Lens-Artists Challenge #294: Before and After
Creating art in post-processing is not very different from developing film in a dark room in the old days. In both cases, the photographer manipulates the image to reproduce the experience when the photo was captured. For this week’s Lens-Artists challenge, John states that he finds “it most satisfying to pull out the digital information within an image to improve its impact or simply bring it to look” as he envisioned when capturing the scene. I am confident that many photographers share that same passion. So, I will give you three images shot in 2004 with a 1.9-megapixel point-and-shoot camera. An image makeover was much needed. Using Lightroom, Topaz Photo AI, Photoshop, and/or Luminar Neo, I could revive what my eyes saw when I captured the images. My workflow was very similar for each image.
First, because of the limited number of pixels in these images, I started by upscaling them in Topaz Photo AI. I was able to go from 1.9 MP to 12 MP. I usually don’t upscale more than that at first. Back in Lightroom, I worked mainly with two panels: Calibration and Basic. I got some color back that had been missing in the low-resolution images. I go light on Calibration because it affects the entire image. I prefer to apply localized masks for more detail and color realism. I can do that by masking the sky and selecting other areas. One recent addition to Lightroom was the Point Color brush in the Color Mixer panel. The level of color detail you can enhance is impressive! The next step was to export the edited photo to Luminar Neo or Photoshop. In Luminar Neo, I like to use these panels: Enhance AI, Supercontrast, Color (very good in eliminating color cast), Relight, Develop, Erase, and Blur (I like Luminar Neo’s Blur way better than Lightroom’s). In Photoshop, my first stop is always Curves, where I adjust highlights and shadows. Sometimes, I do a soft pop, saturation adjustment, and/or brightness/contrast corrections. Finally, back in Lightroom, I will do the final edits, enhance the image, and crop. Not every photo requires all those steps, but all images get a soft vignette. I suggest you click on the photos for a larger version to see the results in each image.
If you’ve ever been to Ketchikan, Alaska, you will remember how vibrant Creek Street looks with the colorful buildings lined up along the creek. The original image was very dull. Furthermore, the people in the lower right corner were a bit distracting for me. I blurred them using Luminar Neo.
Our next stop is the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. I was pleased to bring back the presence of the sky in the actual scene. Also, more details were revealed in the mountains and glacier itself. Although there were three people in the lower left corner of the original image, I left only one to give a sense of dimension to the glacier’s size. The others were erased.
Finally, I go into Denali National Park. Some may suggest I could have tried a sky replacement, but I did not want any distractions from the mountains. I kept the original sky but used a different crop in the final image. That served two purposes: it eliminated part of the bland sky and brought the Alaskan Range much closer, giving it a more substantial impact. As you can see, I played with highlights and shadows in the lower portion of the image, as well as clarity and sharpness. I reduced those to keep the attention on the mountains.
Last week, Sofia challenged us to get water into motion. Your magnificent photos covered the entire water spectrum, from water droplets to raging waterfalls. Every post was full of surprises, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them.
I look forward to seeing your responses to John‘s before-and-after challenge. Please leave a comment on the host’s original challenge post and use the hashtag “lens-artists” in your post.
Join us next week when Donna will introduce a new Lens-Artists challenge. We look forward to your participation. Please see this page to learn more about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history.
pattimoed
Um…now I’m curious to try Topaz AI! Your edits really enhance the colors and details, Egidio. I am especially drawn to your glacier image. The sky is just gorgeous! Beautiful work!
Egídio Leitão
Thanks, Patti. Topaz is very good in eliminating noise and adding sharpness.
PR
I like your edits Egidio 😀. Erasing people – that’s like having Thanos’s ring 😉.
Egídio Leitão
Hehehe… That was pretty good, PR. Thanks for the feedback.
SoyBend
I liked the vibrant colors in your Ketchikan photo, Egidio. Good idea to leave a person next to the glacier. I’ve seen it in person and it’s hard to get that scale across. Your Denali picture is also nice with those clear blue skies.
Egídio Leitão
Thank you very much, Siobhan. Another post in my blog I have another glacier photo. As you mentioned, it is hard to get a sense of how large those glaciers are unless we have a person or something to compare. We were lucky in Alaska. We were able to see Denali three days in a row. Pure magic! Thanks for the feedback.
Cee Neuner
Bold and beautiful indeed. Great post 😀
Egídio Leitão
Thanks for your feedback, Cee.
Amy
Excellent edit results! Love the Denali NP photo especially.
Egídio Leitão
Thank you very much, Amy.
Ingrid
Good editing makes such a huge difference in the quality of an image. Well done!
Egídio Leitão
Thank you very much, Ingrid.
Rupali
Quite interesting.
Egídio Leitão
Thank you for the comment.
Leanne Cole
I think in these images you have really brought out the details and you most certainly have made them more bold. They are great Egidio.
Egídio Leitão
Leanne, thank you so much for your compliment. I appreciated that.
Rebecca Cuningham
Great saves!
Egídio Leitão
Thanks, Rebecca.
Vicki
I love your edits and am glad you reduced the horizon (or sky) in the Denali shot. It made the mountains much more significant in the overall composition.
Egídio Leitão
Vicki, thank you for the comment. Nowadays, I try to eliminate the sky whenever it is bland.
Toonsarah
An interesting set of edits – I so agree with you that digital editing is simply replacing what photographers used to do in the darkroom. I think the glacier one is the most effective, improving the sky and adding texture.
Egídio Leitão
Sarah, that glacier shot was the most surprising to me, too. Thanks for the feedback.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
Very lovely edits.
Egídio Leitão
Thank you so much!
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
Egídio, I think these are spot on edits, they are really well done. For some reason my favorite is Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, even though they all are excellent
Egídio Leitão
Ritva, that photo of the glacier was great to work on. I was surprised that a JPEG still had some room to bring out colors and textures. Thanks for the feedback.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
Yes, my photos were JPEG’s too and it did limit the edits a bit.
margaret21
I actually like both photos in the pairs you present. They just emphasise a different quality in the scenes you’ve chosen. The unedited ones are perhaps more atmospheric? Certainly in the case of the glacier. All great images, however!
Egídio Leitão
Margaret, what a sharp eye you have! Yes, I see what you mean about atmospheric. Thanks for the feedback.
Sofia Alves
Your editing is perfect, Egídio, for your shots. It makes them crisp and vibrant, which is how I would describe your photography. It’s so important to know how to not over do it and you nailed it.
Egídio Leitão
Sofia, I’m always afraid of overdoing my edits. Thanks for your feedback.
Wind Kisses
OK. Truth is, I loved all your images, both before and afters. lol. You just have an eye for what you are looking for. But your editing wisdom will be great for everyone to learn from. I definilty love how you brought hits of color and more crispness in the photos. Always a pleasure, my friend. I learn from you every week.
Egídio Leitão
Donna, I hope that the little I described may be helpful to some people. I appreciate your feedback, as always.
JohnRH
Excellent. I love that mountain range.
Egídio Leitão
Thank you so much, John.
Tina Schell
Great examples of how important small changes can be Egidio. Loved all of your choices – both the images you chose and the edits you made to them.
Egídio Leitão
Thank you, Tina. Your kind words are much appreciated.
Anne Sandler
You certainly took on a challenge Egidio and accomplished it. Nice edits.
Egídio Leitão
Thank you very much, Anne.
photobyjohnbo
I’ve been toying with getting Photo AI to try it out. I’ve read lots of good things about it. Beautiful edit of Denali. That mountain is still on my list of places yet to visit.
Egídio Leitão
Thanks, John. I appreciate your feedback.