 Jenny Gibbs |
Color Enhancement Software? Does anyone know of some digital enhancement software that helps to make photos VERY vibrant with rich, deep color? Thanks!
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Richard Lynch |
Just about any image editing software will have the ability to saturate an image and enhance contrast - which is what you seem to be looking to do. Some of the more popular packages are Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. That these two are popular does not make them your only choices, but popularity sometimes does have its advantages in that people can tell you specifically how to accomplish your goals. Some packages have automated tools to enhance images, and these work more-or-less well, depending on the quality of your exposures. Frankly, I advocate learning to use whatever package you choose to edit images rather than depending on auto features, as you will get better results more consistently. The digital darkroom is, to some extent, the new photographic frontier ... personnally, I consider it an endless creative well. Learning to work with these tools and get more out of your images is a process, and is rarely served consistently by pressing a button or owning one particular program over another. I hope that helps!
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Jenny Gibbs |
Thanks so muchn Richard. I've been using Photoshop for the basics: converting to B&W, small touch ups, etc. I should take a class to learn what else I can do! Lately I've come across some photographers web sites where the color and vibrancy is AMAZING. I'm thinking ... they must be incredible with their camera or there is something being done in the digital "darkroom". Any comments on that? Thanks!
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Richard Lynch |
Part of what you see in those images is someone taking pictures with excellent knowledge of how to shoot. The other part of what you see is someone knowing what to do in the digital darkroon. A great photo can be the result of one or the other, but more often, in my experience, it is the result of both at the same time. I do adjustments for professional photographers because they know they have the source and that it can be better. I can teach them how to do most of what I do, but those I work with would rather concentrate on shooting well than learning the digital darkroom, even though I don't work for free. It is possible to do both, but you have to know how, and be good behind the lens as well as in post-processing. To me, it is part of the art. Knowing post-processing will not instantly make you a better photographer, but it will instantly make your images better, and can help you get a better handle on what you need to do to shoot better photos. I teach several courses here at BetterPhoto that can help get you moving forward on becoming competent in the digital darkroom. - Photoshop 101: The Photoshop Essentials Primer - Correct and Enhance Your Images - From Monitor to Print: Photoshop Color Workflow - Leveraging Layers: Photoshop's Most Powerful Tool But there are many excellent courses here at BetterPhoto to choose from.
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Jenny Gibbs |
That's what I thought. You have me sold on taking one of your photoshop classes. If I have the basics down, can I start with the "Correct and Enhance" class?
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Richard Lynch |
Jenny, Correct and Enhance is a fine place to start if you have all of the following already under control: * Basic setup of the program (solid color management choices and monitor calibration) You really don't have to have all of those nailed, but basic competence and confidence with your use of the program is a core component. I've had beginners start with my most advanced course -- and as long as they know it will be a challenge, they pull it off. It sounds to me like you have the confidence to take on Correct and Enhance ;-)
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Kathleen Paton |
Jenny, You might be seeing HDR photos. Try searching the web for "HDR" or high dynamic range and see if that is it. HDR has become very popular recently and is something that can be achieved in Photoshop and, I'm sure, other software.
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Jason A. Thomas |
Jenny, A friend of mine showed me a great way to enhance color saturation when I asked how I could mimic the saturated look of Velvia film for digital photos. You create a new adjustment layer with 'Channel Mixer'. In the Channel Mixer bump up the primary color in each channel to +110% and drop the other two to -5% (this way all three colors sum to 100%). So in the Red channel you make red +110%, blue -5% and green -5%. Then do the same pattern in each channel. You can then save this channel mixer setting before applying it. That way you can quickly apply it to other photos without having to retype in the channel settings every time. Since it is applied in an adjustment layer you can turn it on and off at will to see what difference it makes. I like the look for nature shots but I sometimes have to mask it out for skies/clouds in landscape shots depending on the lighting situation. -j- Jason Thomas
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David B. Coblitz |
All the above answers you received are good, but if you're just looking for what you asked for, there are cheaper & easier ways to get there than Photoshop, etc. A free download that will do what you want is Irfanview from irfanview.com It's fast & simple/straight forward & does quite a bit, though not as much as Photoshop. Another free one that is probably perfect for what you want is Picassa, which is a free download from the google.com web site. Dave
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Jenny Gibbs |
Jason, Kathleen, and David, Thanks so much for your responses...I'll check it all out! Jenny
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