Cleaning up litter etc?

[Cryptoprocta]

Now that for non-live-news uploads there isn't a 'no digital alterations' tickbox, I wonder how many are 'cleaning up' secondary editorial photos by cleaning up e.g. litter, bird poo, flaky paintwork etc? (I know that isn't allowed for live news, which isn't what I'm talking about here).

Nor am I talking about the amount of litter which could illustrate an article about litter!

I'm trying to weigh up spending the time 'making the photo more attractive to buyers' (does it make any difference anyway? I can't know!) with knowing that most, if any, sales would likely be in the UKNS, so a lot of work for small fees. Still, I can never guess which pics will be sold for a different use/higher price.

Anyone else worked this one out?

Edited July 10, 2018 by Cryptoprocta

[John Morrison]

I clean up intrusive litter; along with levelling horizons and correcting verticals it just seems the natural thing to do... 

[Sally]

2 hours ago, John Morrison said:

I clean up intrusive litter; along with levelling horizons and correcting verticals it just seems the natural thing to do... 

Me, too. And spots/chewing gum on pavements. Streaky line/marks. I don't know if it makes a difference but I'd rather do it anyway.

[Robert M Estall]

You could try uploading a straight shot and one tidied up. Any bets which one sells? Back before digital we used to go to all sorts of trouble to try to hide or disguise junk in our photos. now it's usually just a few minutes to clean most things away

[Gareth]

1 hour ago, Sally said:

Me, too. And spots/chewing gum on pavements. Streaky line/marks. I don't know if it makes a difference but I'd rather do it anyway.

 Same here - I take the view - "If litter/gum residue can be picked/cleaned up by a person, then I'll remove it in photoshop....so long as it's cleanly done with no weird artifacts"

 

I'm only doing what should have been done anyway....maybe I should be entitled to a council paycheque....scraping up all that chewing gum and litter is killing my back however!! 

Edited July 10, 2018 by Gareth

[Reimar]

4 hours ago, Cryptoprocta said:

I'm trying to weigh up spending the time 'making the photo more attractive to buyers'

 

I'm not sure why you wouldn't want to "make the photo more attractive to buyers".  My view is that ANYTHING distracting in the photo needs fixing.  Unless the shot IS about flaking paint.

 

We already process to maximize contrast, color, etc.  Surely you're cloning out bug, bird or sensor spots in sky.  If a wire sullies a picture and you have some skill, why not take it out?

Photography takes a lot more time than snapping the shutter, and I'm resigned to that.  I want to make sure I present the best possible image I can.  We're competing against some very talented photographers.  Slapdash will only limit sales.

Edited July 10, 2018 by Reimar

[Ed Rooney]

I think of the editorial street shooting I do as 'romantic realism.' As Reimar says, I get rid of things that pull the eye away from the subject. I work on my images in LR, PS and the Nik collection. I aim for something between studio perfect and street. 

 

I don't do News. If I did, I would shoot jpegs only and not touch them in an edit. 

 

Edo

[Sally]

3 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

I think of the editorial street shooting I do as 'romantic realism.' As Reimar says, I get rid of things that pull the eye away from the subject. I work on my images in LR, PS and the Nik collection. I aim for something between studio perfect and street. 

 

I don't do News. If I did, I would shoot jpegs only and not touch them in an edit. 

 

Edo

You’d still want to correct horizons, remove dust spots and do some basic editing, eg brightening, contrast and vibrancy, I think. I certainly do.

[Betty LaRue]

On 7/10/2018 at 11:07, Gareth said:

 Same here - I take the view - "If litter/gum residue can be picked/cleaned up by a person, then I'll remove it in photoshop....so long as it's cleanly done with no weird artifacts"

 

I'm only doing what should have been done anyway....maybe I should be entitled to a council paycheque....scraping up all that chewing gum and litter is killing my back however!! 

I feel like a street sweeper sometimes. Or a painter, when I clone out the bird droppings, rust spots and paint peels from a building.

Funny how seldom I notice those faults when I enter a building to shop.  And I’m seeing them at 100%!!!

Betty

[Cryptoprocta]

Thanks, all. I've been cleaning mine up, but wondered what was best practice. I have to say when I've spent ages cleaning up a pic then it sells for <$3 net, I do wonder what I'm doing. But as I said in the OP, I can't predict which files might get a bigger sale.

[Cryptoprocta]

9 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

I feel like a street sweeper sometimes. Or a painter, when I clone out the bird droppings, rust spots and paint peels from a building.

Funny how seldom I notice those faults when I enter a building to shop.  And I’m seeing them at 100%!!!

Betty

I so agree. Often I don't see flaws in anything until I want to photograph them. I remember once trying to photograph luxury hand-made chocolates very close up, and couldn't believe the flaws in the surface. Similarly flowers. I can't get any flowers in my garden without flaws, but I won't spray them, so that's the price I pay. I'm now embarrassed to go into my small local florist as I've too often gone in, examined the flowers closely and gone out again without buying anything ("I only want to photograph them so they need to be perfect").