Question About Saturation?

Since a recent post has brought up the topic of saturation I would like to ask if there is a guideline for too much or not enough saturation? I know some of it is personal preference, but recently I was editing this pic of Morro Bay and thought my usual editing guidelines didn't seem to do it justice when it came to color and possibly it's wow factor (for lack of a better term).

I use Aperture II for PP and usually start with White Balance correction if needed; an increase of Contrast to 15%; Saturation decreased to -10%; and the Vibrancy slider to about 10 - 15%. I don't know if Photo Shop has a vibrancy slider, but it supposed to saturate only the colors in the image that need it. Exposure, Highlight and Shadow recovery are mixed in there with another Saturation correction if needed. Usually I might add a little more vibrancy (5-10%) and bring the Saturation up to a + 10 or 20%. This particular image I found myself at a 40% increase in Saturation. See the 2nd image for comparison. It is edited with my typical PP Saturation settings. When do you all say enough is enough when it comes to saturation? Is my image too saturated?

I don't know how much Aperture and Photoshop differ, but any advice would be great. I might just be over-thinking my PP too much. Thanks everyone.

Kind Regards,

- DMP

Here is the 2nd image for comparison.

David, to be honest at first glance the top portion of the photo seems to have a color gradient which is almost like a sunset filter was used so to me the modifications on the bottom of the image look pretty optimal since it's strong backlighting. The top of the image just has me curious. The vibrance tool works with saturation, sometimes pushing vibrance and pulling down the saturation at the same time. All images usually vary and it's best to adjust saturation after all editing is done since each contrast adjustment is going do something to color in the image. Well that's just how I do it but I'm sure everyone varies on their own personal workflow.

David, I think you have a thread here known as the "third rail" in photo optimization. Like Steve I make my final adjustments to saturation at the very end. With that said I would also say I struggle more with that adjustment then any other processes in PS.
Although I think I'm a bit better at it these days, it is still hard for me to figure the "best look" for the finished product.
The comment Lon made in another thread sums it up IMO, basically making it look "believable" is the key and I think we all shoot for that overall. It would seem that acceptance to over saturation is more and more the norm in various galleries although not the total answer for sure.
IMO I think it just takes a lot of practice at the adjustments and bumping up against the gamut warning indicator at times to get the right touch in the end.

Thanks. I will go with the one that is more "believable". Very new to PP and I find myself over-editing a lot, so thanks for the advice. I'll start to rely more on my film experience while editing and use contrast and exposure to get the colors I want - using saturation as a last resort in the end process. Less is more..

Steve to answer your curiosity no sunset filter was used. Instead, I used a three and two stop GND filters. Seem to get this pinkish/purple sky when I use them together, especially when the skies are relatively clear. In the past I blamed it on my cheap filters, but have recently upgraded to Singh-Ray. Any idea why this happens? Thanks.

- DMP

Stacked Singh-Ray filters will often give you a pink cast... when used in moderation it can work quite nicely, but it can also be a real pain. I've never encountered a scene that looked right with anything more than a 3-stop filter... if you need more than that, you usually are better off bracketing and blending portions of the image (in addition, or in lieu of the filter). In this example the sky looks too pink/purple and too dark for my taste... but everyone has their own preferences. Most people on NPN lean towards "natural", and it takes a lot of practice to learn how to achieve that (at least it took me a long time!).

I do a conservative base saturation/vibrance adjustment in my raw conversion (same for every image), then do all my editing in PS, and lastly apply some additional saturation selectively, either with Tony K's saturation masks, or by hand painting it on where I think it's needed. Saturation is like contrast, in that for some images more is needed/better, in some less, and above all, a contrast in saturation is often appropriate. By selectively editing saturation you can do things like keep portions of the image high key, and up the saturation a lot, as opposed to reducing the exposure to simulate increased saturation... this lets you use more of the dynamic range available to you rather than just underexposing everything. Also, I find warm colors can handle more saturation than cool colors - I often find myself desaturating blues (maybe it's Canon?).

One tool not to be overlooked is "Selective Color" (assuming one uses Photo Shop). I create a "Selective Color" adjustment layer and then work with each of the CMY, RGB, blacks, Whites, and Neutrals, as needed.

One thing that is cool about this tool is that you can add black, or subtract black from any color. You can also adjust CMY.

I do create, and use, a Saturation adjustment layer (or maybe more than one, if needed). I then adjust each color individually; I do not use the "Master' sliders.

Here's a great tip on saturation from West Coast Imaging...

A Trick with Hue/Saturation.

-p

Thank you all for the help.

- DMP