Hello everyone,

I am a novice to the wonderful world of photography , however very passionate and eager to better my skills. I am naturally enthralled by the quality of work pubished here. Try as I might, I cannt reproduce the texture and colors seen here even in photographs that are'nt creative edits. iI shoot nikon d200 and use NX2 for minor corrections.What is the trick to get the pictures as seen here , excluding pictures that stand out due to the light or composition. Your input shall be very illuminating indeed. I am getting only rejections even for work IMO good. Thank You. Tesla gal

Have you tried to post your pics in Critique - maybe you can get some ideas from there?
Lars :-)

Hi tesla gal, I use a D300/D200 and NX2 combination plus finishing off in Elements 5 for all my images here. I can't speak for others how they achieve their textures/colours but mine is a very simple process. I strive to get as much right in camera as possible, so that means being in places when light and weather conditions are more conducive to better and easier images to capture, this usually means but certainly not limited to early in the morning and late evening shooting. I pay particular attention to keeping the exposure dynamic range within the capabilities of the camera sensor and usually employ polarisers and ND graduated filters and angle of shooting to the Sun to do this.
I do very simple selected areas levels adjustments in Elements 5 to increase local contrast, I seldom increase saturation as this is achieved in camera and by levels adjustment.
This is just my style and way of doing things, there are other's colours and textures on here that I greatly admire and sometimes would like to replicate but I don't know how to achieve.
I would honestly say to try and develope your own style that you like yourself, trying to replicate other's styles and themes may not necessarily mean you will start getting published. You are more likely to achieve publication from your own original work I would guess.
If however, you are really getting very poor colour/contrast images out of camera then you may have in-camera settings problem or more likely a colour space/calibration issue in your camera - software workflow.
Give me a shout if this is the case and I'll try and help.
JP

Hello John,

THANK YOU for the detailed and insightful reply. I greatly admire your work and am completely envious of the paradise you call home.I guess i did'nt word my query accurately, I get real life colors in my pictures, just like they are in real life, not surreal like some pics on this site. Local adjustments to color and contrast may be part of the solution, I am afraid I haven't achieved as much expertise in postprocessing. I no doubt will keep learning from the work and critiques of far more experienced photographers who display their work . And yes I do strive to develop a style of my own, however initially there's the threat of plagiarism masquerading as " inspiration" from others excellent work.Thanks again, hopefully i'll get a critique slot soon and would appreciate your input.

No problem, I'll keep a look out.
JP

Hello lars,

Thanks for answering, I tried to get my pics on critiqe, but i need to critique 3 before i get a slot which is fine, however I was a little hesitant coz I do not consider myself qualified enought to "correct" others work . I've overcome my reservations for lack of a better option and will put in my humble opinion in the interest of bettering my art.

Every opinion is of value in Critique, as long as it is argued! :-)

Yes tesla, you are not 'correcting' anyone by voiceing your personal opinion what you think about an image, there is no right and wrongs just opinions.
JP

Point noted John, I'm now actively participating. Thanks for everything.

I am trying to make a good photo for a six years now, in meantime changed four camera systems, I fear, though cannot be sure, that I may never succeed in making a single good photo, my main disadvantage is, I think, lack of time (and freedom) for proper devotion to photography (preparing photo sessions, making photo dedicated trips, etc.) or maybe I am merely hopeless case. So far I had some enjoyable moments in the process of making some of the photos and I would wish if this pleasure could be repeated. Regards, Robert.

Or Robert, just walk around with a camera around your neck and point it when you see something you like, then if you like the image, "develop" it, if you like the result, share it with other. I recommend not putting too much more than than into it. If you do, you tend to "over think" it and it's not fun anymore.

A great example: I was walking down Huntington Beach with my wife, just strolling along watching the waves and birds. I saw a group of birds flying towards us. I had no idea what settings my camera were on. I just reached for it and starting shooting as fast as the shutter would fire:


I really didn't think much about it at the time. It all happened in about 5 seconds. I got home and found this image, developed it as b&w and then shared it with my friends. That was fun and every time I look at this photo I remember how it was on the beach that day and how it was at my computer that night and then I smile!

Hillbilly says to have fun with your camera today and PLEASE remember all those who we lost 8 years ago and pray for all those who serve us today!!

Hear hear!!

I'm sorry but I dare to dig this thread from the dust because ever since I was told about OE website I dream to learn the same thing that teslagal have in mind: creating that "special-smooth-mild-effect" that is here to be seen on most color photographs. I'm talking strictly post-production techniques that would suggest that the shot is technically perfect. But what magic do you guys apply afterwards? Here for example, or even here.... I'm struggling to achieve this using Photoshop Lightroom without any extra plugins, but either I'm not capable of doing it right or the software lacks such options (pretty sure it's the first reason thought).

And just before I land misunderstood - I don't want you to share me your special private recipes because I know that's something personal. I'm just curious about the software that you're using. That's all. I'll then try to find my way out creating my own edits.

I highly appreciate all replies in advance! :]

Cheers,
Andy

First and foremost there were outstanding natural light condition and the photographer's talent to be here at that moment, don't you think ?

I'm with Jacques. Both the images probably started out as really great images. My guess is that a bit of dodging and burning was used to increase the contrast profile of the images. Dodging and Burning are really powerful tools and can accomplish so much in images. The problem is learning how to use them correctly and 'for the image'. I've found it hard and still trying to hone my skills with them.

Yes Andy, I suppose the people behind the photographs to which you refer are very committed. Just as John Parminter. As landscape concerns, I believe they get up in the middle of the night, drive to the place they want to photograph, walk a reasonable distance with their gear, carefully set up everything, hope they didn't forget the batteries for their camera, wait for the first light, hope it's a good day for photography, and then get that shot. After which they pack up their gear, walk back a reasonable distance, hope their car didn't get stolen, drive back home, go and sit behind the computer, hope they didn't forget to format their memory card, and fiddle a bit with it in pp.
If you ask me, I think they all are complete nutters and I wouldn't want anything to do with them. But I am I and you are you, so I would say, why don't you contact John Parminter, who - if I'm not mistaken - is always quite helpfull in the advisory department.

:-)

LOL! ... but true. And you forgot to mention about the risk of marriage failure ;-)

Thank you all so much! You're really supportive, especially KoPi! ;)

I should just add that I'm a complete newbie at the world of (digital) photography and perhaps that's the main reason why somehow I got the impression that most of the photos here have that special sort of post-production going on rather than "simply" choosing the right moment of taking the shot. Now thanks to you I know I was wrong.

Well I guess that I'm left with no choice but to simply prepare my gear, fuel up the tank, set at (very) early alarm clock and hope to get there for the right moment.... and then of course rush back home to try save my marriage ;)

Who knows... I might also end up one day with photos here like you guys :)

its a mix of both great images and pp and in some cases great equipment and of course there is a great talent for seeing and capturing
but it all can be learned

Hello Clyde,


Your bird photo is interesting I guess... I like to some extent the shadow at the bottom, somewhat 'pronounced' clouds at the top, the arrangement of the birds may seem to be interesting (though the birds are probably using this arrangement for a more 'prosaic' reason, i.e. to fly easier), the Moon is for me somehow 'breaking' the composition and I am afraid that I feel as the title wishes to give more 'importance' to the scene that what actual it has... the clouds at the bottom of the frame looks okay to me though I do not like the grey in the middle, the flock shape is not what I would call 'perfect'... overall I would (my taste) assess it as okay but not 'great'... I do apologize for predominately negative criticism of this photo of yours, but if we are not honest to each other where would that lead... is not so...

...as you have been so kind to show one of your photos here allow me to show you one of mine which I like...

http://www.hrphotocontest.com/index.php?menu=7&img=224136

Kind regards,

Robert

Hi Andy, I'm not sure if you consider my photos as the "special-smooth-mild-effect" types, I think some of mine are hard and contrasty but I anyway don't have any magic formula when processing, could even be described as basic. Once a RAW file is converted to a TIFF, I simply select certain areas to adjust the levels for local contrast. I rarely alter saturation or even use dodge or burn and certainly nothing more complicated than a few levels layers. (not quite true: I may very occasionally blend two separate exposures for foreground and sky if troublesome lighting)

What I will stress though, as mentioned by others, is the enthusiasm and dedication to be in places at the right time that happens to be beautiful, interesting and eye-catching. All you have to do then is choose a pleasing composition of your chosen subject, meter the various light correctly, apply any necessary filters and press the shutter.
In my opinion the easiest part is using the camera to achieve a reasonably pleasing landscape image, the hardest part is all the waiting for Mother Nature to have a good day with many a disappointment along the way.

The processing is really just the polishing or icing on the cake, in my case the processing is never the deciding factor whether an image is good or not. This is not to say though that the processing can't enhance an image to make it really stand out, it often can and sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised with my modest PP efforts.

There are also certain styles that I greatly admire and am pretty sure folk achieve a certain look by their processing methods, I've enquired on occasion as well.

:)
JP