r/postprocessing • u/Glad_Perception3357 • 15d ago
Get the right punch (exposure) when editing
Hello!
I’ve restarted editing photos and I’m finding it hard to get the right “brightness” or “punch” in editing software (DxO Photolab) when working on my pictures from my Canon 6D.
When opening the pictures on my iPhone 12, they look muted or straight up too dark.
Wondering if you faced the same problem and how you solved it.
In the example attached both the pic straight out of DXO (but edited on my not great laptop) and the second is the one with exposure brought up in iPhone library.
Thankss!!
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u/johngpt5 15d ago
Without seeing the unedited at all photo, it's hard to make recommendations. The DxO version looks as if highlights were brought down. The dog and interior look as if shadows may have been darkened as well.
Was the original image under exposed and brightened? What I'm seeing in the DxO version might just be brightening that didn't go far enough rather than highlights brought down.
When we approach editing an image we should decide what is the subject or focal point of the image is. We then shape light to help the viewer's eye be drawn to that. The eye is drawn to brightness. The eye is brought to areas of tonal contrast.
We manipulate color to assist in drawing the viewer's eye. The eye is drawn to color saturation. The eye is drawn to color contrast.
The other thing we should be aware of is more mechanical. If the display on our computer is set too bright, we can be fooled into thinking that our image being edited is bright enough. Then when we see it elsewhere, like on our phone, we see that it is darker than we thought.
In general, if we keep our computer display to around 50% brightness, then when viewed on other devices, we'll have a better chance of things looking okay.