MLS Group

[robin-ang]

Hi, you are also a macro shooter and you know about good details like shadow, contrast, highlights and so on...

Silver Efex is a software for conversion into B&W only. For tone mapping or tonal contrast adjustment, is a different software and it will also work in color too.

Would u like share the "different software" that u mean?

 

[MGohzxc]

It is quite obvious that you apply the rule of third here. We know rules are good guidelines but sometimes it just don't work for some composition.
In this shot, your foreground leads to a not so interesting sky and again the details and presentation. For me would be 1/4 sky and 3/4 for the rest.

 

[MGohzxc]

Dinner time..... and good luck to MLS....

 

[robin-ang]

Dinner time..... and good luck to MLS....

Ok...enjoys ur dinner thanks for ur sharing

 

[thoongeng]

Hi, I think presentation is very important for the viewer and also attention to details. The angle you shot for this photo is definitely not good for composition. The jetty is touching the background and should have a separation between them. Most of the time and if you are shooting in raw, post processing is important to bring out good details from the raw files. For example, the sky has quite interesting clouds details which can help the photo to look a little more interesting. Highlights and shadows are important and sometimes can make the photo "pop".

What I'm trying to say here is the presentation to the viewer is very important and attention to details.

I have used the black card technique for almost two years and is fun but not every time you shoot a land or seascape photo. I do not know what lens you are using and I am not a technical person. For this photo, will be good to shoot at f16 to get a little more focus on those "chimneys" in the background which I find it quite interesting too.


This is just a quick example how you can bring out some details for the sky.

Let me know to remove it.

Hi, Sorry I did it so quick and will try............ For this one, I will first go into my favorite Silver Efex for conversation to black and white and in the preset, I use a orange filter to have the clouds visible comparing to the original shot. Then, I uses another software for tonal contrast and that is where I will play with three different slider, highlight contrast, mid tone contrast and most important shadow contrast. After this, add a little shadow and highlight. Tonal contrast is something like tonemapping. To make it a little more interesting, I did a little cross processing in order not to have it in total black and white.

The master has spoken!!!
:think: thought school reopened? hehe... thanks for spending your 'homework' time to critique the photos here! And thanks for spending time to PP my photo to illustrate your point! Please keep your picture, inspiring for PP-wannabes how to salvage a sucky photo hee...

I admit that photo was really not good. Mistakes :embrass::
1. The sunset was not too inspiring so was spending more time chatting with my friend =p. Didn't pay attention to the jetty merging with the horizon or going around to find a better angle
2. Using my usual auto-watermarking process so kept the picture at 3:2 format. For both photos should have cropped off the unnecessary stuff/foreground like in your example
3. Need to spend more time with the post-processing. I was also trying to get more contrast but only doing simple adjustment of the curves. Probably have to learn tone mapping stuff or selective adjustment so to enhance the contrast in the clouds without making the jetty too dark


Regarding your point of getting the 'chimneys' in the background in focus, I was using the Canon 10-22mm lens, and the image shot at 10mm (effective focal length of 16mm). At F8 the hyperfocal distance is 0.67m, I manually focused I think at 1.5m so theoretically everything from the jetty and behind should be sharp. Not sure if it's blur due to atmospheric haze (which theoretically can be reduced with a circular polarizer) from the distance away, or there may be focusing issue with my lens.
(hmm... have to get out of my armchair and shoot more... and try more different settings... ;p)

 

[MGohzxc]

Hi thoongeng,,
School just re-opened and not so many home work. I am not some master or anything. I am still learning a lot and the beautiful part about learning photography is never ending...

There is a reason why this is the second time I commented on your photos. I find that you are helpful with some of the CS members and you actually bother to give C&C with encouragement. That is good and I would like to share with you what I know but I am still a newbie.

I am quite sure that most of us shoot in raw all the time. Take example of raw food.
Raw food we need to cook before we can eat. If you cook it properly with the right ingredients, it will really taste nice and delicious.
So for the raw files in photography, if you process it properly with the right tools and the right ways to extract those details, it will be really nice.
Of course, you will need lot of practice, reading, experiment and the result will not be disappointing. Talk is easy and if you don't try, you will never find out how.
What I'm saying here is that, taking a good shot with a good composition is as equal importance to a proper post processing.

If I remember. hyperfocal= focal length / aperture + CoC. Is this right?:think:
Anyway, I have not been using this hyperfocal for most of my shots. I have been using another method which is my own.... I'm not saying how...

I am also using the same lens as you and I don't find it sharp at all. My kit lens is much better in sharpness. If shooting at f16, it is terrible. Shooting below f16 is much better but still not sharp. i guess the lens is like this and I am not technical at all.

 

[thoongeng]

Hehe thanks! I have benefitted from the comments on photos (mine or others) from the shifus here so just hope to share whatever I know. I found posting photos here a bit daunting because of the high standards, so trying to be a bit more encouraging and hope people will continue to post photos so that everyone can learn (including myself hehe). I like to read, so can only share about more technical stuff cos these can be read, but still need much more practise to be able to comment on stuff like composition =p

Though you're a 'newbie' (don't think many here will agree with that haha) but you have a unique eye and perspective. For me I don't have that creative side, so only starting to learn about the rules, use it, then can know when to break them...

agree with you that post-processing is also important. Nowadays photos on the internet are almost always 'enhanced', such that out-of-camera photos looks dull hee... picked up a post-processing book recently and quite amazed how technology has advanced to make processing much easier

:think: hmm you're more technical than me... I still can't figure out the formula for hyperfocal, just using the online calculator heh... key in some of my usual apertures then kiasu a bit set the manual focus to be a little more than that. For those who wanna know more can take a look at daredevil123's article :
Confessions of a Sensory Addict: Getting Everything into Focus

Your 'kit' lens not the usual kit lens hee, it's my upgraded most-used general purpose lens and is really sharp, recently got the 10-22 to try out the wider perspective. I try not to shoot above F11 so don't really see that much difference in sharpness