Too much post production?

[mc1979]

Hi all, I'm a newbie here, and also to the world of photography. I have ALOT to learn!! I just thought I'd post my first pic here..I would like constructive criticism and was wondering if I did a little too much in post production? My daughter had just fallen off her bike, her ego was hurt more than anything.. I just thought it was a great shot.. I used Gimp for post production, softening the image up a bit using the soft glow filter. Is it too much?

[graciousness]

Yeah, it's too much. You can hardly see her tears her face is too soft.

Needs some more contrast and it would be nice to see more of the pinkness of her cheeks and lips. It also seems to be overexposed?

[mc1979]

Thanks!
As I said I am so new to this.. when you say overexposed... what exactly does that mean? When I say new.. I mean new to this..LOL

[graciousness]

Can you post your EXIF data for this photo? It will help people see the settings that you have used. If you don't know what or how to get this data, go to the main section of this critique forum and read on forum rules and you'll see how you can get this info.

When I said overexposed, I mean that her face is too light or bright.

Ok, so I've just clicked on the photo, taking me to flickr, clicked on the left side where it says what type of camera was used (fujifilm etc), and it will take you to the page with the details of your camera settings when you took the shot (EXIF).

Exif data

Camera Fujifilm FinePix S8100fd
Exposure 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture f/4.5
Focal Length 27.4 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

[shauncunninghamphoto]

Hi MC.

First of all, thanks for posting your photo. Welcome to the forum and to photography. This is actually a great photograph in terms of the moment you caught. The tear and the expression and the "broken ego" look on your daughter's face is great. However, you do need to be a little careful in PP.

Bearing in mind I only had a vastly reduced (and already PP'd) jpg to play with, I have made some PP adjustments and shown the result here which hopefully brings my suggestions to life for you.

As the other user said, the photo was over exposed. Be careful when taking your shot to make sure that highlights and especially faces don't become washed out by ambient light and flash. If you camera has exposure compensation, use it if you need to (but only after you have exhausted more "natural offenders" like flash lighting).

The composition is actually pretty good. Just make sure your PP ensures that you bring out all available definition to enhance the message that you're trying to draw out of your photo.

So, this is what I did (in Lightroom 3):

I dropped exposure back by -1.00
I increased the clarity to show off the tear on your daughters face
I moderately increased the natural color on her cheek to bring out some redness (thus also creating a contrast between her cheek and her tear)
I increased saturation marginally
I increased black levels to give more definition
I selectively added a blue tint to the teardrop using the color brush (very subtely)
I added some vignette (the collapse of black into the image from teh corners) to ensure more attention to your daughter's face

This adjustment took about 3 minutes. I would strongly recommend investing in Lightroom 3.

Thanks again for posting. Great shot. Hope you like my adjustments.

Shaun

www.shauncunninghamphoto.com

[graciousness]

Why don't you post the original, unedited photo so we can see the comparison? Perhaps people can help you better, too, with advising how to edit the photo properly.

I'm a beginner and can't help you technically much, but my eyes sort of work and can only advice from what I see

Poor daughter, hopefully she's recovered well and back on the bike! She's gorgeous

[mc1979]

Thanks Shaun,
Yes I do like you adjustments! And I must say, that I did alot in PP, more than just using the filter, so that is probably where I messed up, because in original photo, she did have more pink in her face, I think I adjusted too much in brightness, and hue. Then after all that, I did the soft glow. Thanks for your advice, and sorry Graciousness for not putting my info up there.. will remember to do so next time. I am also just learning to play around with Gimp, as I said I'm new to all of this..my camera isn't the greatest, but wanted to start out slow..before I go to investing alot of money into software and equipment... I want to make sure that I am at least doing a decent job of getting a good shot!
Shaun, I am most definitely interested in Lightroom 3 and do believe that will be my next purchase. I have still got to learn the basics, and terminology.. which this site has been very helpful at. I appreciate your kindness.

[mc1979]

Here is the original

[edbayani]

i think it is a bit over processed. from your last upload, the original, adjust the color balance by adding in the midtones some cyan to reduce the reddish overall color. then in levels you can increase the contrast a little and if the color is still saturaded, reduce saturation in hue and saturation. attached sample.

[graciousness]

In comparison to your original photo, I do have to say I understand and like the direction of where you were trying to take this image to. You actually did well trying to remove the overall redness to it, but I guess this is where the overexposure effect came into play during the process. But as you feared, it was just a little too over-processed.

I think you just need to do this again now, knowing that it was overdone the first time, and I believe that you will get the effect that will be satisfactory to you on this second attempt. You can read all the advice here and yes, you'll learn, but it's practice and at the same time, editing restraint that will make you and the photo better.

You also have to keep in mind about the file you are using - is it jpeg or RAW? If it's jpeg, too much editing can really ruin the photo, unlike raw where it allows you a lot more room for post-processing. So if this is jpeg, then you really need to minimize what you edit on the photo.