M.Chapman Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 I was discussing the exposure adjustment of one of my high contrast images with a fellow Alamy contributor and we were trying to decide which of the two images below we prefer and which might be the more saleable . The image is very contrasty, so contains some clipped highlights and shadows, but what about the mid-tones? Realising that this is a very individual judgment, which depends not only on the observer but also on the settings of their monitor we thought it might be interesting to get a wider opinion. Hence this poll. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 I honestly think I would prefer somewhere in between. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katie Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 Personally I'd brighten the one on the left to the level of the right, and then reduce the whites and/or highlights so that the glare/excess exposure is gone on the front of the boat and buildings. As they are, I prefer the one on the left. Bear in mind that not all viewers of this thread have their brightness set the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Limb Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 Should you not be asking this of Alamy clients? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted June 2, 2018 Author Share Posted June 2, 2018 25 minutes ago, Matt Limb said: Should you not be asking this of Alamy clients? Ideally yes. But so far as I'm aware there's not a forum for Alamy clients where I can easily ask. I'm hoping that since many Alamy contributors sell more than I do that they might have built up valuable experience as to what sells. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeRay Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 56 minutes ago, Allan Bell said: I honestly think I would prefer somewhere in between. Allan Agreed. Just needs the mid tones lifting a little on the left side one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 Prefer that on the right, but might have gone for a more punchy sky. Darker blue whiter white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 6 minutes ago, Bryan said: Prefer that on the right, but might have gone for a more punchy sky. Darker blue whiter white. Maybe pull up the blue saturation in LR, unless the boat starts to look dayglo. I do that quite a bit. It's an argument for shooting RAW all by itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Preston Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 5 hours ago, Allan Bell said: I honestly think I would prefer somewhere in between. Allan +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 I'm in the "in between" camp. Could just be my monitor, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Richmond Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 "In between" for me too. Boats and sky from left image, sea and town from right image would be my preferred option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 Regarding "saleability" (not sure that's a word), I have quite a number of older images that are probably too dark, and they continue to license. I used to think that it was best to leave images a bit dark so that clients could brighten them to their liking. I also laboured far too long with a poorly calibrated monitor (my bad). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 8 hours ago, ReeRay said: Agreed. Just needs the mid tones lifting a little on the left side one. Agreed again, and to get to that point I've found that when you lighten or darker an image, adding a touch of contrast makes it look normal. Edo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisC Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 Can't say on saleability, as if I knew that, I'd be selling more! But for me & on my screen, it's a mixture of the two, as the right hand one is too light and the left too dark, for me, bringing out the shadows on the one of the left would be easier, I think. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kuta Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 It appears that it was a sunny day when the image was made. Between these two versions, I think the one on the left better conveys that, and the one on the right looks a little washed out (eg, starts to lose the diagonal shadow across the front of the wheelhouse). I'd start with raising the exposure level of the one on the left, and go from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDoug Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 If it were up to me, I'd apply an S curve to the image on the left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted June 3, 2018 Author Share Posted June 3, 2018 Wow - thanks for all the comments and votes so far. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted June 3, 2018 Author Share Posted June 3, 2018 6 hours ago, DDoug said: If it were up to me, I'd apply an S curve to the image on the left. That's interesting. I wasn't expecting anyone to suggest increasing mid-tone contrast on what is already a very contrasty image. But I just tried it and quite like the result. Certainly at thumbnail size and on my calibrated monitor (White point 6500K Gamma 2.2) I think it looks more appealing. The blue sky looks better although the white cloud looks a little more burnt out. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDoug Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 22 minutes ago, M.Chapman said: The blue sky looks better although the white cloud looks a little more burnt out. That's true. I often treat skies differently, putting two different treatments on layers, selecting the sky and erasing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobD Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 I prefer the one on the right but I would use viveza 2 to darken the sky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted June 3, 2018 Author Share Posted June 3, 2018 9 hours ago, geogphotos said: That's Oban - to me it looks better on a nice sunny day with the stone and water lit up. Agreed, tide wasn't out either, which helps. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sally Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 I voted for the one on the right as I think the colour of the sea is much better. But agree that the sky could be darkened a little with a gradient filter in Lightroom and bring out any highlights. I’d also saturate the colours of the boats. I tend to brighten more than I used to now as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Richards Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 On 03/06/2018 at 07:55, M.Chapman said: That's interesting. I wasn't expecting anyone to suggest increasing mid-tone contrast on what is already a very contrasty image. But I just tried it and quite like the result. Certainly at thumbnail size and on my calibrated monitor (White point 6500K Gamma 2.2) I think it looks more appealing. The blue sky looks better although the white cloud looks a little more burnt out. Mark Somewhere between the two. I don't think there is enough cloud to worry about a bit of clipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted June 8, 2018 Author Share Posted June 8, 2018 Many thanks for all the excellent constructive comments and poll votes. As a result of which I've made some adjustments and uploaded a replacement image. In the end I used the S curve adjustment proposed by DDoug above. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 If it was possible, without burning out the whites, I would have applied a slight overall lightening in exposure. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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