English Paul's Duck

[mikemeister_admin]

Here's the duck; at this stage, do you want screen grabs too - of is that better when there are more 'persona;' decisions to be made?

[-default]

Great job on the neutral, and you're retained the highlight detail nicely.  The shadows are still a little on the dark side.

BTW -  I have split your post to a new topic, to avoid mixing up the discussion with other topics.

[mikemeister_admin]

Thanks Mike. I'll have another try.

BTW, I sent a dandelion to the previous stream too; shall we include in this stream or creat another?

Paul

[ggroess]

go ahead and create new threads for each image...
That way we can keep the work straight..

My attached image is from your copy of the duck.  I reopened the image in LAB just to keep it simple and made the change to the L curve shown.  You can do the same on the composite RGB curve but you  can also introduce color shifts that way...Try it both ways and see which is easiest for you...

Greg

[mikemeister_admin]

Attempt #2

[ggroess]

Paul,
I see is as still pretty dark.

My image is on the right and yours is on the left.  How do they look on your display??

If mine looks washed out then keep your correction but if mine looks normal or close to normal you might want to adjust the image some more...
Tell me more about what you have done so i can help...

Greg

[mikemeister_admin]

A couple of points / queries

1) Yours in RGB, mine in LAB - can you advise when to use either?

2) Yours is brighter and 'pops' better than mine by a long way - but the chest feathers look a little overblown. I tried to proect them, but admit that the rest of the shot is rather dark. What's the compromise??

Thanks - this is fun!

[ggroess]

A couple of points / queries

1) Yours in RGB, mine in LAB - can you advise when to use either?

Actually, I would choose LAB first for this image because it is a bit desaturated.  But since most people are familiar with RGB I chose to show you that correction.  In theory you can make the same correction in both color spaces but there are differences.  The biggest difference is the ability in LAB to correct the lighting without messing with color.  Some times the RGB space is quick to introduce color shifts.  I find that I work in LAB a large share of the time but If I cannot get the correction I need I go to the other spaces.  Each has strengths and weaknesses.  We'll get into that more as we go...

2) Yours is brighter and 'pops' better than mine by a long way - but the chest feathers look a little overblown. I tried to proect them, but admit that the rest of the shot is rather dark. What's the compromise??
Thanks - this is fun!

Inside of the Wizard there are few compromises to be had.  after this lesson we really want you to not use the wizard as much.  It is fast and easy but it leaves little room for "true" adjustments.  Open the image and then close the wizard.  Then adjus the curve as you see in the attached print screen.  Play bit and don't worry too much if you end up fighting it...

Start by letting the mouse travel across the image slowly and watch the composite curve in RGB or the L curve in LAB.  Watch where the "worm" is on the grid.  As you move the mouse you will see various lengths of the worm appear and disappear.  Go to the highlight on the feathers and see if you can see where the worm is.  It is kind of tough since the worm is white like the color under the mouse.  but if you find the points on the curve where the highlights live you can place a few "control points on the line to keep it from bending too much. 

The curve tends to pivot around your selected adjustment point and you need to "pin" it down so it does not move.  Don't over do it but place at least two points on the line between your highlight and where you want to adjust to bring the image up in brightness. (the middle of the curve)

I have not protected the brightness in the feathers because I want to illustrate the change more than I want to make a perfect correction at this time.  you certainly should try it out and see if you can have it all...(you can in this case)

Greg

[mikemeister_admin]

Thanks Greg - very helpful