know) will give an overcast sky some texture.

View attachment 21342
 
if you ever see the term "pop" or "popping" a picture.. thats what this thread is.. making a bland picture stand out..
 
Had a little go and came up with this from the RAW file:

qAmclMvC.jpg


Straightened, turned exposure down a tad. And cropped a bit off the top.

Desaturated a bit, contrast, sharpening and selective definition and exposure/contrast of certain areas. Plus a slight post-crop vignette.
 
I see this has descended into a processing competition. :)

The important point is lost as usual: If an image is boring, it's because you took a boring image. Stop taking boring images. This is not the PP Game thread :)
 
I must say i'm a massive fan of black and white and i think Jeff (Kennysarmy) has nailed it. My favourite by a mile.
 
Another one for Jeff's efforts here

Although I also like the surreal HDR above too.......Reminds me of a poster in IKEA (not meant to offend)
 
Pookeyhead said:
I see this has descended into a processing competition. :)

The important point is lost as usual: If an image is boring, it's because you took a boring image. Stop taking boring images. This is not the PP Game thread :)
Click to expand...

But if you only have one chance in life it better to take a chance than none at tall :) & PP is your friend
just like google is to many
 
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Pookeyhead said:
I see this has descended into a processing competition. :)

The important point is lost as usual: If an image is boring, it's because you took a boring image. Stop taking boring images. This is not the PP Game thread :)
Click to expand...

Seems to me that people answered the OP's question in the spirit in which he asked it. I guess if he'd wanted CC then he would have posted it in the 'urban/architecture' thread.
 
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