Posted by Andy Shepherd on January 3, 2008 at 10:26 AM
Hi to all,
Bittern , photographed at Potteric Carr the other day , this is the first RAW image that I've processed , so any tips on how to approach this would be appreciated , I'm using Canon's DPP software until Capture One arrives.
One question I have is should I use the sharpen tool in DPP or should I leave this until after conversion to a TIFF and do it in PS after resizing for web
The image isn't really for critique but more for how the image looks after converting and processing.
Levels , Sharpen in DPP , Usm(100,0.5,1 x1 in PS) , Cropped for comp
Looks like you're off to a flying start using Raw. The image looks very good to me, a pleasing and natural looking white balance and sharp and detailed too.
Only slight thing is the bird looks a touch over sharpened, noticeable by the very faint halo appearing above the birds head.
Regarding sharpening processes, there are numerous different approaches.
Applying just a very mild sharpening in the Raw converter is quite a popular method, just enough to take the softness off an image which is due to the Anti-aliasing(sp?) filter in front of the sensor.
I tend to leave everything unsharpened and only sharpen after resizing for print or for the web.
Nice image and a great subject for your initial experimentations with Raw.
Looks a nicely processed image, colours are accurate.
Posted by Andy Shepherd on January 3, 2008 at 11:27 AM
Hi Justin,
Thanks for the comments and advice , their very much appreciated , after finally making the switch to RAW I was very supprised to see how big a jump in image quality there was over jpg , only wished I'd switched sooner.
Hi Andrew,
Yes Raw is certainly the way to go for the very best quality, and the beauty is, even if you only shoot in Raw mode, a jpeg can still be extracted from the Raw file in just a second or two using the excellent Breezebrowser,etc.
Posted by John Varley on January 3, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Looks good to me Andrew. 1/20th sec - that's one of the nice things about bitterns - they do know how to sit really still for their pic.
Looks good ... a great start to RAW and a great subject too....
Posted by Paul Ashton on January 3, 2008 at 2:20 PM
Getting a shot of one of these is very satisfying and you take what's given. Using RAW is the way to go. Sharpen in PS when you've got everything else how you want it. Watch out for the halos. Using USM keep the radius low. On the example posted you could have use the histroy brush to remove the halo around the head.
Posted by Andy Shepherd on January 3, 2008 at 3:31 PM
Hi Guys,
Thanks for your comments , the processing of RAW images hasn't been as difficult as I was led to believe , so thanks to those on this forum that gave me a kick up the ar@e and encouraged me to switch , cheers guys.
Regards
Andy...
Posted by Edwin kats on January 3, 2008 at 3:33 PM
RAW rules!!!!! Great shot and wonderful subject in it's natural environment.
Keep them comming.
Edwin
Posted by Paul Williams on January 3, 2008 at 5:47 PM
Posted by Guy Rogers on January 4, 2008 at 9:52 AM
Hello Andrew it looks fine to me, and I love the way you have captured it in its environment. It shows just how well they blend in.
As for RAW I would'nt be able to pull of some of the images I do with out it. Its amazing just what you can do with a RAW file.
All the best Guy.
Posted by Mark Fellowes on January 4, 2008 at 11:22 AM
Lovely shot of the bittern, irrespective of how you got there!
Mark
Posted by eric weight on January 4, 2008 at 11:41 AM
Well done Andrew,
That's a beauty and very nicely processed. I like to see the subject set in its environment. The downside is that there will always be a stick or a reed in the way, but that in itself tells the story of where they live and why they live there. Eric
Posted by Andy Shepherd on January 5, 2008 at 3:34 PM
Hi to all,
Once again , thanks for taking time to look and comment
Discussion
16 repliesBittern , photographed at Potteric Carr the other day , this is the first RAW image that I've processed , so any tips on how to approach this would be appreciated , I'm using Canon's DPP software until Capture One arrives.
One question I have is should I use the sharpen tool in DPP or should I leave this until after conversion to a TIFF and do it in PS after resizing for web
The image isn't really for critique but more for how the image looks after converting and processing.
Levels , Sharpen in DPP , Usm(100,0.5,1 x1 in PS) , Cropped for comp
Canon 40D , 500F4IS , Gitzo1325 , Wimberley v2
1/20th @ F9 iso400 RAW
Regards
Andy...
Only slight thing is the bird looks a touch over sharpened, noticeable by the very faint halo appearing above the birds head.
Regarding sharpening processes, there are numerous different approaches.
Applying just a very mild sharpening in the Raw converter is quite a popular method, just enough to take the softness off an image which is due to the Anti-aliasing(sp?) filter in front of the sensor.
I tend to leave everything unsharpened and only sharpen after resizing for print or for the web.
Nice image and a great subject for your initial experimentations with Raw.
Thanks for the comments and advice , their very much appreciated , after finally making the switch to RAW I was very supprised to see how big a jump in image quality there was over jpg , only wished I'd switched sooner.
Regards
Andy...
Yes Raw is certainly the way to go for the very best quality, and the beauty is, even if you only shoot in Raw mode, a jpeg can still be extracted from the Raw file in just a second or two using the excellent Breezebrowser,etc.
Dave
Thanks for your comments , the processing of RAW images hasn't been as difficult as I was led to believe , so thanks to those on this forum that gave me a kick up the ar@e
Regards
Andy...
Keep them comming.
Edwin
As for RAW I would'nt be able to pull of some of the images I do with out it. Its amazing just what you can do with a RAW file.
All the best Guy.
Mark
That's a beauty and very nicely processed. I like to see the subject set in its environment. The downside is that there will always be a stick or a reed in the way, but that in itself tells the story of where they live and why they live there.
Once again , thanks for taking time to look and comment
Kind regards
Andy...