Need help - photographs on dull days
- Thread starter Narcolepsy
- Start date
There are a couple of commonly-used rules when it comes to shooting on overcast days:
1. Avoid the sky as much as possible - use the overcast conditions as an opportunity to have a giant 'diffuser' in your lighting arsenal. Obviously that's not always going to work for an action shot where you'd like some background, etc, so we'll move on.
2. Use black and white. That's what I've done here. Using Photoshop CS4, I first cloned out that rail in the foreground. Then I rotated (levelling the horizon) and cropped it - the classic 1/3 layout (nothing original there, but it works). Then levels (just using auto, with clipping disabled). Then black and white conversion, setting the colour conversion to occur in a way that brings the subjects' details out (the horse's head, the rider's jacket, etc). Then I did a very gentle 20% burn on the sky - you never want to overdo this, otherwise it looks nasty. Then a couple of little dodges here and there. Reduced to 25% size for posting here, and a very gentle unsharp mask and a couple of little sharpens (with the brush) here and there.
Before I did the B&W conversion, it looked okay, but I think it really pops in greyscale.
Note: it looks way better in Photoshop than in a browser or Windows Photo Viewer.
1. Avoid the sky as much as possible - use the overcast conditions as an opportunity to have a giant 'diffuser' in your lighting arsenal. Obviously that's not always going to work for an action shot where you'd like some background, etc, so we'll move on.
2. Use black and white. That's what I've done here. Using Photoshop CS4, I first cloned out that rail in the foreground. Then I rotated (levelling the horizon) and cropped it - the classic 1/3 layout (nothing original there, but it works). Then levels (just using auto, with clipping disabled). Then black and white conversion, setting the colour conversion to occur in a way that brings the subjects' details out (the horse's head, the rider's jacket, etc). Then I did a very gentle 20% burn on the sky - you never want to overdo this, otherwise it looks nasty. Then a couple of little dodges here and there. Reduced to 25% size for posting here, and a very gentle unsharp mask and a couple of little sharpens (with the brush) here and there.
Before I did the B&W conversion, it looked okay, but I think it really pops in greyscale.
Note: it looks way better in Photoshop than in a browser or Windows Photo Viewer.
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I find that getting colors right is the most difficult part of post production. I can almost always get the exposure, contrast, and composition right. But I am rarely satisfied with the colors. My edit here is no exception.
When you have a photo like this, with unappealing colors SOOC, it is tempting to immediately go B&W without trying to do it in color. But I believe every photo can have its colors improved.
Alas, there is rarely a silver bullet for color. I find that getting colors right often requires every tool in the LR kit.
When you have a photo like this, with unappealing colors SOOC, it is tempting to immediately go B&W without trying to do it in color. But I believe every photo can have its colors improved.
Alas, there is rarely a silver bullet for color. I find that getting colors right often requires every tool in the LR kit.
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Tabor Warren Photography
I want to go shoot something with a Canon...
I really like how many different views there are on how the end image could look. This is definitely one of my favorite posts.
-Tabor
-Tabor
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