I received some good feedback on some recent and past posts showing the before and after versions of raw photographs and finished product. So here is another example.
My first decision on processing this photograph was conversion to black and white. I applied one element of my set of criteria that asks if the color information is important to the composition. With only a bit of the reds and the blue sky adding anything of note to the shot, I chose to go black and white.
The second shot shows the result of the first portion of post processing; cropping, and exposure adjustment. In this case, I was happy with the composition and did not crop. However, I increased the exposure by about one stop, and used the Lightroom recovery feature to bring back some of the detail in the mountains on the horizon.
The final set of adjustments included adjusting the curves to add contrast, an angled gradient filter to darken the sky slightly (more darkening on the right), some dust spot removal (look about 1/3 of the way from the left just below the top of the frame to see a prominent piece – on the first two versions), and a small bit of sharpening.
This photograph will get some more work, but I thought I would share my general workflow in Adobe Lightroom. Processing the photo to this point amounted to about 5 minutes of work…interrupted by a local kid selling magazines (I’m a sucker and bought Wine Spectator…he got 2000 points, whatever that means). The process varies a bit with color, and I promise to share an example soon.
Have fun, and go make some great photography.
Craig
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