 Derek J. Gordon |
Help with uploading to microstocks I've had quite a few images kicked back from istockphoto and shutterstock due to what they say is noise due to resampling and expansion, or "razzing" (not sure what that means honestly). As I have not expanded any of the images or forced them into bigger sizes I am at a bit of a loss. I am shooting with a Nikon D200 and using a Sigma 18-125 and Nikkor 70-300 and Nikkor 12-24 and always in RAW. I use Aperture 1.5 for file management, most editing and exporting the images, and PS CS for indepth editing. I would upload images for people to see, but unfortunately you cannot upload at 100% on this page. I am wondering if it is the Sigma lense that is generating the kick backs due to distortion or noise generation- is this a possibility? I'm at a loss and really not sure what is going wrong. Thanks.
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Carolina K. Smith |
Hi Derek, I shoot Nikon (D2x, D100 modified for IR, Kodak DCS Pro Slr/n) and have a wide range of Nikkor glass, about 8 lenses, and two Sigma (so my range covers 10.5, the fisheye, all the way to 800mm, the Sigma 300-800 zoom. I pretty much don't get rejected for noise at all. You may see blanket comments about using Noise Ninja or some other noise reduction software, but I don't think that is necessarily the answer. From one Nikon user to another, here are some of my thoughts... First, you should post your photos on the Forums at iStock (use the newbie forum or the Digital Photography forum at iStock...also if they have a 'critique forum' (I can't recall),and also post at Shutterstock... you will be bound to get help there. I have had 3 Coolpix cameras and to dSlrs from Nikon, they always came with Nikon View and maybe a trial CD of Nikon Capture as well. I think you should first open up your NEF file in Nikon View and look at it at 100%... Do you see the noise there?? You need to be able to recognize noise (go to the forums and do a search of NOISE, and you will see tons of examples). If you see noise in the NEF file, then I would look at the camera settings. This is one thing I really like about Nikon View... you look at the file settings and you can learn alot about your photography (what works/doesn't work). You should (in general) be shooting at the lowest ISO you can and in the best light you can for the given shot. I doubt if the lenses are the culprit. I would next suspect your workflow. Many artifacts can happen when you compress to the JPEG file. The way to best reduce that risk is to shoot RAW, convert to TIFF, do any/all postprocessing on the NEF or TIFF file...THEN only use the JPEG for the final save (AS A COPY!!!). If you are postprocessing your jpegs, you are losing information with each and every jpeg save... don't do that! You should try and post process using Nikon View to Nikon Capture to Adobe PS, or Nikon Capture to Adobe, or even just straight Adobe...and COMPARE the result to your current workflow (if you didn't see noise in the original NEF). Again, if you can see noise in the NEF file, then you need to rethink your camera settings (think low ISO, highest amount of light you can muster without blowing out highlights). Hope this will get you started in tracking down your problem. My workflow is to shoot in NEF, some postprocessing in NEF. Convert to TIFF, some postprocessing in TIFF (using Adobe). Last step save in JPEG with NO POSTPROCESSING on the JPEG file. Good luck. $7841.50 in microstock earnings and counting...click below for more information...
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Derek J. Gordon |
Thanks for great help. As for shooting, I always shoot at the lowest possible ISO and always in RAW- which using Aperture I can manipulate it constantly in RAW format and not have to export it to a different format- until I open it in PS, at which time I always use .tiff. The only time I deal with .jpeg is when exporting to upload. I think some of the problem is filters I've run some of the images through (unsharp mask etc), and some in sky areas when exported at a jpeg from .tiff- most likely from low light situations. I've never used any of the Nikon software though as I've always used either PS's raw plug in or Aperture for that.
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