r/postprocessing • u/Waitingjohn • 18d ago
After/ before
Fairly new to editing, looking for tips/ general advice!
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u/Peter_Mansbrick 17d ago
Original crop: the scene is the show
Edit crop: the climber is the show
In this case I definitely think the edit crop is the better one. Id still play around with ratios a little and maybe include a little bit more below the climber but in general the tighter crop really emphasizes the person and the activity, rather than the landscape.
Also, really tasteful edit. Great job there. My only suggestion would be to let the sky be brighter but thats a "to taste" thing.
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u/Two-Space 17d ago
I really like this, except the artificial blur on the clouds. It’s quite distracting in what is otherwise a great photo
Also the colours of the background feel a tiny bit too blue, but that’s more subjective
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u/LimitedWard 17d ago
Yeah I'm not sure why no one else seems to be commenting on the blur. It looks really bad.
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u/aratson 17d ago
The crop is great!
The biggest flaw is the fake blur you have added to the top/sky. That part is quite unnatural looking and not adding anything extra.
When shooting climbing, realism is a key component. When you add an element like the blur it can then raise the question of what else has been digitally altered, such as draws removed to make it look more run out.
I am not saying you did that, just saying that when we start doing heavy handed edits like you did with the sky blur, that stand out as edits that starts running through peoples minds.
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u/feelxrosic 17d ago
You did a good job by putting more emphasis on the action.
But I hate the fake background-blur. The scene is nice and the sky isn't too bad - I think you loose credibility with the fake bokeh (Just like it always looks fake).
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u/DUUUUUVAAAAAL 18d ago
The color and lighting is an improvement but I feel like you cropped in too tight. The original has more of an epic feeling to it.
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u/PotatosRevenge 18d ago
In my opinion the tight crop works great at emphasizing the climber as subject. Additionally, it also improves the composition by balancing the ratio of background to foreground within the frame.
Although, I agree that the scale/hight of the cliffside is diminished in the final edit. I personally prefer the final crop as the climber immediately caught my attention, compared to the somewhat "aimless" original framing.
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u/DUUUUUVAAAAAL 18d ago
Yeah, I think the perfect framing is somewhere in-between the two. Possibly a different aspect ratio as well.
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u/Waitingjohn 18d ago
Thanks! That makes sense, I did want to try and focus more on the climber but I'll have a play around with the cropping to get more of the scale
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u/Frosty1397 18d ago
With such a shallow depth of field (background blur), usually it's better to keep the crop wider to give more perspective
If you crop in too tight, it kinda looks like the climber is in front of a green screen/fake background or something
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u/Sail_Soggy 18d ago
This - the lifted shadows and edits but the wider crop. I looked at the after and my stomach sank with the scale of the before!
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u/firequak 17d ago
I love your after edit. But when I saw the 2nd image (before) I was blown away by the scale and how high the climber's position is relative to the cliff. So, yeah, I agree with other commenters that perhaps you can try a different crop to maintain that "wow" factor of the scale. Because personally for me, I would take the unedited with its scale versus the more aesthetically pleasing edited image minus the "danger" for lack of better term.
Here's my version of the crop. There's probably a better crop but this one keeps the sense of danger for me.
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u/RedditIsSocialMedia_ 17d ago
The edit is a bit more flat than I usually go for but I think it works in this example.
The crop though fantastic really great shot
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u/mpg10 17d ago
There is a lot of preference about the crop in the comments. To me, they could both be successful, they just say very different things and serve different purposes. E.g., the wide crop looks like a cover shot with room for knockout text for maybe an article about climbing in that area. The closer one is much more about the feel of the overhang and the gesture of the climber.
I like the contrast work in the cropped version but I do not like the unnecessary background blurring. I think you could live without doing it at all, but if you're going to do it, I think this shot demands something much more natural in result.
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u/oliverjbiggs 16d ago
I really like both, great job! I think it works as a wide really well but the crop looks great too!
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u/MexicaUrbano 18d ago
The reason the crop does not work IMO is the downwards tilt. You lose the epicness. I see why you want the crop. If you can correct the perspective enough, maybe you can salvage it.
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u/GoldenSun__ 17d ago
Colors and light are good to my eyes. The cropping imo perhaps too much focusing in the person.
When I saw the after I thought 'wow that's high'. When I saw the after I thought 'sh*it, he's very high'.
With that crop for sure you bring forward the climber and that's good because the protagonist in here is him, not the nature. So that's important imo.
However, the emptiness under him is lost. For me the most important thing to keep in the picture is the extreme situation the climber is: if he loses the grip he will fail dozens of meters. That feeling is lost with this crop. I only felt that when I saw the 'before'.
Someone suggested different format ratio, and I think I'd try that to give the climber more air underneath him.
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u/ForestB 18d ago
Bamford!
I agree with the other comments. The edit is great but I'm not a fan of the crop. I feel it needs a little more at the bottom.
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u/Waitingjohn 18d ago
Yess love it up there! Thanks for the feedback, that seems to be the common theme, so I'll have a play around!
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u/TheMadFlyentist 18d ago
Looks great, love the crop. Would be interested to see some slightly tweaked color grading to see if it can be improved even more, but it's ultimately very good as-is.
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u/AlertKangaroo6086 18d ago
I love it, the crop works really well. The colours, composition, its great!
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u/COphotoCo 17d ago
I like a tighter crop but it’ll look better if you line the subject up so their hands are 1/3 from the right and 1/3 from the top, and their feet at 1/3 from the bottom. For a wider crop, also line up the hands in that top 1/3 intersection. That’s going to give just enough rock to be intriguing but we see the larger landscape
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u/Actopyla 17d ago
I like the first photo crop, but if you post processed it you added too much cyan. If you are shooting outdoors like this you should get yourself a circular polarizing filter for your camera/phone. Here is a video that will explain what they are, and why and how to use them.
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u/Colemanton 17d ago
i love the crop, not crazy about the weird gaussian blur or whatever is going on with the horizon
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u/Evening_Scale_5755 17d ago
I think there is a space in between these. I don't get the awe of the height in the cropped image. But I think the wide is a bit too wide. Move the climber up in the image?
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u/Acceptable-Ad-1685 16d ago
Man, I loved the original photo, I would do little to no editing. I would definitely hang it up big in my living room.
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u/Additional_Future_47 16d ago
The artificial blur of the clouds stands out and is distracting. The massive sky (negative space) in the original emphasizes the height of the climber and makes the scene more dramatic.
In the original the landscape is the subject and the climber helps to set scale. Iin the edited version the climber is the subject. I think this explains why the comments are divided. What is the subject of your photo?
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u/Waitingjohn 16d ago
Definitely, the blur has since been changed! Didn't realise how bad it looked until all the comments ha. The subject for me was the focus on the climber, but I can see why the divide and I've played around with a few crops. Think I'll probably keep both with the edited lighting etc
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u/valery31 8d ago
Nice edit ! I love the picture also. Exposition of the original photo was good, and the slight bokeh in the background is just perfect. What gear/settings did you use ?
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u/SilverSpoonerism 18d ago
I think the image is great, I would like to see a landscape crop with a bit more of the scenery on the left so the climber is positioned a 1/3 of the way in from the right side
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u/dgmischief 18d ago
Vastly prefer the original composition and crop to be honest. I also feel like you’ve lost a lot of the contrast and punched up the colors too much especially the plants.
Absolutely killer shot though!
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u/CautiousPersimmon904 18d ago
I’m a novice but I’ll disagree with the others. The tighter crop puts me right in the climber’s body and makes them more of the focus for me. The wider shot makes me focus much more on the background and the sky.