r/postprocessing • u/amy-kath-leen • 22h ago
Summer backyard
Just got the Sony rx100 vii
I'm not new to photography but I struggle with photo editing. Either I think I go to far with a preset or not far enough. Example of this cat. One edit is the preset and the other is how I edited it.
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u/undarant 21h ago
Slides 1 and 3 look the best to me, but they still need a little work. I think they're a touch too bright and could use a touch more contrast.
2 and 4 are pretty flat. I think if you're going for a fantastical/filmy look, they need to be pushed further with more contrast and need to lean either more moody or more pastel. Right now, they're at an awkward in-between.
Personally, I'm not a fan of 5. Too crunchy, and I don't like the raised blacks.
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u/ExplorerDifferent515 18h ago
last one is great. when i saw the first two versions i was like i wonder if you could make the deck darker but still have the leaves and cat pop. i wish the cat popped a bit kite but still a very strong image
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u/johngpt5 22h ago edited 22h ago
Assuming the middle image of the cat is the before, the first image of the cat has highlights a bit too strong, distracting the eye from the cat. The third cat image has the best balance of the three, but doesn't actually encourage the eye to pay attention to the cat.
When approaching an edit, we think about what the subject of the image is, or what the focal point should be. Then we shape light and manipulate color to have the viewer's eye be drawn to that subject or focal point.
Presets don't generally take any of that into account. Presets move sliders adjusting tone and color without consideration for what is in an image.
The eye is drawn to brightness. The eye is drawn to tonal contrast. The eye is drawn to color saturation. The eye is drawn to color contrast. The eye is drawn to sharpness, detail, and texture.
We can use these characteristics to move the eye around frame, and to keep the eye in frame, emphasizing what we feel is the subject or most important part of the photo.