Before And After

[redangel]

Photoshop treatments....have we had a thread where a before after PS has been shown? Just think it would be interesting for us PS newbies/those thinking of getting PS to get a grasp on what we can achieve.

[Kirislin]

I'd love to see that too, I think I've asked in the past. I'd be curious to see pics straight out of camera and then with post processing. I know Ash posted one a couple of years ago and it was amazing, a little girl sitting under a tree became suddenly very magical and would be enough to make you believe in fairies. The most I can manage is a bit of cropping, sharpening and or contrast, that's about it.

[redangel]

Thats it! That was the picture! I knew I wasnt dreaming it!

Well Id like to revive it for some fresh encouragement.....any takers????

[Ashanali]

I'll drag something out soon enough...

[helen]

Here is one after image, just amazing, hard to imagine what the before image was like. http://www.vigex.org/Slideshow.html?SalonY...SalonSection=CE - there were 2 brothers from Argentina and the work they entered was just amazing

[redangel]

Agreed. Thanks for the link

[Ravyk]

I have a few which I whipped up quickly.

Original:

After Photoshopping:

Original:

After Photoshopping and Cropping:

[redangel]

Cool...for further posts can we brief what has been done. Thanks Ravyk for taking the time to post for this. It shows the development of the final shot.

[kja]

There is a very good, very open thread over on POTN on RAW conversions before and after. This thread is awesome as it shows the power of editing without gettin' jiggy in photoshop - all edits are done without photoshop manipulations or the like. They only use a RAW converter program such as Lightroom or Aperture or ACR or DPP (that comes with your Canon dslr!). In the thread each poster gives screen shots of the settings used and will offer a step by step a lot of the time, too. It's very friendly and helpful and newbies are encouraged.

I think somewhere I found a help thread like that for Photoshop where people weren't afraid to share their techniques, but as I'm not a huge PS user I can't remember and it looks like I don't have it linked.

Totally Rad has a recipe link that will also show you before and afters as well as the steps people took to get there. Yes, these are almost exclusively steps used with the Totally Rad Actions, but I think they can still be interesting even if you don't have them - you can reverse engineer, get ideas and explore more of those drop down menus and sliders

[redangel]

Thanks...sorry if you think I was "after trade secrets LOL" wasnt trying to offend ...just a newbie wanting to explore the concepts of PS and its applications. I am always amazed at the photos shown and sometimes just have trouble getting in my mind what the befores might have been....Thank you JS for the info.

KJA thank you for the reference.

[rocco]

You may find that some people won't be comfortable sharing the details of the editing they've done, especially if they've developed a signature style. I know it's helpful for people learning to use editing programs (and I'm still learning myself) but it often takes someone a long time to work out their own way of doing things and may not want others copying what they do. I would love to know how a few DOLers get the final look that they consistently produce but feel it would be rude to ask them. I'm not having a go at you at all, just letting you know this issue did come up in another thread some time ago and you may not get quite the response you're looking for.

I see photographers trying to copy others styles, right down to the same backgrounds, its cringing. There's inspiration and then there is straight copy.

redangle, you should jump on you tube and start looking at the PS territorials. There are some great one. You get to see before and after shots while at the same time see how its done. You will really enjoy it.

[redangel]

Cool Rocco...will do this. I am currently thinking of upgrading to PS from Paintshop Pro, I just want to explore...im more visual than working from manual kinda person. (If that makes sense)

[Kirislin]

You may find that some people won't be comfortable sharing the details of the editing they've done, especially if they've developed a signature style. I know it's helpful for people learning to use editing programs (and I'm still learning myself) but it often takes someone a long time to work out their own way of doing things and may not want others copying what they do. I would love to know how a few DOLers get the final look that they consistently produce but feel it would be rude to ask them. I'm not having a go at you at all, just letting you know this issue did come up in another thread some time ago and you may not get quite the response you're looking for.

I understand what you're saying but then again, those editing facilities are available to anyone with the program. The photographers didn't invent them. I love the Lomo effect. If someone else does it here and then I too started doing it, it doesn't mean I am copying their style, we just like the same thing.

Fair enough that they dont have to give a blow by blow account of how they came to create that effect, but if someone else stumbles upon it too, I dont consider it copying just because another person has used it first.

[becandcharch]

Lots of before and afters here http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=684360

[Kirislin]

I certainly didn't mean that particular programs or effects are the sole domain of individual photographers. I think there's a difference though between deciding to use the Lomo effect, HDR, monochrome etc.. and being given the specifics of how someone with a very definite style (such as Rocco, Ruthless, Tess, becandcharch etc) gets from the in camera version to their final edited version. I very much got the impression that this thread was designed to have people share details of how their editing process and how they achieved their final result, although purely for learning purposes and not to rip off people's ideas. I don't mind sharing some of my stuff as I don't think I have developed a signature style yet but I understand why photographers who have would be reluctant to do so, especially if they're earning an income off of their style.

I dont think so, well, I didn't take it that way, the OP only asked for before and afters, not blow by blow how to's. Although even if she did ask that, she wouldn't be the first.

[helen]

I have bought a few photography books lately, one a yearbook from 1980s, another dog photography history book. It is an eye opener when you read these books to see what people think is copying actually orginated much longer ago then you think (although not photoshop, along the same thoughtwave). You can see Rachael Hale style (shallow dof with eyes sharp) from the 1970s, dogs framed by things have been around since 1920's, the popular dogs and legs from the 1920s which is repeated in later years, dogs on decking looking down in 1960s and again in 1973. In the 1980s yearbook there were landscape and portrait ideas that are popular now in that book.

[helen]

The best photoshop editing advice I have received came from a professional landscape photograher. He only edits one element of a photo at a time, so selects the element and then adjust using curves, levels, saturation etc to get the look he wants, very rarely would he do an edit to an entire image.

Edited June 2, 2010 by helen

[JAG]

.

Edited June 10, 2010 by JAG

[kja]

I think it's kind of a shame that with such a nice community here that more people aren't willing to share before/after images AND the way they got there.

Now, I realise some of you may read this and think a) Pot. Kettle. Since I haven't added any either. I'd be happy to but most of the things I do are not done in Photoshop, but in Lightroom which is often a different kettle of fish. My life is also crazy lately and I haven't had a lot of energy to do much of anything that isn't existing. I'll try to pop something up in the next few days should there be any interest.

b) It's alright for you to say that because you don't have a super-duper secret processing style that you don't want people to rip off. This is true, however, it takes more than a processing style to make a great photo and if people are worried about that processing being copied because they think they'll be put out of business if someone does copy it step by step, then I respectfully say that I think the original photographer has bigger issues. I have a couple of friends who have a definitive style for certain types of shots - they have been very open about showing exactly how they got there. And all the "copiers" I've seen don't come close, even with step by step on similar shots. Mostly the copiers see that so don't keep banging their heads against walls, but take what they've learned to experiment more and to evolve their own way of doing things.

I doubt highly that many people here on DOL are going to steal another DOLers process and apply it to everything they do...and if they do, so what? I see threads like this as opportunities to share, explore, learn, evolve and play.

[becandcharch]

Lots of before and afters here http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=684360

Der. I just realised kja already posted this at the start