need a push in the right direction

[mally]

hi, i am new to the forum and pretty new to digital photography. i was having a few issues with my Nikkor 70-300 VR lens as I didn't think the images were sharp enough. on another thread lots of people replied and i put up images and it was concluded that the focus was ok but i needed to do a bit of post processing for best results....

so this is where i ask for you guys' help...i have CS3. can someone outline a few basic steps that i need to take once i have put pics on computer. do i need to go through each image one by one, or how can you batch process and can this be used to batch sharpen.

all advice and insight much appreciated.
many thanks
Mally

[blumesan]

You can batch a lot of editing steps, but sharpening is not one of them. Sharpening needs to be done on each individual image, based on content and on the final display medium. Perhaps a standard amount of capture sharpening can be routinely applied to all images, but from there on each must be treated individually.

Keep working and show us your results. I'm sure you will master post processing with some time. To do it right is a rather slow learning curve.

[mally]

thank you for reply.

where is the best place to show any edited stuff that i do on this thread or in gallery? at moment dont think my stuff is not good enough to put in the gallery. but i suppose if i put some images up, you guys will know what i am trying to edit and then can advise me.

could you outline a few PPing steps you go through so i know i am on the right track. i usually check levels/saturation/brightness, crop or re size and sharpen a little if needed. also i have been applying some gradient filters to skies and water. is this right? i use 'soft light' to mix it in. also can someone explain a little about the different layers to me. whenever i do a new action a different layer comes up - do theses all work independently from each other. must i merge them all together when i have finished?

thanks guys, you are all great.
mally!

[KmH]

Scott Kelby has a great CS3 book that shows many Photoshop techniques. You can find it easily at www.amazon.com Just do a keyword search on Scott Kelby.

Even better it's right here:

Amazon.com: The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers (9780321501912): Scott Kelby: Books

Amazon.com: The Adobe Photoshop CS3 Book for Digital Photographers (9780321501912): Scott Kelby: Books

Another very good book for CS3, by Martin Evening:

Amazon.com: Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Photographers: A Professional Image Editor's Guide to the Creative use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC (9780240520285): Martin Evening: Books

Amazon.com: Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Photographers: A Professional Image Editor's Guide to the Creative use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC (9780240520285): Martin Evening: Books

Plus there is a ton of free video tutorials on YouTube and various other places on the Internet:

Let me google that for you

I got a NAPP membership (National Association Of Photoshop Professionals) so I could get access to all the Photoshop pros on their forum and all their video tutorials.

I get discounts on all kinds of stuff too with my NAPP membership.


My basic workflow is started in ACR (Adobe Camera RAW)

• Import files for batch processing (if desired)
• Set white balance
• Adjust temperature and tone (if desired)
• Adjust exposure (if desired)
• Adjust other ACR parameters as desired
• Capture sharpen (25%)
• Batch process as necessary
• Verify color space and resolution

Open the image(s) in the Photoshop workspace:

• Color correct
• Perform any other image editing needed/desired
• Output sharpen (varies by image)
• Set output color space, pixel dimensions/aspect ratio of image, resolution, image file type and quality.

[blumesan]

For posting your work to get suggestions, comments and critique the best place is in the individual forums by subject matter. There is also this forum if the question mainly concerns postprocessing/editing. Unfortunately the Gallery does not get much traffic, or at least elicits very little in the way of commentary.

[mikman]

I would start off by posting in this thread. If you then feel like something doesn't belong here, post it somewhere else.

Sorry about not replying in your other thread, I'll do my best to reply in this one. To be honest I took the easy way out in the other one and used a site that I often resort to, Picnik - Photo editing the easy way, online in your browser. It's not professional in any sense but is fine for most quick edits that I do.

[mally]

wow thanks guys!! that is a lot of info to get me started with. i shall definitely order the book.

I dont think i have ACR as only have CS3 extended. can i still open NEF in that or do i really need NX2 for best results (i know that NX2 v PS issue is quite divided).

i shall have a look at those various sites this afternoon and have a play around with some of the photos and maybe post some up later. Mikman gave me some advice on some horsey shots i did (to unclutter the background a bit) so i shall try and improve my technique there and post some up.

my main purpose i suppose, at this point, is to improve my photographic technique (which i read up on and practice everyday ) and then be able to edit them well enough so that i do the landscape/subject/colours etc justice.

i am visiting my sister in Oz at the moment so a lot of the pics i am taking are records of places we visit/things we do/family but i want them to be really vibrant and reflect the emotions of the visit. Unfortunately i am not near the red centre as it is my dream to photograph there when i improve.

thanks again for help. really great ideas and stuff to get me thinking/reading. i shall post when can, for your critique!
Mally