After sifting through many photos I finally decided to use this one for January’s One Four Challenge. For reference I have included the RAW version below. For this photo I did my normal processing edits where I’ll reduce the brightness in the sky the focus on making my main subject stand out more. As you can see in the RAW version the eye tends to want to go towards the top left of the frame from the brightness of the sky. The bucket is the darkest spot so for me at least it tends to keep my attention away from it. In order to reduce this effect I make the inside of the bucket a little brighter and boosted the saturation a bit to the pumpkins to make them stand out more. I also boosted the clarity and contrast a little to help strengthen the photo. This photo was also taken at 16mm so you can see a bit cut off around the photo on the edges. As with the last photo I have already created all of my photos in advance but through processing I kept going off each version to try and make it better. I can’t wait to show the rest of them in the coming weeks.
And to think I was going to scrap this photo as I couldn’t “see” anything in it until I started playing around with it a bit. Only then was I able to work with it and produce something out of it.
RAW
J.T. Avery Photography 
Hi Justin, I like what you have started with, the highlights in the basket are really incredible. And yes, you have made something out of an initial photo that may have been passed by. In months past, I have found the inspiration to get ahead in weeks, not the case with this month…but no matter when I get a new version ready, I am always so excited to share the progress! Looking forward to viewing yours over the next month.
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Thanks Carrie! I wish I could do the next edit the weekend before but never know if I’ll have the time or not. I remember when I had the time to post a new photo each day but that is long past as well. I’m just hoping that the extra work I’m doing now will pay off in the future. So far it seems to be worth it but it is taking my time away from things I’d rather be doing. Anyways, I still enjoy this challenge because it has helped me in “seeing” my photographs in different ways and opening up new ideas on how to process them.
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Justin, great job on the processing, much richer intense colours and contrast 🙂 I know what you mean about not realising the potential in an image till you start working on it. Look forward to your other weeks.
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Thanks Stacey! I liked the way I walked through the series for this photo. I got it to a point I was happy with then continued to look at it to determine what I didn’t like and then started to work on those points. I think by doing this it really helps with creating a final end result I like plus multiple version that can stand on their own as well. As I continue to experiment with different processing techniques through this challenge I’m hoping to be able to come up with different variations of a photo that can all equally hold their own with it making it difficult to really choose a favorite.
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I considered doing the same with my duckling, having a go at all four images at once, but it takes me so long to do anything in PS I was too tired, and my brain is still a bit fuzzed from this horrible cold. Plus I need sometime for inspiration to bubble away in the back of my brain 🙂
Look forward to see your variations, I didnt put a poll on my last month as I don’t particularly care if people have favourites, everything I put up I like and am proud of and if other people like them, well thats good enough for me 🙂
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You do need a bit of time set aside and a clear mind to think with when doing multiple variations of a photo at once. I was planning on getting a lot of processing done over Christmas break but I ended up being sick almost the whole time and didn’t even get out to shoot like I wanted to. I’m looking forward to what you will do with that duck, it’s a great shot.
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Love the depth and rich tones 🙂
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Thanks Sarah! The day I was out taking photos this day was kind of a bad day for me. It was cold and I wasn’t properly dressed. I was out having a good time with the family and didn’t really have my “photography vision”. I had no idea what I would be able to get as I’d never been to the place and I don’t like any people in my photos for the most part so trying to get something with a lot of people around was very difficult. I think this was my favorite photo from that day and now it seems to be a favorite among many others with knowing how to process it properly to get a vision I’m happy with. I’m happy I didn’t throw it out.
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I like what you did and think you made good choices. Looking at the Flickr photos on your side bar, I’m looking forward to the rest.
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Thanks Lynne! I was very hesitant of loading up that B&W version to Flickr but wanted to share it with some others that aren’t on WordPress. To me it kind of gives away a version ahead of time but then again there will be two others that haven’t been seen yet. In any case, the editing of this photo through the transitions has helped me learn how to process other photos I have in order to make them look more like I want them to. I keep wishing I has PS in addition to LR but I have came to the conclusion that since I already have LR then I should learn to work with what I have since I can’t justify the cost of PS. That and the fact that I know I can do most of what I want with LR then I am happy enough with it.
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Love what you did with the processing, Justin. Really good job. (((HUGS))) Amy
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Thanks Amy! Usually in the past I just stuck with one processing method but then to me all my photos started looking the same and kind of boring after awhile. It felt like it was too monotonous to keep doing the same processing on all of my photos. This Challenge has really helped me to break away from that and learn how to think more of the photo and try to make it look like I want. Now I just need to find the time to edit more of my photos so I can start sharing again. 🙂
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Justin, I have begun doing the same thing, experimenting as I go along, using both PS, LR, and iPad apps. I seemed to be getting into a rut, editing the same way over and over again. The only way to learn new is by doing it. So I am as well. (smile) Have FUN in the process above all else!!! Love, Amy
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Happy New Year Justin 🙂 Great choice of image!!!
I really like your walk through on what you’ve done so far and will look forward to seeing what you’ve done with the next 3 edits.
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Happy New Year to you as well Robyn and thanks! I think you’ll like the rest of them. I’ve been looking more into de-saturated processing so I took that approach a bit with this photo to get a couple of the edits.
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Looking forward to the rest 😄
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Very nice — so much more intense and colorful now 🙂
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Thanks Jen! One thing I noticed right away when I started shooting in RAW was that any settings you applied to the camera went away when importing that RAW file into LR to process it. But that just means that it’s less time messing with settings on the camera and only worrying about getting a nicely composed shot then worry about the fine tuning in processing.
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Interesting ….! I don’t know much about RAW files …. will have to do my research into all of this as I’m a total newbie!!!
But your colors here were great 🙂
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If you use the software that came with the camera then it will apply the settings that are set into the camera. But in order to keep those settings when exporting to work on in another application you will need to export as an image of some sort (gif, tiff, jpeg…). The way it works is that along with the RAW file there is are settings associated with the file that the camera’s application knows how to interpret. When importing the RAW into a 3rd party application such as LR, it can’t interpret these settings to know what to apply. So for me it’s pointless to change the contrast or saturation within the settings on the camera as those settings won’t be applied to the RAW file when imported into LR.
I have tried to print my stuff off in larger size and it’s not quite right (mostly the brightness/contrast is off) as my monitor isn’t calibrated correctly to the printers I tried printing too which is another thing to think about if you print anything off. What I’m planning on doing is ordering a few photos at a smaller size (8×10) then using those to calibrate my monitor to that companies printers and then always just using them to print my work when I want to. There are a lot of things you can get into with photography. I didn’t think there was so much to think about when I first started but if you just focus on one thing at a time it’s not so bad. I keep learning new things and enjoy every step of the way. I try to do learning posts as well when I have the time. It’s always nice to share knowledge. 🙂
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Hmmm….. my camera did come with a photo editing feature … but I have as yet to tinker with it because it’s rather user-unfriendly. Perhaps I should look into it?? I may be missing half of the available tools! But if I’m interpreting correctly what you’ve said, these tools are of limited use. Hmmm…..
Well …. last night I was lying in the front yard … in the dark … in temps in the teens (Fahrenheit) …taking moon photos … but I was learning the ins and outs of shutter speed. Got some great effects …. old hat to the pros, but new to me! But …. like you said … one thing at a time. Otherwise it’s just overwhelming o.O
Thanks for explaining all of this – interesting stuff. Stuff to explore! 🙂
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A great picture with a lot of potential to go in different directions. I like how you darkened the sky to shift the focus. Great job.
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Thanks Ben! That’s been something I’ve been focusing on lately is composing a shot to have a main focus then processing it where the eye is focused on that point without wanting to wonder around the photo much more than to just get a glimpse of the surroundings. To me it’s about creating a piece of art that has an interesting main subject with surrounding items that complement it but aren’t trying to steal the show.
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Lovely image. The work you did on it this week is great. The picture has more depth, more feeling, more of a tactile quality to it. I/m glad you selected this mage to work on, and eager to see what else you’ll do!
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Thanks Joanne! Sorry for the late reply. For some reason WordPress thought you were spam and I don’t check that too often. Anyways, now you are not considered spam on my site. Hopefully any future comments will come through just fine.
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Beautiful job on the editing. Your effects really add an atmosphere to the photo. I especially like the darkened sky.
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Thanks Karen! I was uncertain when I took the photo if I’d be able to darken the sky without causing an unnatural look. It does help that newer cameras retain more dynamic range to be able to take a photo without having to do brackets and be able to recover some of your highlights and shadow areas. I used to do bracket shots but was never able to work with HDR to well so I gave up on that and just do the single shots now and work with what I have.
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Hi Justin, Really like what you’ve done to bring out the colour and details. Like you I have prepared my 4 interpretations to save some time, and think through different elements, but find I still go back and fiddle!
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Thanks Chris! Wait until you see some of the later versions where the detail stands out a little more. It’s nice what you are able to do with software these days. So far preparing the 4 at once has been worth it as it looks like I wouldn’t have had any time to get the second prepared. At least with digital files you can always go back and make some adjustments though.
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So much to learn here! Thanks for the info! Your editing was so effective!
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Thanks! I did find it much easier to learn how to use the camera and learn about the composition elements of a photograph than learning how to process them. It’s still a work in progress with the learning how to process but I’m slowly getting there. Not sure if I’ll ever have a specific style of processing or if I’ll just continue to change and evolve with what I do.
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Like the intensity and colour of this edit, and your choice re: the light sky….
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Thanks Sue! I hope your not too attached to the color though as the future versions are towards the de-saturated end of the spectrum, but I still think they look nice. What I have learned though is that a photo can look nice in multiple forms.
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😀
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As everyone else has commented on the sky I will too. Darkening it has really changed the photo and the lightening of inside the bucket draws the eye. Great tweaks but fairly simple, (meaning that in a nice way) to make a much more interesting photo.
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Thanks Lee! Changes like this are becoming easier for me as I learn how to do the things I want within LR. It’d be nice to work with layers in PS to do this but I find it more challenging to do it in LR and more rewarding as well.
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Yes Lightroom has so much going for it and fairly simple to understand for a technicophobic person. Not sure if that’s a real word but I mean I’m not good with technology or anything new to do with it. Show me, repeat it 3 or more times and then I may ‘get’ it 🙂
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Great editing. It really added some flair to the photo for sure. The edit looks like something on a fall card or poster.
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Thanks Michelle! It has been nice learning how to use more of the editing features in LR other than just the sliders and a couple of the tools at the top. If you start out with a RAW photo with a bit of dynamic range in it then LR is a very powerful processing tool and working with layers in PS isn’t as important. Sure, there are things I wish I could do like only affect the saturation of a specific color in a specific area that you can do in PS but not in LR, but I learn to work with my limitations rather than make them stop me from wanting to do more. I had a bit of time this past weekend to work on more photos so I can’t wait to share them.
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LR is still very unknown to me, but starting to dabble in it. I look forward to your pictures! It is hard not to share them all at once, lol. I have to try and pace myself at times.
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That’s how I started out. I ended up posting quite a few photos each day for a couple of weeks and then I went to 1 a day. Now it’s more trying to find the time to post anything. I’m hoping soon I’ll find the time. I’m lucky to get one a week at this rate.
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Well, at least you are not bored.
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