Critique Noah's Ark Zoo Farm near Bristol

Raptor Mike

Raptor Mike

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2,812
Name
Mike
Edit My Images
Yes
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Thanks for looking,
Mike
 
Great series of shots there. I love this place, so open and spacious, it's great.
#1, #2, #7 & #8 are superb. I love the composition & balance of colour & light, nice and sharp too :)
#4 seem to have too much contrast while #3, #5 & #6 could do with the highlights being toned down
 
Another nice set Mike (y)

But I'm still not quite sure what you are doing with the "Lion" processing.
It doesn't look right to me.

The others look fine though :)
 
That's a newer version after making changes to the TIFF in photoshop. I think the problem goes back to the RAW due to upping clarity. I took off most if not all the contrast in ps so thats the only thing. The thing is it looks fine in ps, it's not till I upload it that it looks to contrasty. I'm going to start again with this one I think ;)
 
snips86x said:
Great series of shots there. I love this place, so open and spacious, it's great.
#1, #2, #7 & #8 are superb. I love the composition & balance of colour & light, nice and sharp too :)
#4 seem to have too much contrast while #3, #5 & #6 could do with the highlights being toned down
Click to expand...
Thanks. I'll have to play with the highlights on those.
 
snips86x said:
Great series of shots there. I love this place, so open and spacious, it's great.
#1, #2, #7 & #8 are superb. I love the composition & balance of colour & light, nice and sharp too :)
#4 seem to have too much contrast while #3, #5 & #6 could do with the highlights being toned down
Click to expand...

Cobra said:
Another nice set Mike (y)

But I'm still not quite sure what you are doing with the "Lion" processing.
It doesn't look right to me. The others look fine though :)
Click to expand...

So I started again. It looks a little more saturated than in PS but I put it side by side with the older version once I finished and could see exactly what you both mean.
Lionatnoahsarkv3_MG_1489_zps2fbde84a.jpg~original


No contrast or clarity, just shadows and highlights, levels, and -11 on the saturation.
 
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Some nice captures, but as mentioned, the processing detracts from them. Are you sharpening them but turning the radius too high perhaps?
 
Raptor Mike said:
No contrast or clarity, just shadows and highlights, levels, and -11 on the saturation.
Click to expand...
Sorry Mike, it still doesn't look quite right.
What does this look like to you? LINKY

new2me said:
Some nice captures, but as mentioned, the processing detracts from them. Are you sharpening them but turning the radius too high perhaps?
Click to expand...
Thats a possible too.

Do you mind posting up the unedited (Lion) Jpeg Mike?
Doesn't need to be huge up to 1024px will be plenty (y)
 
Ah right.
Here's what I've done

Editing:
Adobe RAW:
w/b As shot
temp 5150
tint 3
exporuse 0
recovery 0
fill light 0
blacks 5
brightness 50
contrast 0
clarity 0
vibrance 0
sat 0

RAW sharpening
Amount 69
Radius 1.0
detail 25
mask 0
Noise ruduction:
luminance 33
colour 25

PSE9:
shadows and highlights (cant see how much i adjusted this but I didn't touch the midtone contrast)
sat (master) -14
levels (RGB input 17,0.90,212

Looks like I may have been to generous with the sharpening?? I normally leave it at 25 lol.

You guys are good cos it looked ok to me lol.

I'll put the RAW back to as shot, default and jpeg it for you.
 
I think you are over thinking this Mike TBH.
Forget ACR if you are posting here and or elsewhere,
Open as a Jpeg.
Adjust the shadows and highlights,
maybe the levels if required as well,
does PSE9 have the USM option, under sharpen?
(its been a long time since I used it)
If not does it have the smart sharpen?
Either is fine you just need the basic sharpen tool from either, forget the rest.

The radius is fine, at 1.0
and sometimes you even need to push it up somewhere approaching 150.
But the rest of the stuff you just don't need.
 
Raw set to camera defaults then converted to srgb jpeg and reduced to 683x1024px

LIONRAWtoJPEGasdefault1024px_MG_1489_zpsd81e6c70.jpg~original




Thank you so much fro this. I really want to nail it. If anyone can recommend any books or websites of animal photography and (mainly) editing that would be great.
 
Cobra said:
I think you are over thinking this Mike TBH.
Forget ACR if you are posting here and or elsewhere,
Open as a Jpeg.
Adjust the shadows and highlights,
maybe the levels if required as well,
does PSE9 have the USM option, under sharpen?
(its been a long time since I used it)
If not does it have the smart sharpen?
Either is fine you just need the basic sharpen tool from either, forget the rest.

The radius is fine, at 1.0
and sometimes you even need to push it up somewhere approaching 150.
But the rest of the stuff you just don't need.
Click to expand...


I thought I would post everything so you could see what I was doing...or not lol. To be honest most of it I left alone on the reedit. Whats ACR?
 
You'll get this right even if it kills me :p

But god knows what you have saved that as.
I can't save and open it.
Just save as Jpeg.
No fancy extentions, nuffin :p
I'll just grab it off the screen.
 
Raptor Mike said:
I thought I would post everything so you could see what I was doing...or not lol. To be honest most of it I left alone on the reedit. Whats ACR?
Click to expand...
Same as Adobe RAW
 
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WOW!! thank you so much. I can do all of that but except the only options I have in Highlights and shadow is highlights, shadows and midtone contrast :clap:

EDIT dont have that last bit, although some of it is in Adobe RAW
 
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Right I've had a bit of an upload issue,
I've edited some of it.

TBH Mike, I don't think you are "far out" in camera.
It didn't take much to get to the final image.

I think you just need to be a bit more aware, of the glass and wire,
and the way that it can screw things right up though ;)
 
LOL thanks again for your help. I'm determind to nail this zoo stuff. To start with it was just a way I could take photos and do family stuff at the same time. Now I love it... if I can just get the pp right ;)
 
Don't worry that you don't have the "extra's" on the shadow / highlights,
they others are the default settings, so I guess you should achieve the same results,
with the available sliders (y)

The Match colour, is basically a saturation / desaturation tool.
That also brightens.
I'm sure your'll have something like that, even if its two separate ones.

Basically Mike, they are all basic tweaks, what I am saying is, have fun, have a play BUT DON'T f*** with it :D

Good luck (y)
 
Raptor Mike said:
LOL.
I have brightness and saturation adjustments so thats good. I'll stop getting carried away with the pp. (y):ty:
Click to expand...
Good man :)

Play by all means, but I think I've shown you really don't need to go OTT with processing "fur"
Glad to have helped (y)
 
Same lion, different photo. I used your settings as a guide. I'm not sure about the saturation on the lion, might have toned it down too much
Lion2_MG_1484srgb1024pxcopy_zps56a6a5a1.jpg~original



Please please dont start banging your head on the desk in despair
 
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Raptor Mike said:
Please please dont start banging your head on the desk in despair
Click to expand...
You mean like this? :D

A lot better Mike there is a lot more detail in the fur now.
Yes I guess a little more saturation, but just a tweak, it doesn't need much (y)

Do you have this facility?

View attachment 15814

And don't forget that last thing to do before saving for web ( or what ever) check your sharpening.

View attachment 15815
 
Now thats weird, it showed up while I was doing it,
but not when I posted :thinking:

Try this one ;)

View attachment 15816
 
Yep thats the saturation tool, its on -39 so I've adjusted it to -27. I did sharpen it by 190, but when I went back to check that number the layer all of a sudden sharpened, which was wierd. So it hadnt applied any sharpening. I though I just couldnt notice it. Now its come up 190 is way to much, so You got an unsharpen copy. Thanks for saying about it or Id never have know lol. I'll have to watch that. When you sharpen in RAW you can adjust the luminance to reduce noise. I can't do that in USM.
 
Ahh it's ok. When you adjust through the layers adjustments in the pallet you can then just click the picture when you've finished. I did the same with USM but didnt click ok lol, I'm blaming the moon again :banghead::banghead::banghead:
 
Raptor Mike said:
When you sharpen in RAW you can adjust the luminance to reduce noise. I can't do that in USM.
Click to expand...
I know, but TBH, don't do it its not worth it, too much can go wrong, if you aren't that experienced at processing just yet.

I think that maybe (Have been anyway) half the problem if you were sharpening
like that.
Just tweak the image and give it a sharpen, before saving.

OK so try it both ways, and compare :)

If you are working in layers, don't forget that if you un check them, you can't see the sharpen (or whatever)
Maybe that's what happened?

edit typing when you posted.
I see that bits sorted :)
Fer crissakes, don't start howling or they'll lock you up :D
 
LOL its been a long day

Yeh I'll leave the noise for now and get the other stuff nailed.

You've been so helpful to me with my damn lions and you didnt have to so thank you so much. I really am very grateful :D
 
Raptor Mike said:
You've been so helpful to me with my damn lions and you didnt have to so thank you so much. I really am very grateful :D
Click to expand...
No worries Mike, I'm glad to have been able to point you in the right direction :)
 
Raptor Mike said:
When you sharpen in RAW you can adjust the luminance to reduce noise. I can't do that in USM.
Click to expand...
I've just realised something, I missed this first time.
Yep that'll do it ;)
Just to double check, I over sharpened your image then reduced the noise,
and it looks similar, if not more exaggerated than your original,
Don't do it :p

The image (as posted) is not noisy anyway ;)
 
AHHHHHHHH!!!!!
I won't. Before I satrted using that I used to use gausian blurr, but it just seemed to cancel the sharpening. I'll leave them both alone
(y)
 
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