Processing Time

I am curious as to what you would say the average time is you spend on processing an imamge before posting it here....some of the work is so technically perfect that I know there must have been time involved after getting home from your shoot..

Thanks
Darren

It really depends, I've spent anywhere from an hour to 30 seconds, it depends how much the image needs. I've been doing more work in camera these days, like using grads and the like, so I'm spending less and less time processing and getting better and better images. If I had to average, I'd say 5-10 minutes on any image that's worthwhile, but that's not counting when I go back and make changes later.

If I end up spending too much time I feel like I'm "pushing a rope" as my brother says. I start to wonder if the photo is really that good to begin with or if I've just fallen in love with it. More often than not, if I don't get it right real quick, it ain't worth it.

I usually sit at under 5 min. an image. Unless there are serious issues (like tons of mist on the GND from the ocean I have to clone out). Once the image is "final" for print (no sharpening but tonality is set) I save as a 16-bit PSD and then run a custom action that resizes, sharpens, converts to sRGB 8-bit and saves as a JPEG for sharing here on the web. That takes 20 seconds

Iit depends for me also. I sometimes spend and hour if I do a blend and color correction clean up ect. Other times five minutes. If I'm going to print it, Then I usually spend alot more time.

I'm a short time person, I use an action set from Fred Miranda for my D30 (with profile, etc) if I run a linear conversion I use his action set and it takes only a matter of a couple minutes from RAW to finished, no tweaking on my part other than white balance... If I don't do linear then I adjust white balance, contrast, and saturation settings (preset settings) in the Canon RAW program, convert to non-linear, and do a simple levels adjust, and an unsharp mask or 2...

I'm still in the "Film" world to me any more work than a simple repeatable step means I goofed up somewhere... I personnaly don't do anything except make it presentable, I treat digital like film, I get what I get... :D

I used to spend up to hours working an image, but as my PS experience grew...it significantly decreased my processing time. I"d say unless I'm creating a funky creative composite, I spend a couple of minutes to 45 minutes working an image...but my average is about 15 I'd say.

Well I guess I am different. My processing of an image averages days or more. I feel it takes me this amount of time to get to a point where the image fits my vision, but then again shooting 8-10 frames a week is prolific for me.

Personally I didn't realize it was a race.

I don't think racing was the issue, I think it was more of a "how long do you spend on a photo before you decide it ain't worth it" question. I've actually spent days and days and days on four or five photos and have sold them all numerous times. My efforts paid off but I could see the gem in the files.

I don't think that is what he was after. He wants to know how long does it take to process an image before posting here. If it ain't worth it, then I don't think you would post it here.

I also don't think technically perfect is a requisite of a successful image.

What is the definition of technically perfect?

I think I see what Jim may be getting at. Like others, I spend 15 to 20 minutes per image, but then I find it best to set it aside and look at it again the next day. I will then spend another 5 minutes working a different area because I see something I missed when originally processing. I then like to wait another day or two to look again. Each time I look, I may spend another 15 to 20 minutes. I find that if I "race" to post, I more often than not regret that I did. I will see two or three small adjustments that I wish I had made. Most are commented on, but many are not.

I guess it all depends on what you want to get out of the comments you receive from your posts. Sometimes I like to post an image I have only worked minimally to see what others think. Other times, if I feel really good about an image, I want it to look it's best before posting.

If you add up all the time I spend going back over images, I probably average closer to an hour for each.

Thanks Tim.

I think if people were not so much in a rush to get images posted there maybe fewer reposts, unless you are looking for comments to drive your final image, then I tend to agree just throw something out and then use the comments to modify your image to what it should be as perceived by the masses, instead of personal ideas.

actually I was just curious as to how much time you spend from the time you sit down with the image in front of the comp until you decide its worth posting...nothing about racing or any thing like that.....

Darren, I don't try to put a time limit on my processing. Some images are very quick and others require more work. That may or may not be indicative of quality straight out of the camera...

I do think that we sometimes tend to find other things we can tweak in an image if we come back to it at some later date. If this happens, I'll spend some more time with it. And because I don't always think of everything (from an artistic POV), things that others point out when commenting on my image may very well influence me to do additional work.

So, how long on average? Hard to say for sure but probably anywhere from 10-30 minutes is a good number.