Hi. I’ve first posted in the Photolab forum about my attempts to get some pop from RAW files, and it was suggested that I upload files here.
When I take my camera out it’s generally when I’m out for a hike in heather covered granite mountain wilderness, and the RAWs are exceptionally flat, and I’m trying to find a way to bring out what was there whilst still looking reasonably natural.
This is just a very quick attempt, using mostly global adjustments, to bring the photo back to what I thought my eyes saw. From memory, a little Clearview, S-curve on the Green and RGB channels, and a Graduated Filter to reduce exposure on the sky, and a WB eyedropper on the rock.
Thoughts and suggestions welcome.
P7280021.ORF.dop (11.7 KB)
P7280021.ORF (39.5 MB)
I’ve uploaded the original RAW file and the accompanying .dop file, and this screenshot to give a quick snapshot of the before and after.
Hi Alan,
it really depends on what you want to show (see).
VC2 → P7280021.ORF.dop (560,4 KB)
Started with SmartLighting-Spotweighted, selected the small flowers with the global HSL tool, made local adjustments with a few layers/masks from far away to the very front, added a bit depth with dodge & burn and finished with a big reversed control point as an ‘unvisible’ vignette.
Play with the versions to get ideas / find out what you like and have fun.
Wolfgang
BTW, please pay attention to motion(?) blur, which is visible when enlarged.
Hi Alan
Here is my version for processing. Each as you will see above has looked at it slightly differently, so it really comes down to personal preference. To me one needs to darken the foreground slightly to get separation and I also don’t push clarity much on the sky unless there is real drama such as a storm.
Hope you like this.
Andre
P7280021.ORF.dop (132.6 KB)
P7280021.ORF (39.5 MB)
Apologies but forgot to add that a lot comes down to local adjustments. This is where you can create depth and “pop”. Global adjustments only get you partway.
As I noted before, try using a polarizer during the day and watch out for motion blur as Wolfgang also pointed out.
To me it looks like a typical atmospheric blur, you often get on landscapes.
It was probably shot in OM-5 “HiRes” mode, so the RAW has 50mpx derived from a 20mpx, 17.3 x 13 mm sensor. Diffraction at f/11 also played some role.
Actually, if you have FilmPack the 4 Fine Contrast sliders can add a significant amount of “pop”.
Mark
Yes, I was wondering about the reported file size
Maybe the OP can enlighten us and if so
is the result of multiple exposures when using a handheld camera with a relatively slow shutter speed and/or in a windy area.
well, it actually would make it worse in this case
" … the result of multiple exposures when using a handheld camera with a relatively slow shutter speed and/or in a windy area. "
Similar to use ClearView+ globally, which only gives a quick impression of a sharp(er) contrasty pic, but does not really enhance the photo.
Agreed. here’s my version, with the colour temperature raised to where it should be at 5600°K, global Fine Contrast and mid-tone FC as well. Oh, and I changed the colour space to Wide Gamut.
And the DOP with @alan_m’s as master and mine second…
P7280021.ORF.dop (31,4 Ko)
I think to get an image which “pops”, first thing is to get very good focus/sharpness with controled depht of field choice when shooting.
Color “pop” comes in second position with controled sharpness and contrast when post processing.
First, the photo must have some potential to pop. If it’s blurry, it’s hard to make the image “pop”. To some extent this is also true if only “colour pop” is expected. There seem to be the following reasons for the OP photo to be unsharp:
- Diffraction – aperture was set to f/11, which corresponds to f/22 on full frame sensor. For four-thirds sensor, try f/5.6, maybe f/6.3 would also be usable.
- High-Res mode (Olympus pixel shifting), which is very demanding. From exiftool: StackedImage : Hand-held high resolution (11 12). Check optimal recommended stabilization settings for this camera/lens combination (Olympus is outside my competence to help). Use rock solid tripod. Take a spare photo without HighRes mode – it might look better.
- Wind combined with HiRes mode, as pointed out by @Wolfgang. Pixel shifting is good for static images only (unless there is software to combine “intelligently”).
- Haze causing image blur. Not enough to make it moody, too much to make it sharp. Try another day, if possible.
There is some green cast in your version, at least as I see it, so maybe use also something like Tint=+10 ? Camera AWB Temp=5691K, Tint=+12 looks good to me, but that’s just personal opinion.
BTW, the Tone Curve used in OP is probably equivalent to using the Contrast slider.
Thanks.
I need to work out what I do with your .dop file to have a look at your adjustments (presumably download it to a folder with a copy of the original RAW file but the not the original folder).
Thanks Wolfgang. I’ll try having a look at your changes in the next few days (once I’ve worked out what to do with the .dop files).
It’s probably not motion blur, I was trying out a Hi-res function of the camera for the first time where it merges several shots.
Thanks swmurray.
Spot-on. I was trying hi-res mode out for the first time with a particular lens and a couple of different apertures.
I’ve seen someone else mention Fine Contrast to me before. Unfortunately I don’t have Film Pack.
Umm, I can’t agree with your assertion it should be at 5600 K. Looking at the original I strongly suspect the day was much more grey than your version, making your version ‘wrong’. Still, it does give the image a bit more ‘pop’, which is what @alan_m wanted.
PS as a scientist I have to correct your units, it’s not ‘°K’, it’s just ‘K’:
Yes, it was hi-res mode, taking some test shots. Shutter time was 1/160 the EXIF says.