What are the common first things done when PP?

[pentahedron]

I haven't really tried editing my photos much, so I was wondering if there any common things one should look for and do when PP a image. I see a lot of photos on flickr that are obviously PP and sometimes the owner will post the original image in the comments and the difference between the two is like night and day. The original sometimes looks bland, but is PP to look like art.

I currently have gimp downloaded since it seems to have a lot of the basic functions and more that Photoshop has when I used it a while back.

[RichardTaylor]

This thread, on this site, will give you an idea.

Digital Image Editing Workflow

[Photologyst]

It depends on which software you are using.

The above link is for a Photoshop/Elements workflow. However, if you use Lightroom, you will probably go down the Develop Module pretty much in order. I tend to crop first, adjust white balance and then on down the line. If there is anything “special” to be done, such as softening faces, brightening eyes, blurring backgrounds I will pull the pix into Photoshop. Sharpening is last and that may be done in Photoshop or Lightroom—depending.

[wulf]

With the Gimp, I typically step through a few operations although it depends on the picture.

Firstly, I'll apply some colour correction, if needed. The levels tool - setting black, white and grey points - is great for this. I'll then do some work on contrast. Duplicating the layer and setting the top copy to "overlay" and turning the opacity down to taste is a quick way of doing this. I sometimes combine this with another approaching, using the curves tool (which also lets me tweak the balance of colours). At this stage, I would also be adding any additional overlay layers, like filters or flat colours.

The image is fairly well developed by this point, so the next step is to crop and resize. Typically I will crop to a regular ratio, like 3:2 or 4:3, and then resize so that the sides are nice round numbers (like 2400x1800px). Resizing might be considered unnecessary but I find it helps me feel organised

Finally, I will apply some sharpening (typically using a high-pass sharpening method). Flatten everything and the image is done.

For any given picture, there might be deviations and additions to this routine, but this is my general approach at the moment.

Wulf

[pentahedron]

Thanks. I really need to get into the routine of post processing my images . Since you know how to use Gimp, wulf can you give me an overview of how layers work and flattening & sharpning images? Or a link works lol. I've tinkered around with GIMP a few times so I know what the level tool is, but don't know much of what else I'm doing.

[wulf]

See Chapter 8 of the manual. That tells you all you need to know about layers and is well-illustrated.

That includes the concept of flattening an image (fixing the layers together). You'll need to have a handle on layers to grok the high pass sharpening I referred to.

Wulf

[pentahedron]

Thanks. I'll get started on that tutorial. Could you by chance look at this tutorial and let me know what the author left out?

Gimp Tutorial: How to Add a Vignette to your Photo

I followed it to the T and the vignette layer still won't apply to the image.

[wulf]

I don't think a step has been left out - if anything, it has too many steps. To create a vignette, I create a new layer filled with black. Switch that layer to overlay mode and turn down the opacity and you will see that it darkens the image but still keeps the colours. Set it to a level that is quite intense so the next changes are visible.

Now add a white layer mask to the black layer. That will make no visible change but sets you up for the next stage, painting black on the areas you want unaffected (you can also make selection - for example a large ellipse - and fill that with black). Typically you don't want a sharp edge to the vignette so, making sure the whole layer is selected and that you are working on the mask and not the image itself, apply a blur to soften things (repeat as required - I normally use the Gaussian Blur tool).

Finally select the image part of the layer again and tone down the opacity so the effect is subtle; voila - vignette!

Wulf

[pentahedron]

Ahh I got it. It was the overlay option that was not in there that was giving my trouble. It was orginially set to normal so it wasn't applying. Thanks, this has been helpful and I can start experimenting more with post processing

[Krusty79]

I am pretty green in the PP area and have found this tutorial by LeeR very helpful for most of my images:

Levels: Getting the Professional 'Pop'