BIF C&C and PP help

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Archive 2009 · BIF C&C and PP help

tommose
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p.1 #1 · BIF C&C and PP help

Here's a photo of some lesser yellowlegs in flight I recently took. I feel something's wrong with it (too dark) and I'd like both some C&C, as well as any PP suggestions you might have.

Thanks!

2012 © tommose

Nov 02, 2009 at 10:13 PM

Mister Bean
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p.1 #2 · BIF C&C and PP help

My steps:
1. Used the auto tone adjustment - sometimes it works, so I'll start with it and see.
2. Converted to B&W.
3. Cropped.

Nov 02, 2009 at 10:47 PM

sbeme

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p.1 #3 · BIF C&C and PP help

A bit under-exposed and soft.
Better with some cropping to a panoramic format, eliminating some of the distraction on top.
Could use a bit of cloning out bits in the water and/or dust on your sensor.
A bit of curves, a lot of sharpening (over-done on a small jpeg, but you get the idea), bump saturation of the water, decreased luminosity of water.
Bump of overall saturation, vibrance.

Checked your EXIF. What lens is this?
I am surprised the image is soft.

Scott

2012 © sbeme

Nov 03, 2009 at 12:01 AM

tommose
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p.1 #4 · BIF C&C and PP help

It's a 100-400L IS lens. It was shot on a cloudy day from a moving vehicle (an airboat).

Nov 03, 2009 at 01:05 AM

AuntiPode
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p.1 #5 · BIF C&C and PP help

I'd suggest using Image>Adjustments>Shadow/Highlights and bumping the shadow sliders a little. Also some Smart Sharpen (to avoid sharpening halos), a little yellow to the Color Balance, a Vibrance and Saturation bump, and a small Contrast bump:

2012 © AuntiPode

Nov 03, 2009 at 01:06 AM

AuntiPode
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p.1 #6 · BIF C&C and PP help

Tom, here's a sequence that should produce a fairly similar result. Follow the eight steps (several posts) using PS CS4. The first image shows the final panel. The second the first change to the image. The third is the sharpening step. The remainder are adjustment layers. BTW, there's nothing special about the sequence, it's just how I got the posted results. If another sequence works better, go for it.

2012 © AuntiPode

Edited on Nov 03, 2009 at 03:12 AM · View previous versions

Nov 03, 2009 at 03:06 AM

AuntiPode
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p.1 #7 · BIF C&C and PP help

And then the following adjustment layers:

2012 © AuntiPode

Nov 03, 2009 at 03:08 AM

AuntiPode
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p.1 #8 · BIF C&C and PP help

And ....

Nov 03, 2009 at 03:08 AM

Jo Dilbeck
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p.1 #9 · BIF C&C and PP help

Karen - thanks for posting those steps, it's simply amazing what changes can be made to rescue such a photo. I too strugle with BIF, using the 100-400 lens, mostly with getting the darn AF point in the right place to begin with!

Jo

Nov 03, 2009 at 08:39 PM

AuntiPode
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p.1 #10 · BIF C&C and PP help

Thanks, Jo. I'm not a PS expert by any stretch of the imagination, and it's always better to start with strong images, but with some effort PS can mine an amazing amount of photo goodness from what might otherwise be disappointing images.

Nov 03, 2009 at 09:20 PM

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