How about a "before and after" Processing Thread

Ive seen some amazing processing on this site in particular.
In an effort to try to improve my skills as well as those of others on this site, how about posting your before and after processing shots and let us know how you got from point A to point B.
Are you willing to share some of your processing secrets ?

Jim, I'll second your recommendation. I've been thinking about this lately as well, so much so as suggest just a Raw shot thread, one exposure, no processing except to get the image to NPN specs.

I've even seen some other sites do a contest where the site posted a unedited image and had a weekly / monthly contest on who did the best processing. Might be worth a thought.....?

This is something I've advocated before - put an unprocessed pic up (or close to it - but a RAW file posting would be great) and let everyone respond with their versions. I'm not so curious to learn post-processing technique, and much as I am about the different choices or interpretations people would make. I don't think a "contest" is necessarily a good idea though...

I'm all for it, and would be happy to post a pic...

This interests me a lot too. Not aware of any other forums that have this, and it could be useful.


Kent in SD

Just my .02...

How about this: A person posts the fully processed image and asks if viewers want to see the unprocessed jpeg (created from the original RAW file) along with their general processing procedure.

Personally, I don't really care to see the original file, but I may be interested in how the photographer processed the posted image. The 'proof in the pudding' is the final image, in my opinion.

I do agree with David that it would be interesting to see the various interpretations of a supplied unprocessed image.

-P

I would love to see this. There is so much to learn. I personally would like to see both unprocessed and processed files.

I'd be happy to leave this post wide open for suggestions, again its an effort to improve both my skills in pp and other viewers as well

This is a great idea. Post unprocessed and processed files, with info on how you achieved the final image. I agree with others that this would be a great leaning tool. When do we start?

I agree this could be a great learning aid. I'm an old dog that finds it difficult to learn new tricks. Going from film to digital has not been easy, especially with the 25 year gap between the 2. Thanks for the suggestion Jim!

Like the ideas. Pick one and get it started, then we can adjust as we go. Like the thought of starting with the unprocessed RAW image.

Thanks for getting a thread started, Jim.

Bill Brennan

A big yes on posting an unprocessed file, and letting members post the finished product in the same thread. Only problem is I'd really like to be able to work with a much bigger image than 720 px, and probably wouldn't bother with such a small file. Maybe a simple link to a large image stored on a photo hosting website would be the answer. It would probably be easy to get this going by just posting a pic.

I would love to see this too. Picking up some photoshop skills specific to nature photography is something I'd really like to get out of this web site. Seeing various interpretations of an image would be great too. Having only minimal PS skills myself (I don't know how to use masks, and I still can't see what "vibrance" does), it's hard to imagine how different they could really be while still retaining their naturalness.

I like all the suggestions, Im unsure about how to post a large enough image (RAW) as well,, so I leave it open to anybody who would like to volunteer an image and or location. If and when modifications are made, please tell us how you got from point A to point B
Thanks again, I hope this works as I think it would be very informative and educational for all of us

Jim,

Browsers cannot display camera RAW files. The camera RAW file would have to converted to a jpeg file type and then sized to meet the NPN image posting guidelines.

-P

I dont think that this forum will be good for learning the details of processing. If someone really wants to learn, take a workshop with a willing photographer and practice a lot. Here you can a get a lot of idea and directions on how one can render a particulat raw image - that's more valuable than anything

Browsers cannot display camera RAW files. The camera RAW file would have to converted to a jpeg file type and then sized to meet the NPN image posting guidelines.

I think the point of posting the raw would be for people to download it, not look at it in their browser. I assumed it would be a link to the file. But a large "unprocessed" JPG would work OK too I guess.

I dont think that this forum will be good for learning the details of processing. If someone really wants to learn, take a workshop with a willing photographer and practice a lot. Here you can a get a lot of idea and directions on how one can render a particulat raw image - that's more valuable than anything.

Agreed Arnab - That's why I'm most interested in seeing what interpretations or tweaks people would come up with. Although I'm certain some new tips and tricks would come out of it as well.

One problem with this might be that with a Raw image there is no point A!

What would be "unprocessed?"

With Raw, a point A. is entirely arbitrary, just like a negative hanging on the wall. I guess one could compare the finished version to the JPEG or the Raw profile that mimiks the JPEG but that really could not be considered "unprocessed."

Maybe A could be once the raw enters PS, and B after the fine tuning in PS?