Official BeyondUnreal Photography Thread

[Igoy]

Btw thats a great shot. Is there a way to tune the contrast while taking a B&W shot?

As far as I'm aware sid, the only way you can contrast B&W photos is when you're enlarging them (since Plasma was using a manual camera I'm guessing you're talking about the same thing) through the use of filters and exposure lengths. I guess additionally you could get the same with shutter speeds but if you're using film I wouldn't recommend it.

Also, that car park is amazing.

 

[OO7MIKE]

I wouldn't recommend adding filters or special effects in the camera. All that stuff should be done in post production.. and I'll tell you why:

Your photos should be as "flat" as possible. Stick to default settings. When you increase saturation you are overexposing your colors. When you increase contrast you are clipping your darks and highlights. You loose dynamic range in the process. Gradations are not as smooth and this will show up on large prints. You are basically destroying image data in order to make your image stand out more.

This is not always a bad thing. It is better that you have this choice after the photo has been taken than to be stuck with what you camera decides to do.

Hazel.H: Those images seem almost CGI/video game like. Too clean. Must be a fairly new complex.

 

[Kazimira]

Thay arnt pritty and yes i'm makeing you click on a link to see them. Thay are the best I have and considdering i've been told i'll never handle a camra well this isnt bad.

http://kazumitsu.deviantart.com/art/Light-and-Eye-II-90221191

http://kazumitsu.deviantart.com/art/Winters-First-Snowfall-104764669

http://kazumitsu.deviantart.com/art/A-llife-just-gone-50120675

 

[BillyBadAss]

These were taken in a new car park in Sheffield city centre:
[screenshot]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3265/3131091629_ecd8a62e95_o.jpg[/screenshot] [SCREENSHOT]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3130/3131090547_6fb90aed1d_o.jpg[/SCREENSHOT]

[SCREENSHOT]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3233/3131920312_ca804265bb_o.jpg[/SCREENSHOT] [SCREENSHOT]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3129/3131090783_e5ab2ba633_o.jpg[/SCREENSHOT]

The second and forth pic are sick. I really like them.

 

[sid]

As far as I'm aware sid, the only way you can contrast B&W photos is when you're enlarging them (since Plasma was using a manual camera I'm guessing you're talking about the same thing) through the use of filters and exposure lengths. I guess additionally you could get the same with shutter speeds but if you're using film I wouldn't recommend it.

Im using a digital and youre absolutely right about the shutter speeds cause I got some interesting results by trial and error. Thanks

I wouldn't recommend adding filters or special effects in the camera.

What all counts as filters and special effects?

BTW, Hazel, those pics are pretty sweet :tup: I love the green one.

 

[TomWithTheWeather]

What all counts as filters and special effects?

If you digital camera has such features as B&W, various color filters, sepia filters, etc, it's best to ignore all that stuff. It's best to do all that with post-processing in Lightroom or Photoshop (or whatever other program you use). This stuff is about 97% gimmick when it's built into the camera. Also avoid adjusting saturation or contrast setting of the camera. Like 007Mike said, it's best to leave this stuff default and tweak it later.

The whole point is, shooting at default preserves your original pictures. If you take a picture in B&W or sepia for instance, there is no way to get an original color version. If you take the pictures at default settings, you can then make a copy of it B&W or sepia should you desire.

 

[sid]

Aah I see. Hmm I guess Im guilty of charge then. I use stuff like Vivid, More Vivid and B&W a lot. Luckily, Ive not played with any saturation or contrast setting as of yet. Ill probably take a serious look into this matter. Thanks guys

 

[Zur]

Your photos should be as "flat" as possible. Stick to default settings. When you increase saturation you are overexposing your colors. When you increase contrast you are clipping your darks and highlights. You loose dynamic range in the process. Gradations are not as smooth and this will show up on large prints. You are basically destroying image data in order to make your image stand out more.

OO7MIKE is right. I'm more into video but there are way less possibilites with a picture that has been maxed out. If the exposure is just right, there's tons of things you can do to enhance an image without getting undesireable sideeffects.

 

[Hazel.H]

Hazel.H: Those images seem almost CGI/video game like. Too clean. Must be a fairly new complex.

It just opened a couple of weeks ago and is freshly painted, the upper floors don't look like they've been used yet.

 

[OO7MIKE]

It just opened a couple of weeks ago and is freshly painted, the upper floors don't look like they've been used yet.

Its pretty sweet looking and it will never look that way again. Photos like those (and other architectural photos) can land you a few sales in later years as some businesses seek professional (and clean) photos of there complexes. Of course they wont know who to hire unless you nudge a few 4x6 prints to their marketing department. If you email them a digital photo they will just slap it on their website or put it in a company email without permission or a photo credit. Oversized watermarks can further deter those thoughts.

 

[The_Head]

Piccy from earlier. 3 Exposures blended in Photomatix and then a it more tweaking in photoshop to get it how I wanted it.


Is the wall distracting, would it be better if I perhaps trimmed the wall out, then removed the empty sky?

 

[SnaKe-Fu]

Piccy from earlier. 3 Exposures blended in Photomatix and then a it more tweaking in photoshop to get it how I wanted it.


Is the wall distracting, would it be better if I perhaps trimmed the wall out, then removed the empty sky?

I like it personally. Adds an interesting element to the foreground. Good shot man. =)

 

[Igoy]

I wouldn't recommend adding filters or special effects in the camera. All that stuff should be done in post production.. and I'll tell you why:

I think you misunderstood me. I talked about using filters when englarging them. I.E, filters you put into an enlarger. I assumed sid was talking about manual since Plasma had been using silver format. Nothing to do with the camera technique at all- I agree whole heartedly that you should leave the photo well alone!

 

[OO7MIKE]

Piccy from earlier. 3 Exposures blended in Photomatix and then a it more tweaking in photoshop to get it how I wanted it.

Is the wall distracting, would it be better if I perhaps trimmed the wall out, then removed the empty sky?

Its a landscape portrait. Every thing should be in focus and sharp. Commonly in a photograph (but not always) the object closest to you should be in focus. The rocks are not so they become almost as distracting as the sun itself.

The photo is an excellent one. I would do some cropping but just enough to exclude the rocks.

 

[The_Head]

I wish I had my tripod about as I could have upped the aperture to get more in focus, although I imagine that may possibly have been a bad thing to expose the sensor to the sun for long periods of time with the required shutter time it would have needed to get the shot right. Although I suppose it would be letting in less light at a time.
I'm pretty pleased with it for a handheld shot though, lonest exposure was 1/200 of a second and it was shot at F/4, so I could have probs got a bit longer, should have took a few shots thinking about it now!

 

[sid]

Nice shot! Head

 

[igNiTion]

here's a quick christmas-eve-on-my-boat picture. sorry it is a poor quality cell phone pic

[screenshot]http://e.imagehost.org/0875/IMG00040.jpg[/screenshot]

 

[sid]

^ **** the quality! That image is freaking outstanding :tup:

 

[Kantham]

I concur. But then I'm sure with a decent hardware this could have been WAYY better.
Still nice for a cellphone pic. My old Canon Powershot is near that minus all the noise.

 

[igNiTion]

I concur. But then I'm sure with a decent hardware this could have been WAYY better.
Still nice for a cellphone pic. My old Canon Powershot is near that minus all the noise.

Yeah, I haven't taken my good camera (digital rebel) out in a while. The pic above looks good up to about 1024 x 768, thanks to the camera on my phone.

[screenshot]http://e.imagehost.org/0248/1224.jpg[/screenshot]