Post Processing

[TheWengler]

The thing I see in common is they're both taken in diffused light (shade or cloud cover). As for adjusting them in pp, shoot RAW, then tweak the WB, exposure, contrast and saturation.

[Peekayoh]

In view of what you said I assume that no PP took place.
Both images have a good spread of light to dark pixels and both are a tad overexposed.
The OE in the Pierce Bridge pic is in the Gold surround and lettering where the Red channel is clipped.
The Duck image is heavily clipped in the Blue Channel but the OE is in the water highlights and is probably not too much of an issue.

Bottom line is that these images contain a full dynamic range and are delivering for you.
It would be better to see a couple of your troublesome (flat) images.

[fdexclpl]

In view of what you said I assume that no PP took place.
Both images have a good spread of light to dark pixels and both are a tad overexposed.
The OE in the Pierce Bridge pic is in the Gold surround and lettering where the Red channel is clipped.
The Duck image is heavily clipped in the Blue Channel but the OE is in the water highlights and is probably not too much of an issue.

Bottom line is that these images contain a full dynamic range and are delivering for you.
It would be better to see a couple of your troublesome (flat) images.

You've been doing this for a few years haven't you?

[Peekayoh]

Photoshop, yes. Not so long with Digital.

Reading through my post, I realise that I could have said more. In a lot of situations it's simply not possible to fit the dynamic range being viewed into the image being taken, like a bright scene in the mid-day sun. In these circumstances you have to decide which bits are important and which bits to clip and it's not always a case of making sure the highlights are not blown.

Take this picture. I exposed for the shadow detail knowing that the sky would inevitably be completely blown. You can see all the bright sky exiting stage right off the Histogram.

Camera: Sony DSLR-A700
Lens: Minolta 28-135mm f4/4.5
Exposure: 1/125th at f8
Focal Length: 35mm (52mm equivelent)
ISO Speed: 200
Format:RAW


This is after sorting it out in the RAW converter (DxO Optics Pro).


Which is OK but I wanted the original sky back. The sky had been a uniform cloudless pale blue, and I used an adjacent frame to run in the correct colour.


In summary, if the dynamic range is beyond the capability of the camera ...
1. expose for the main subject and see if you can rescue the image in PP.
2. Come back later
3. Bracket the exposure and layer the image or use the HDR method.
Option 3 was not available to me in this case as I was out and about without a tripod.

Sorry to bang on a bit, I know most of you can do this in your sleep.

[fdexclpl]

No apology needed. I am very new to this post processing stuff so any help and guidance is welcome.