Young Frankenstein
I sniff ozone and relax.
Could someone show me the different methods of photo enhancements used to improve coral photography ?
Different methods of photo enhancements
- Thread starter Young Frankenstein
- Start date
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Here's how I do it using CS5 (copied from a write-up I did on another site)-
Let’s face it… no matter how hard we try, we don’t always get that perfect
shot. Even the best shots can use some touching up, especially when it comes to
macro photography and your aquarium. I’m going to go through the basics on how
you can more closely replicate your corals in your pictures. This will not make
a bad image in to a good image, it will simply help you make a good image
better. While CS5 is a very complex program, and there are many ways to do
things, this is what I’ve found to be the easiest to produce the best
results.
To begin, I want to make note of the importance of shooting your pictures in
raw format. Shooting in jpeg will not allow you to make the necessary
adjustments without severely compromising the integrity of the image. Any DSLR
will have the ability shoot in raw, and most even let you choose jpeg, raw, or
both (duplicating the image in raw and jpeg).
The first thing you want to do is transfer your images from your device to
your computer. I do this twice. First, I transfer the files to a folder
labeled with the date and the topic (ie 5.15.12 Frags). I also create a
duplicate folder on another drive, in case my laptop drive were to ever crash.
Once the images are on your machine, we can move on to the next step.
In CS5, go to File > Browse in Bridge. This will open Bridge, allowing
you to preview the images. Locate the folder that you’ve loaded the pictures
to, and they’ll be displayed in the middle.
Choose the picture that you want to edit by double clicking. This will bring
it up in Camera Raw. This is where the majority of the editing that I do takes
place. Assuming you’re ready to edit, let’s move on.
In the Camera Raw screen, you’ve got a bunch of sliders with a preview of the
image. The first thing we’re going to do is adjust the white balance. While a
custom white balance on your camera is a nice thing to set, it’s not always an
option, especially if you do a lot of other pictures away from your tank.
Assuming you’ve got a pre-set white balance (or auto), your corals are most
likely going to be quite blue (see ‘before’ image above). In order to replicate
what you see, you’re going to need to adjust the white balance. This is easily
done by moving the slider labeled ‘Temperature’… and in a reef tank, you’re most
likely going to need to move it to the right. I’ve found that moving the slider
to 13,000 best replicates what I see in my tank. This will be purely based on
the color temperature of your tank, so your mileage may vary on what works best
for you. Remember, the goal is to replicate your tank… not try and make it look
‘better’ than it really is.
Once you’ve set your white balance, there are still several settings that you
can adjust. Hopefully, your exposure is correct already, but if it’s not, you
can dial it up or down from here as well. I’ve found that I only use the
contrast, clarity, and a tiny bit of saturation when editing my pictures, aside
from the color temperature. For your first picture, look at your tank closely
and move each slider until you get it just like the way you see it. You want to
avoid moving the sliders much in either direction, as this is likely to really
change the image a lot. Also keep in mind that saturation should be limited, as
a few points up is usually more than enough.
Once you’ve got the image just how you want it, it’s time to crop it. To do
this, click ‘Open Image’, which will bring it up in CS5. Press ‘C’ to open the
crop tool. At the top of the screen, you can choose a width and height. I
usually crop in 8×10 or 10×8, though you can crop in any size you want. Crop
the image (and remember, don’t crop a ton, as you can lose a lot of image
quality this way) to get out anything you don’t want in the image, or to bring
the subject in closer. Once you crop, press Ctrl and 0 (that’s zero) and it
will fill the screen.
Once you’ve finished cropping, it’s time to save. I save my images in one of
two formats. If I’m uploading to a website like Photobucket or a forum, I save
in jpeg. If I’m uploading to Flickr, or saving the image for myself, I save in
Tiff. I choose ‘Save As’, select the appropriate tag, then save to the same
folder that I started in. On jpeg files, once you hit Save, you’ll be prompted
to choose a file size.
Now that you’ve got the basics, you can try some things out for yourself to
see what works best for your situation.
Here’s the finished product
EDIT: I just want to add that there are numerous other things you can do to help sharpen the image... a high pass filter or unsharp mask, neither of which was covered in this because it was intended as a beginners guide, and I felt as though those were more of an intermediate level process. I'd be happy to do some screenshots and a quick write-up if anyone wants it.
Let’s face it… no matter how hard we try, we don’t always get that perfect
shot. Even the best shots can use some touching up, especially when it comes to
macro photography and your aquarium. I’m going to go through the basics on how
you can more closely replicate your corals in your pictures. This will not make
a bad image in to a good image, it will simply help you make a good image
better. While CS5 is a very complex program, and there are many ways to do
things, this is what I’ve found to be the easiest to produce the best
results.
To begin, I want to make note of the importance of shooting your pictures in
raw format. Shooting in jpeg will not allow you to make the necessary
adjustments without severely compromising the integrity of the image. Any DSLR
will have the ability shoot in raw, and most even let you choose jpeg, raw, or
both (duplicating the image in raw and jpeg).
The first thing you want to do is transfer your images from your device to
your computer. I do this twice. First, I transfer the files to a folder
labeled with the date and the topic (ie 5.15.12 Frags). I also create a
duplicate folder on another drive, in case my laptop drive were to ever crash.
Once the images are on your machine, we can move on to the next step.
In CS5, go to File > Browse in Bridge. This will open Bridge, allowing
you to preview the images. Locate the folder that you’ve loaded the pictures
to, and they’ll be displayed in the middle.
Choose the picture that you want to edit by double clicking. This will bring
it up in Camera Raw. This is where the majority of the editing that I do takes
place. Assuming you’re ready to edit, let’s move on.
In the Camera Raw screen, you’ve got a bunch of sliders with a preview of the
image. The first thing we’re going to do is adjust the white balance. While a
custom white balance on your camera is a nice thing to set, it’s not always an
option, especially if you do a lot of other pictures away from your tank.
Assuming you’ve got a pre-set white balance (or auto), your corals are most
likely going to be quite blue (see ‘before’ image above). In order to replicate
what you see, you’re going to need to adjust the white balance. This is easily
done by moving the slider labeled ‘Temperature’… and in a reef tank, you’re most
likely going to need to move it to the right. I’ve found that moving the slider
to 13,000 best replicates what I see in my tank. This will be purely based on
the color temperature of your tank, so your mileage may vary on what works best
for you. Remember, the goal is to replicate your tank… not try and make it look
‘better’ than it really is.
Once you’ve set your white balance, there are still several settings that you
can adjust. Hopefully, your exposure is correct already, but if it’s not, you
can dial it up or down from here as well. I’ve found that I only use the
contrast, clarity, and a tiny bit of saturation when editing my pictures, aside
from the color temperature. For your first picture, look at your tank closely
and move each slider until you get it just like the way you see it. You want to
avoid moving the sliders much in either direction, as this is likely to really
change the image a lot. Also keep in mind that saturation should be limited, as
a few points up is usually more than enough.
Once you’ve got the image just how you want it, it’s time to crop it. To do
this, click ‘Open Image’, which will bring it up in CS5. Press ‘C’ to open the
crop tool. At the top of the screen, you can choose a width and height. I
usually crop in 8×10 or 10×8, though you can crop in any size you want. Crop
the image (and remember, don’t crop a ton, as you can lose a lot of image
quality this way) to get out anything you don’t want in the image, or to bring
the subject in closer. Once you crop, press Ctrl and 0 (that’s zero) and it
will fill the screen.
Once you’ve finished cropping, it’s time to save. I save my images in one of
two formats. If I’m uploading to a website like Photobucket or a forum, I save
in jpeg. If I’m uploading to Flickr, or saving the image for myself, I save in
Tiff. I choose ‘Save As’, select the appropriate tag, then save to the same
folder that I started in. On jpeg files, once you hit Save, you’ll be prompted
to choose a file size.
Now that you’ve got the basics, you can try some things out for yourself to
see what works best for your situation.
Here’s the finished product
EDIT: I just want to add that there are numerous other things you can do to help sharpen the image... a high pass filter or unsharp mask, neither of which was covered in this because it was intended as a beginners guide, and I felt as though those were more of an intermediate level process. I'd be happy to do some screenshots and a quick write-up if anyone wants it.
Last edited:
mfinn
likes zoanthids
Many times I don't get the focus perfect ( old bad eyes) and my pictures are a little blurry. Is there a tool in the CS programs to sharpen the photos a little?
Can you explain that more?
Can you explain that more?
mfinn
likes zoanthids
Also when you save a picture as a jpeg file, would it be best to save it at the highest quality?
You can sharpen somewhat, but if it's out of focus, you're never going to get a good picture out of it.
Here's how to use the high pass filter (not me) - [video=youtube;wj8fOlK0ILs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj8fOlK0ILs[/video]
Here's how to use the unsharp mask (again, not me) - [video=youtube;GLO2zhiEaHU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLO2zhiEaHU[/video]
As far as the size to save, I usually save about half way (6 on the scale) for uploading to photobucket and facebook.
Here's how to use the high pass filter (not me) - [video=youtube;wj8fOlK0ILs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj8fOlK0ILs[/video]
Here's how to use the unsharp mask (again, not me) - [video=youtube;GLO2zhiEaHU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLO2zhiEaHU[/video]
As far as the size to save, I usually save about half way (6 on the scale) for uploading to photobucket and facebook.
OP
OP
Young Frankenstein
I sniff ozone and relax.
Thanks for the reply ....... this is awsome information.
I wanted to do another write-up on using Picasa, which is a free photo editing software offered by Google. You can download Picasa at www.google.com/picasa.
To begin, we’ll start in the Library. This will show all of the pictures that you choose to import. First, view the folder of the picture that you want to edit, then double click the picture.
Once opened, the first thing you want to do is adjust the white balance. (Don't laugh at the pics in the folder... I was trying out strobe lighting with corals. Needless to say, I'm not using that technique).
To do this, click on the ‘sun’ icon. Select the ‘Neutral Color Picker’ and find a grey place in your tank. Adjust the ‘Color Temperature’ slider until you find the color that most accurately resembles what you see in your tank. You may also want to add some shadow depth, and increase the highlights in order to replicate how the image should look.
Now it’s time to crop the image. You don’t want to crop too much, and it’s easy to undo things if necessary. Just crop anything out that you don’t want, which also makes the focal point larger. To do this, go back to the ‘Wrench’ icon, and select ‘Crop’. You can either leave the default ‘Manual’ dimensions, or you can choose a preset. I usually crop 8x10 on photos that are more vertical, and 4x6 on photos that are more horizontal. In this case, I chose 4x6. Once finished, click Apply. To save, click File, Save As, choose the folder you want, name it, and choose your extension. I usually save as jpeg to upload to Photobucket or Facebook.
Here’s the finished product-
Just to note, Picasa is not as powerful of an editing program as Adobe Photoshop. This program is great for a beginner, but I highly suggest purchasing Adobe CS5 or CS6 for anyone who is serious about photographing their tank, or anything else.
To begin, we’ll start in the Library. This will show all of the pictures that you choose to import. First, view the folder of the picture that you want to edit, then double click the picture.
Once opened, the first thing you want to do is adjust the white balance. (Don't laugh at the pics in the folder... I was trying out strobe lighting with corals. Needless to say, I'm not using that technique).
To do this, click on the ‘sun’ icon. Select the ‘Neutral Color Picker’ and find a grey place in your tank. Adjust the ‘Color Temperature’ slider until you find the color that most accurately resembles what you see in your tank. You may also want to add some shadow depth, and increase the highlights in order to replicate how the image should look.
Now it’s time to crop the image. You don’t want to crop too much, and it’s easy to undo things if necessary. Just crop anything out that you don’t want, which also makes the focal point larger. To do this, go back to the ‘Wrench’ icon, and select ‘Crop’. You can either leave the default ‘Manual’ dimensions, or you can choose a preset. I usually crop 8x10 on photos that are more vertical, and 4x6 on photos that are more horizontal. In this case, I chose 4x6. Once finished, click Apply. To save, click File, Save As, choose the folder you want, name it, and choose your extension. I usually save as jpeg to upload to Photobucket or Facebook.
Here’s the finished product-
Just to note, Picasa is not as powerful of an editing program as Adobe Photoshop. This program is great for a beginner, but I highly suggest purchasing Adobe CS5 or CS6 for anyone who is serious about photographing their tank, or anything else.
typicalwhiteazn
Active Member
I went econo and simple for my photo editing. My current camera is a canon t1i with a tamron 60 mm Macro. I used Mircosoft Paint to crop the picture and save it in PNG format. Then I use the free editing program GIMP and so far just using auto 'white blance' followed by Contrast/Brightness gets the job done 9/10 times for me.
couple small pics post editing this way..
couple small pics post editing this way..
OP
OP
Young Frankenstein
I sniff ozone and relax.
The photos are just amazing, thanks again, I used adobe in the past, realy old software about 10 years old. I will download that free picasa and start working on some photos 
OP
OP
Young Frankenstein
I sniff ozone and relax.
OP
OP
Young Frankenstein
I sniff ozone and relax.
amazing ................. probably one of the best photos I have ever seen.
Last edited:
OP
OP
Young Frankenstein
I sniff ozone and relax.
Downloaded picasa today, do other people access your photos or connect to your pc ?
I hope not lol. I know google is a little on the intrusive side, but I don't think they go that far.
