Re: Fun with the Sony A7 and A7r series
@Barry,
Two first-rate shots of the pier - Clevedon, if I'm not mistaken?
The first (B&W) is superb - well seen!:thumbup: The second is simple and (as per the title...
) elegant. I like the processing very much - did you post-process from Raw, or is that straight from the camera?
Many thanks tbhv55, glad you liked them both....You are correct it is Clevedon pier in Somerset, well spotted a beautiful pier for sure.
This was processed from RAW converted to DNG (CS4)...I always take both a RAW and a jpg at the same time (I use the jpg only to quickly analyse the image before starting on the RAW image)
I have included the SOOC jpg as a before and after so you can see the differences in processing.
Before...
After...
GetDPI is a sharing community so here is my typical workflow as best as I can remember for you or anybody who is interested (apologies to those who are not).
RAW>DNG>CS (ACR..Only basic corrections like exposure, vignetting etc...) open.
When in CS straighten up the images horizon and then correct perspective and crop...Save as a Tiff.
Open the Tiff into LR and then Export to Mogrify 2
LR/Mogrify 2 - Add Watermarks, Border and Text Annotions to Images Exported by Adobe Lightroom 2 the image (In other words add a preset frame with title, author and lens info etc.)
Re-open back into CS (for Labcolor processing) and run this free downsizing/sharpening Web Sharpener CS4+ script
Web Sharpener - Better Sharpening for the WebAndreas Resch – Naturfotografie
Andreas Resch - Websharpener script is just wonderful IMO, you can control the final output size (I use 1600x1600px maximum output for Flickr) and the actual amount of sharpening on layers together with contrast and saturation...I have pretty well tried most downsizing sharpeners out there, this is my favourite for sure but it can only be done in CS4 (or above) because it steps down in increments using the Lab color method.
Once happy with the image flatten off the layers off and convert the Lab colour to SRGB and save as a new Tiff.
Zoom into the corner where the image touches the frame and make a selection around the image only (This means all changes from now on in only have a effect upon the image itself and not the frame)...Make a thin black, grey or white (penline 1 px wide your choice) using Edit>Stroke.
BLENCOMO (BLENding COlour with MOno) treatment.
Keeping the same selection (marching ants) and now open filters (Nik software Silver Efex Pro 2)...I use a slight variant Preset of my own which is very similar to the std. Preset *015 included - but with less noise.> OK. (It’s like getting an instant black and white TONEMAPPED image which adds some drama to an image...vary the SOFT CONTRAST slider to taste or even add a tone like, sepia, selenium etc... should you so wish).
Go to the Layers and fade the opacity to around 50% (It much depends on the colour within the image itself) and then flatten off the layers, you should now have a pastel coloured image which needs bringing back to colour life by adjusting the (Image>Adjustments>Vibrance) Vary the vibrance and saturation to taste.
Still with the selection on use the graduated filter to Colour Burn down the Sky (Edit>FADE GRADIENT) and the Ground up (Edit>FADE GRADIENT) to form a base for the image.
Correct the White balance (I use Pictocolour
PictoColor Software: Color Correction Software and Photoshop Plugins ).
Final step...Auto Contrast (Edit>FADE CONTAST) whilst watching the Histogram doesn’t burn out the Highlights...Add some curves, dodge tool (highlight) along pier strip and clone out birds and insects flying in the sky, deselect selection and save as a jpg....Takes me about 30-40 minutes most images.
Hope that gives you some insight to my typical workflow....Cheers Barry