@Mandalorian True. A few construction workers stop at this particular place in the morning, probably their last moment of quietness before a hard day at work.
@gr36 Thank you. They are mostly photos from the phone, but the editing process is the same, regardless of camera used. I try to get the end result looking as close to reality as possible (still very much a photojournalist on top of being a photographer), with a little "punch" added to it, but very controlled. A huge part of this is getting the exposure, and framing, right when shooting. I seldom shoot without some sort of exposure correction on the camera, or phone. Usually I'll have to lower the exposure.
If the light on the scene is not good, I won't shoot most of the times. If something is off with the whole scene, and can't be fixed by moving around a bit and hiding it, or leaving it out, I won't shoot.
After that, as far as actual editing goes, it's mostly applying a filter I've been tweaking for a long time.
Loosely based on a Velvia simulation, it adds a little clarity, tones down highlights a bit, a bit more light on the shadows, blacks are also darkened a little, and adding a tiny tiny bit of saturation to get the colors a little closer to reality. In the end it adds a little sharpening.
That's what happens when I press the button.
I then look at it, and do a little tweaking, to get each of them looking like I want to. Mostly tone down the oranges when it's an indoor photo with people on it.
This has been the process for years. I'm not what you'd call a creative editor, as I said I just try to show things as they are in reality.
Let me know if this helps, or if you were looking for something else.
@maique @gr36 Thanks for detailing your process. As someone who wants to get better this is very helpful. What app are you using for editing?
@pimoore Lightroom, always Lightroom. After all these years, it’s second nature to me. I have to pay for it anyway, for work, and it syncs everything. I can start editing on the laptop, go away for the weekend and finish on the iPhone. Maybe there’s a better workflow, but this one works for me, at the moment I don’t even want to consider a learning curve on this subject🙂
@pimoore @gr36 Something I forgot to mention, is that this whole workflow works for me. The tools allow me to get the look I’m going for. That’s what I believe matters: you know what you’re aiming for, and the tools get you there.
For other people this might be completely wrong, of course. I only use a fraction of the features, because those are the ones I need for my photos. Others will have wildly different workflows, and those might be best suited for your photos.
@maique This is great. Thanks for sharing. I agree that the first thing to keep in mind is what your objective is. If like yours (keeping us as close to what you’re seeing), that’s a different workflow.
@pratik Definitely. Some, a lot, use a ton of tools I'm not even familiar with! Lightroom, and other editing software, is super powerful, as you know, but sometimes that can be a little scary at first, thinking that you must use all of the features. I, both for fun and work, use the ones I need, and that's a very small percentage of what is available.
@mbkriegh Native, and Halide. Most of the times native. I shoot a lot, and sometimes Halide takes a long time to write, hanging while doing it, and fails to save a lot more than I like. There’s a rescue thing now, but native gets me there most of the time. Not perfect, but ok.
@gr36 Glad I could help 🙂 And, regarding presets, there’s only one, not sure how that would work out 🤣
@maique yes. I’ve had similar issues with Halide but situation seems to have improved lately. I also use ProCamera and Camera+. I don’t use the native app very much because it doesn’t stay in Raw mode and I often forget to switch it.
@mbkriegh I say you should use whatever works for you. Tried a few other apps in the past, some are still installed, but Halide is the one that feels natural when I need something other than the native one 🙂
@maique I appreciate this thread! I just updated my iPhone and am experimenting with shooting raw again, but haven’t used Lightroom much for a few years now. I am thinking about how to get just enough workflow going again.
@maique When you travel for pleasure do you take any camera rig or just your phone? I've been taking a camera for low light and zoom capabilities, but probably can live without that and ditch the extra bag.
@ddykstal These days, not often. If I do I'll take the little Leica Q, and enjoy using it, but it doesn't happen often. I had it with me on this trip, but only used it a couple of days out of the multiple months we spent on the road.
Batteries, cards, the weight (even if it's not even heavy), all made me wish I'd left it at home. Sure, some photos will be left behind, but...
I did take it on another one, and forced myself to use it more. And I do love the photos that come out of the camera. Just not sure if it's worth it.
@crossingthethreshold You’re welcome. This is, as I think I’ve said, the starting point. Some need a tweak after, others are just fine.
@maique One of my take aways from what you said is that you go into taking a photograph knowing what it is you want, what you want to show, tell. Is that right? I also like how if the light is not right, you just don’t take the picture, even if it is one that you want to take.
@crossingthethreshold I guess that's about it, yes, at least generally.
There is, of course, a different workflow for work and leisure.
When I'm working I don't, usually, have the luxury of picking a place, or take light into consideration. It is what it is, things are happening in front of me, and I'll try to work around whatever might ruin the photo, and get a decent one. I'm not risking not going back with the photo of the moment because it was backlit, or whatever.
It's the name of the game: get the photo. You think on your feet, trying to juggle all the elements, and get a decent enough photo.
When I'm not working it's very different. I'm walking around, something catches my eye. I will probably have the photo on my mind before the camera is out. That's what moves me to get the camera. I'll try that photo, and maybe try a few others. But I think the work is very much done before getting the actual photo, if that makes any sense.
Sometimes I'll be very wrong, and nothing will come of it, others I'll be pleasantly surprised that I'll figure something out that will make for a photo better than I expected.
I do take a lot of photos when the light is all wrong, but most will serve only as memories.
Sorry for how long, and messy this is, it's something I can definitely explain better verbally, and in Portuguese 😅
@maique Very well said. For me, that divide isn't work/pleasure, it's "rare opportunity"/common sight. When I'm travelling, or an animal appears and is likeyl to move, then I go into "capture as best you can" mode,
@maique The English came across loud and very clear. Thank you for taking the time to pen that response. I should probably be concentrating more on my Portuguese than photography right now.
@crossingthethreshold Hahaha. Glad it did. And I believe you’ll have plenty of time to get up to speed on your Portuguese. Not the easiest to learn but, on the other hand, a lot of people here do speak English, it will help while you’re learning 🙂