Please critique my photo

[Reef Bass]

While I have been doing film photography for decades and have a thorough grasp of the concepts of aperature, shutterspeed and depth of field, I am a noob when it comes to understanding many of the fine points of digital photography and post processing beyond cropping and resizing.

After much (futile) time trying to get decent pics of my corals, I finally took some of the advice frequently offered in this forum. I picked up a copy of Photoshop Elements and switched my old nothing special Canon Powershot S70 to RAW mode.

I could kick myself for not doing this sooner, as RAW mode and Photoshop is undoubtably the way to go, particularly with my 20,000K halides and actinics. SO much easier and actually effective.

This pic is my first attempt at the whole RAW / Photoshop thing and I would appreciate some constructive criticism. I loaded the RAW image into PS, set the color temp to 20,000K, tweaked the blacks, brightness, contrast, saturation and resampled / downsized for screen display (not via Save for Web to preserve EXIF info).

My camera isn't a fancy (or even decent) dSLR. It is an older 7mpx "enthusiasts compact" with comparatively limited aperature settings (f2.8-f5.6), limited optical zoom (3.6x) and ISO settings (50-400) and probably an itsy bitsy teeny weeny CCD image sensor. I mounted it on a tripod, as even with the lens wide open, longer shutterspeeds are necessary and used the timer to reduce shake from pressing the shutter release / go button. I believe this pic was shot on Av mode at f4.5 for 1/15 second. f2.8 for 1/30 or so would probably have been better in terms of reducing potential subject / camera motion and DOF. I used manual focus.

I am hoping to gain at least a basic competence with this process, which should then help me make an informed choice for an eventual camera upgrade to a nifty dSLR.

Are there obvious things which I have overlooked? Any suggestions for image improvements?

Thanks for your input.

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

I think you did a pretty good job, the bokeh isn't very pleasing and there is obvious chromatic abrasion...but I blame that on the outdated equipment, not the process of getting the image.

 

[Reef Bass]

Thanks TitusvileSurfer. I appreciate your taking the time to respond. Your posts were very instrumental in pointing the way to RAW mode and PSE.

Ken

 

["Umm fish?"]

I like your composition, though if you could get a little closer to the monti you might try that, too. There does seem to be a problem with focus, though. Pretty much the rock behind and to the left of the monti is what's in sharp focus. If you could move your focus point a little more onto the monti then I think the image would be much better.

Thanks!

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

Oh yes they are both excellent tools which I think all reef tank photographers should have. The extreme lighting variations sure are hard to get right without. In case you didn't see what I mean by chromatic abrasion, I was pointing out the blue highlight outlining the coral. This is caused by the lens and really out of your control. It will be less pronounced with more optical zoom though. Of course, Photoshop can save the day if you are crafty and have time to kill.

I have to admit I cracked a little smile when you mentioned RAW, as I have been on a personal crusade trying to drive that point home as of late. All of your work in Photoshop looks great. The black is really black. The highlights are bright with minimal blowouts. Some of the polyps and the rock on the bottom are blown slightly, but I think it is under control adds character. The contrast is maxed without loosing detail and you applied color saturation without overdoing it. The saturation may or may not have amplified the chromatic abrasion. You seem to be doing everything right to me. I think the single best thing about digital photography is the ease of editing after the fact. The absence of film cost is addicting too though. =)

 

[JeffReef]

Try a shallower DOF and crop closer. Highlights are blown a bit on the subject and color is a little off. Try manually adjusting the white balance if you can (instead of providing a value of 20K).

just my 2 cents.

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

Yeah I always use the eye dropper for white balance in RAW. I think the last time I set a numerical value was the first time I experimented with it. Now this is 100% complete opinion of taste, but I think his colors look fine. How are they off in your eye? Too light? Not enough Red in the coral?

 

[JeffReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13835905#post13835905 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TitusvileSurfer
Yeah I always use the eye dropper for white balance in RAW. I think the last time I set a numerical value was the first time I experimented with it. Now this is 100% complete opinion of taste, but I think his colors look fine. How are they off in your eye? Too light? Not enough Red in the coral?

It could be just my screen (uncalibrated Dell) but the coral looks more brown with a hint of purple. The overall lighting is still a tad on the blue side.

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

I obviously can't see the specimen itself so its a tough call, but I think that is how it is supposed to look. I definitely see the purple, which is what fooled the camera's lens and made the chromatic abrasion I mentioned a few times already. I think the rock looks correct and the coroline algae is a nice shade, so based on that I would say his colors match up in my eye.

 

[Reef Bass]

Thanks everyone for your very helpful comments. From a noob perspective, I may have exaggerated the chromatic aberations by boosting saturation. I choose this piece of coral because of the green and purple colors which are almost as bright / deep on the actual subject as the pic.

I also edited this image on my laptop whose screen isn't quite as vivid as that of my desktop, so I may have over boosted saturation and brightness there as well.

My composition could be better. The focal plane is too far back. Closer cropping would be good too. I wanted to include the hermit on the left who wandered into the shot. Yes, there are a few "blown" areas (too much brightness and / or overexposure I'm guessing), but I was more concerned with trying to get reasonably accurate color after my numerous previous attempts to do so.

Prior to trying RAW and PSE, I was close to being completely frustrated having wasted so much time (are experiments really a waste of time?) playing with custom white balances and various exposure modes and my other camera (Canon S5IS which I like in general but doesn't shoot RAW!) without getting even ballpark colors. RAW mode and PSE were a welcome breath of fresh air with their ease of manipulation of so many aspects of exposure and color. These are the right tools for the job, no doubt.

And if I can do it, it can't be that tough!

Now that I can get the colors at least roughly correct, I can focus (bad pun I know) on composition, exposure, sharpness and all the other wonderful aspects I can tweak to my heart's content. Coming from a film photo background, I am excited about the creative possibilities that are open to me now.

Thanks again everyone.

Ken

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

You should Google some Photoshop tutorials. There are some very, very informative demonstrations out there!