I will c&c your work for you.

Dwayne Oakes

Since the WP thread is closed, I like to give back and help you with
your work and pp skills. One photo per photographer and a 35 photo
limit to this thread only. I will c&c and your work for you, repost your
photo with a list of the pp tweaks so you can pick up some tips.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Tbiafore

Oh I love these...Thanks for doing them Dwayne.

--Thor

schmoo

Dwayne how is this different from your other thread? There are so many threads on Dgrin we discourage duplicates, to avoid confusion.

Dwayne Oakes

schmoo wrote:

Dwayne how is this different from your other thread? There are so many threads on Dgrin we discourage duplicates, to avoid confusion.

No different schmoo, just a fresh thread as the other one was close to the
photo limit and got lost in the pages. Plus this will help out any new members
coming onboard that did not get a chance to get this type of c&c with a
repost photo.

PS You can delete that old thread if you like as I pull the tweaked photos after a short while
to save Zenfolio upload space as I do c&c work on other forums and the tweaked photos
start to add up. Thanks

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

boblu262

Merrimack River and Mills
I'll take advantage of your offer! This is from an ongoing series of the mill buildings along the Merrimack River in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Dwayne Oakes

boblu262 wrote:

I'll take advantage of your offer! This is from an ongoing series of the mill buildings along the Merrimack River in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

This photo has a nice HDR look to it. As I said before HDR is not everyones
cup of tea but in my opinion HDR has a place in modern day photography
and excells at showing old buildings and old cars.

good

-great choice for HDR (old buildings)
-very good comp
-stack is straight
-birds add to photo
-nice textures in the water

nit

-the exposure is good but the FG seems a tad to light and throws
the light balance off in the photo

-slight clipping in the top left (sky)

tweak

-darkened (burn) the clipped area of the sky a tad, histogram will now
show no clipping

-used (selection gradient tool) in Nikon NX2 (kind of like a digital ND filter)
and selected just the lower 1/3 of the photo, then used the midtone
(levels) slider to darken just that lower 1/3 of the photo FG to improve
the overall light balance of the photo

-used selective color saturation in these areas

1-the colors in the water reflection from the building and bush in the far right

2-one blue, yellow and orange window in the FG building

3-the bushes along the shoreline

-healed out some stray branches along the shorline and the lightening rod
on the the building on the left

-added a tad of global contrast boost
-added a tad of USM (sharpening) to get over the AA filter

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

boblu262

Thanks Dwayne ...
I like the suggestions very much! I'll definitely look at the rest of this series with a more critical eye.

Tallboy

I'll also take advantage of your offer, if you think my submission is worth taking a look at - if not, I understand. I would like to shoot this barn again and am curious as to ways to improve the shot and all my shots in the process. Thanks in advance.

Doug Solis

Would Love to get Your CC
I took this shot in Maui the night before we left, unfortunately when I took a close look at it I had mist spray from the wave on my GND. The original photo had the sun included but the light brought out even more mist spots so I cropped her up. You can still see the dark spots on the distant mountain where I cloned and healed out some spots.

I'm still not happy with this but my PS skills are about peaked out. I hope you can help.

Thanks for your time.

tijoseph

I'd love to play!
A typical shot right out of the camera. I just did a little skin softening, but that is it. This is a casual shot, that is just a little blah. Would love to see how you would spice it up a bit!


Fullsize original here http://tandjphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/8995612_dYa6g/1/598099359_qk4c6

Dwayne Oakes

Tallboy wrote:

I'll also take advantage of your offer, if you think my submission is worth taking a look at - if not, I understand. I would like to shoot this barn again and am curious as to ways to improve the shot and all my shots in the process. Thanks in advance.

good

-interesting comp that works great here
-good contrast and detail
-low noise and no sensor dust (sky)
-great old barn
-nice sky

nit

-photo is underexposed (still room left in histogram)
-photo has a tilt to the right when placed on grid
-slight lens vignette in top corners
-shadows could be opened up a tad (dodge)
-colors seem a tad over (personal choice)

tweak

-moved whitepoint slider in (levels) to take up the space still left in the histogram
to improve overall exposure

-straightened the photo
-lightened (dodge) the slight vignette in the top corners

-lightened (dodge) these areas

1-the door area
2-the shadows in the grass
3-the grass along the road
4-some of the grass (catchlight)
5-the FG road
6-the clouds

-turned down the global color saturation (personal choice)

-added a tad of selective USM (sharpening) to just the MG grass,
the rest of the photo looks good

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

before


after

South Shore Snapshots

Dwayne Oakes wrote:

Since the WP thread is closed, I like to give back and help you with
your work and pp skills. One photo per photographer and a 35 photo
limit to this thread only. I will c&c and your work for you, repost your
photo with a list of the pp tweaks so you can pick up some tips.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

What a generous offer. Here`s one of my recent landscape-ish shots:

Tallboy

Dwayne -

Thanks for taking a poke at my picture, I appreciate the detailed critique and pointers on what could be done to make it better.

I'm pretty new to the photography world, so I was curious if any of my own critical thoughts on it would be shared...and they were - the tilt of the building and the vignetting were two things I was worried about.

The pic I submitted was straight off the camera with no alterations from when I pushed the shutter button...I had to adjust my position/composition to minimize the angle the building appeared to be leaning. I was shooting @ 10mm in lower light - hence the vignetting and barrel distortion. Interesting to see how you corrected for this...again, I'm a beginner and I appreciate your honest and constructive help.

Thanks again.

marcpro

Wow, now that's constructive criticism... I appreciate this so much more than whitewash!!

Dwayne, I humbly submit this photo for C&C:

Dwayne Oakes

Doug Solis wrote:

I took this shot in Maui the night before we left, unfortunately when I took a close look at it I had mist spray from the wave on my GND. The original photo had the sun included but the light brought out even more mist spots so I cropped her up. You can still see the dark spots on the distant mountain where I cloned and healed out some spots.

I'm still not happy with this but my PS skills are about peaked out. I hope you can help.

Thanks for your time.

good

-amazing place
-great light
-great FG
-horizon is straight
-good DOF
-great colors
-cool color casts in the FG once the shadows are opened up, magenta,
blue and orange

nit

-square comp, 4x6 ratio might work a bit better
-FG is a tad dark (shadows could be opened up) dodge
-FG is a tad soft (rocks)
-small white area in the MG water right is a bit of a distraction

tweak

-cropped photo to 4x6 format and placed horizon to 1/3 rule
-lightened (dodge) the rocks and shadows in the FG
-healed out the small white area in the MG right

-added a tad of selective color satution to just the clouds orange highlights
-lightened (dodge) the clouds in the center BG

-lightened (dodge) the white water in the FG
-added a tad of selective USM (sharpening) to just the rocks in the FG
to get over the AA filter

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Dwayne Oakes

tijoseph wrote:

A typical shot right out of the camera. I just did a little skin softening, but that is it. This is a casual shot, that is just a little blah. Would love to see how you would spice it up a bit!


Fullsize original here http://tandjphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/8995612_dYa6g/1/598099359_qk4c6

good

-beautiful model
-good comp
-great soft light
-nice natural pose and smile (model looks relaxed)
-exposure and contrast are all good
-nice DOF

nit

-the BG tones are the same as the subject (no separation)

-stray hair at the neckline and the freckle on arm and skin tone showing
in the bottom left corner could be healed out

tweak

-darkened (burn) the BG to create some tone separation

-healed out the stray hair at the neckline, freckle on the arm
and the skin tone showing in the bottom left corner

-lightened (dodge) the model's hair highlights
-lightened (dodge) the blue glint on the earring
-lightened (dodge) the shadow in the string area

-added a tad of selective color saturation to model's shirt
-added a tad of selective USM (sharpening) to the model's eyes

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Sventekoz

Thank you for your wonderful offer. This is a shot of my Epiphyllum Oxypetalum. It only flowers for one night, and being a white flower I've found it quite difficult to capture. This is one of the best I've managed, but I'd appreciate any advice on how to improve the shot or the PP.

Doug Solis

Great work Dwayne! Thanks so much for provided this service its very educational for a lot of us.

Dwayne Oakes

South Shore Snapshots wrote:

What a generous offer. Here`s one of my recent landscape-ish shots:

good

-nice comp (lighthouse placed off center)
-great sky
-exposure is right on (good highlight control)
-great contrast and detail
-good color
-good DOF

nit

-stray tree branch is a bit of a distraction
-lighthouse has a slight tilt to the right when placed on a grid

-the doorway and at the top of the lighthouse shadows could be
opened up a tad (dodge)

-the dark spot in the sky (top left) can be lightened (dodge) a tad
to match the rest of the sky

tweak

-straightened the lighthouse
-lightened (dodge) these areas

1-the dark spot in the sky top left corner
2-the single window pane at the top of the lighthouse with the blue color cast
3-the canadian flag
4-the lighthouse door and at the top of the lighthouse (shadows)

-healed out the stray tree branch in the right and some weeds in
the bricks in the FG

-no USM (sharpening) needed

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Dwayne Oakes

marcpro wrote:

Wow, now that's constructive criticism... I appreciate this so much more than whitewash!!

Dwayne, I humbly submit this photo for C&C:

good

-amazing place
-great light
-great cloud formation
-the red canoe is a bonus
-very good comp

nit

-photo is flat (lacks contrast)
-colors are washed out
-sky is clipped

tweak

-used (selection gradient tool) in Nikon NX2 and selected just the sky,
used (levels) midtone slider to darken just the sky to tone down
the clipping

-healed out the clouds hot spots to tone down the clipping

-added a tad of global contrast boost
-added a tad of global color boost

-added more red channel in the (color balance tool) to add a magenta
tint to the sky and water (personal choice)

-adjusted midtone (levels) slider to set final exposure

-lightened (dodge) these areas

1-the red canoe
2-the right and left mountains
3-the water reflection
4-the little cloud in the center left
5-the snow on the right mountain

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

marcpro

Thanks a bunch Dwayne, geez, I'm actually learning from this!
I'm not learning how to use Photoshop, I'll have to do that on my own, but I'm learning about what to look for, and "how" to look as well, and that's the best part.

Great stuff! I am very grateful for all the work and effort you put into this.

Cheers,
Marc.

Dwayne Oakes

marcpro wrote:

Thanks a bunch Dwayne, geez, I'm actually learning from this!
I'm not learning how to use Photoshop, I'll have to do that on my own, but I'm learning about what to look for, and "how" to look as well, and that's the best part.

Great stuff! I am very grateful for all the work and effort you put into this.

Cheers,
Marc.

No problem at all Marc I am glad I can help. You got it Marc, it is
knowing what to look for in pp the same as in the field.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Dwayne Oakes

Tallboy wrote:

Dwayne -

Thanks for taking a poke at my picture, I appreciate the detailed critique and pointers on what could be done to make it better.

I'm pretty new to the photography world, so I was curious if any of my own critical thoughts on it would be shared...and they were - the tilt of the building and the vignetting were two things I was worried about.

The pic I submitted was straight off the camera with no alterations from when I pushed the shutter button...I had to adjust my position/composition to minimize the angle the building appeared to be leaning. I was shooting @ 10mm in lower light - hence the vignetting and barrel distortion. Interesting to see how you corrected for this...again, I'm a beginner and I appreciate your honest and constructive help.

Thanks again.

No problem, I am glad I could help and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Dwayne Oakes

Doug Solis wrote:

Great work Dwayne! Thanks so much for provided this service its very educational for a lot of us.

No problem, thanks Doug.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

00SS

I'd like some CC please
This one was taken last week and is SOOC.. i need to clone out the flag looking thing in the foreground.. but as i said, there is no post done yet.


thanks in advance for any tips to clean it up a bit.. as it was kinda hazy in a lot of my scenic shots (but that's what it was really like to the eye).


Devin

Dwayne Oakes

Sventekoz wrote:

Thank you for your wonderful offer. This is a shot of my Epiphyllum Oxypetalum. It only flowers for one night, and being a white flower I've found it quite difficult to capture. This is one of the best I've managed, but I'd appreciate any advice on how to improve the shot or the PP.

good

-very interesting flower
-interesting light
-good contrast and colors
-black background works well here
-good exposure (some clipping but typical in harsh light)
-very good DOF

nit

-comp, flower is on center
-the green leaves are bit of a distraction (clutter)
-WB is a tad on the cool side

tweak

-cropped photo tighter to show more stamen detail and placed
fower off center (personal choice)

-healed out the green leaves
-darkened (burn) some of the clipped white areas
-lightened (dodge) some of the stamen area

-set WB a tad warmer
-added selective color saturation to the leaves in the top right

-added a tad of selective USM (sharpening) to just the stamen area

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

South Shore Snapshots

Dwayne Oakes wrote:

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Thanks for both the credits and the corrections Dwayne. I like what you did with my photo and appreciate you taking the time to show me how a good photo can come out even better.

Cheers!

Rob

Sventekoz

Dwayne Oakes wrote:

good

-very interesting flower
-interesting light
-good contrast and colors
-black background works well here
-good exposure (some clipping but typical in harsh light)
-very good DOF

nit

-comp, flower is on center
-the green leaves are bit of a distraction (clutter)
-WB is a tad on the cool side

tweak

-cropped photo tighter to show more stamen detail and placed
fower off center (personal choice)

-healed out the green leaves
-darkened (burn) some of the clipped white areas
-lightened (dodge) some of the stamen area

-set WB a tad warmer
-added selective color saturation to the leaves in the top right

-added a tad of selective USM (sharpening) to just the stamen area

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Wonderful - thanks for that, I really appreciate it.

Dwayne Oakes

00SS wrote:

This one was taken last week and is SOOC.. i need to clone out the flag looking thing in the foreground.. but as i said, there is no post done yet.


thanks in advance for any tips to clean it up a bit.. as it was kinda hazy in a lot of my scenic shots (but that's what it was really like to the eye).


Devin

good

-beautiful place
-nice comp, the 50/50 works well here
-good FG placement (adds depth)
-exposure looks good
-good DOF
-shorline is straight

nit

-colors seem a tad washed out, due to harsh light
-photo seems a tad flat (lacks contrast) due to natural haze
-the flag in the FG

tweak

-used the (selection gradient tool) in Nikon NX2 and selected the sky area,
used the midtone slider in (levels) to darken the sky this will also
add some color boost

-used the (rectangle marquee tool) and put the rectangle around just the water
used the contrast slider to improve the contrast of that area only this
will also add a little color boost

-used the (selection gradient tool) and selected just the FG sand area and
made these adjustments:

1-darkened the (sand area) using midtone slider in the (levels)
2-desaturated the colors in the (sand area)
3-added a tad of USM (sharpening) in the (sand area)

-lightened (dodge) the trees on both sides of the photo and the lit mountain tip in the water reflection

-healed out the flag and clouds close to the edges of the photo

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

00SS

Dwayne Oakes wrote:

good

-beautiful place
-nice comp, the 50/50 works well here
-good FG placement (adds depth)
-exposure looks good
-good DOF
-shorline is straight

nit

-colors seem a tad washed out, due to harsh light
-photo seems a tad flat (lacks contrast) due to natural haze
-the flag in the FG

tweak

-used the (selection gradient tool) in Nikon NX2 and selected the sky area,
used the midtone slider in (levels) to darken the sky this will also
add some color boost

-used the (rectangle marquee tool) and put the rectangle around just the water
used the contrast slider to improve the contrast of that area only this
will also add a little color boost

-used the (selection gradient tool) and selected just the FG sand area and
made these adjustments:

1-darkened the (sand area) using midtone slider in the (levels)
2-desaturated the colors in the (sand area)
3-added a tad of USM (sharpening) in the (sand area)

-lightened (dodge) the trees on both sides of the photo and the lit mountain tip in the water reflection

-healed out the flag and clouds close to the edges of the photo

Hope this helps and thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Many thanks Dwayne, that did clean it up nicely. when i get some time this weekend i'll practice some of those tweaks. again, thanks for the lesson.. if ever down in DFW are look me up and i'll buy you a beer

schmoo

I'm moving this to Big Picture because there are shots of all varieties being submitted.