r/postprocessing • u/cameronrad • Aug 11 '16
So the last post I made (“How do I get this look?”) got buried pretty deep, so I thought I’d make this thread rounding up some videos/resources/techniques I’ve found.
I mentioned in the last thread that “post processing is more about theory than the tools/plugins/tricks/secrets/etc.” I may have misspoke a bit. I’m not saying neglect learning the tools, or stop searching for secrets, or stop using plugins; but rather use them in a more educational way. Knowing how all the tools work will help you apply them better and know when to apply them. Using plugins can be a great tool, but should never be a crutch. My feeling is anything a plugin can do, I want to know how to do for my own knowledge.
What if you’re an avid VSCO, Replichrome, Alien Skins, etc user and one day you’re working on a job with a fast turnaround time and your plugin fails, or it wasn’t on that computer, or it’s no longer compatible with Photoshop/Lightroom? What happens if your look was defined by a plugin, that you can’t recreate? Meanwhile you have a client waiting on their images. This is why having a vast knowledge of the tools/techniques is extremely valuable.
If you like a plugin, try reverse-engineering it. I’m not saying you have to use the reverse-engineered technique and stop using the plugin, but it sure helps when you know how the plugin is working. Heck you could even improve upon it ;)
Chasing “secrets” is also a great way to learn. It’s not necessarily that a “secret” exists but what you may learn along the way to “finding one”.
Anyways, what I’m saying is there’s no shame or problem with using plugin/preset/filters as tools in your kit; however like any tool you should have an understanding of how it works so you know when to use it, how to use it properly, or what to do if something goes wrong and you can’t use it. The better you get at editing, the more you may realize you need to improve as a photographer. You’ll come to a point where the quality of photo/editing has reached a cap due to the quality of the base image.
If anyone has any techniques/articles/tutorials that should be included, please comment or send me a message and I’ll add it in.
I’m not up to date on my tutorials. From what I’ve found Ben Secret and Michael Woloszynowicz have some of the most powerful techniques in their videos.
Like it or not, these are part of the landscape now. Worth knowing what's out there.
-Cameron Rad
How many people actually check out this thread? If you have gotten any help from it , shoot me a PM :)
r/postprocessing • u/sweetyyc77 • 8h ago
Was curious to see what the free version of Lr mobile app could accomplish. Achieved primarily with HSL, grading, and S curve.
r/postprocessing • u/StudioWildflower • 11h ago
r/postprocessing • u/Shoot_Film_Die_Hard • 5h ago
r/postprocessing • u/Sea-Asparagus4725 • 5h ago
r/postprocessing • u/tw0bears • 1d ago
Took the photo with this exact outcome in mind.
r/postprocessing • u/Ace929 • 10h ago
I'm new and really struggling with editing. I understand the basics sorta, but I struggle with two things. First, I often find myself stuck taking a photo in a weird direction and I sorta get tunnel vision and can't recognize I'm over-cooking. Find myself totally restarting multiple times because of this. Second, I often get super tangled in the weeds where I just keep making minute changes and the longer I spend with the photo, the more tiny shit I adjust and when alls said and done, the minor stuff I spent so long on is barely noticeable. Anyone else struggle with this? How do I escape these traps?
r/postprocessing • u/True_Air_6696 • 20h ago
Trying to mimic the style of portraits I found when I was doomscrolling on pinterest.
Shot on EM10 with 40-150mm plasticc.
r/postprocessing • u/dawutangclams • 8h ago
Long time photographer. Did it professionally for a stint late 90s/early 2000s. Now its just a hobby. After I stopped getting prints and you could get digital files- my workflow since the early-mid 2000s was to shoot film and scan it. Never really edited them unless I had to. Very basic/primitve.
Jump to this past month or so, I've finally got a digital camera. I have to admit when I saw the raw files I was incredibly dissapointed. I get that in order to record the all the info it isn't going to look great/ideal. This makes editing (or adding profiles) nearly mandatory.
2 questions:
Do you batch import with assigned profiles? or do you do each individual photograph? ( this seems time consuming)
The size! I never expected the files to be so large. I'm not computer illiterate- but 40-60mb per picture is wild. Thats what my large format stuff is scanned! how do you manage the files? (i.e. import raw, apply preset and export as a smaller file? is that correct?)
I do feel like a dino but it seems like a lot of work to share one photo.
I know I can shoot in jpeg- the in camera presets for color are all kinda meh- and I'm a little proud- my camera is XXmp I want to shoot with XXmp!
r/postprocessing • u/raddestbtchalive • 9h ago
Hi everyone!
I recently did a spooky-themed photoshoot outdoors where I planned on using off-flash lighting. However, there was a mishap with my equipment and I ended up using ambient lighting. The model I was working with had another photoshoot right after and I did not want to waste her time trying to fix the equipment. I am also still fairly new to using off-flash lighting with my photos and before anyone replies with this, I am aware that properly exposing photos is the right thing.
Majority of the photos (as the example shows) were taken under shadowy areas and I am having difficulty with trying to adjust it in post.
Does anyone have any tips on what particular settings to use for tis situation? I'd greatly appreciate any suggestions.
r/postprocessing • u/Dargon_711 • 1d ago
Used Phocus
r/postprocessing • u/Thunderbird565 • 1d ago
Hey guys! Bit of context - I edit in Lightroom desktop on my Mac, and Lightroom desktop still can't export a photo with a white border. Lightroom mobile can, so I'd edit every photo on my Mac, opening everything again on my phone, and exporting each photo from there one by one. I refuse to install Lightroom Classic next to Lightroom just for borders, and for some reason I'm too stubborn to open another adobe app just to add white borders.
So I decided to make Autopost (free and open source). You drop a folder of edited pictures, pick one shape for the whole carousel (4:5, 3:4, square, whatever you like), and it pads every photo with a border - no cropping - and exports them ready for Instagram. It can also AirDrop them straight to your phone.
Added a few other features:
- text anywhere on the photo (film stock, location, a title) in any font on your Mac, and it lands in the same spot on the next photo, so a carousel lines up
- a phone preview, so you can swipe through the carousel and see how it crops on your profile grid (in light and dark mode)
- warm paper-white borders, which honestly look lovely on film scans
Also, to be full transparent - this is vibe coded. I described what I wanted and Claude Code wrote most of the code, while I tested every feature on my own photos. It's all on GitHub if you want to look under the hood.
It's Mac only for now (macOS 14+). macOS warns you the first time you open it, because it isn't registered with Apple yet (the steps are in the README).
LMK if you'd use it and whether you'd like any other features!
Feel free to download and play around yourself!
r/postprocessing • u/ZealousidealAd8378 • 2d ago
Recovered some shadows reduced haze on water fall, reduced highlights on water while increasing exposure and shadows. Increased clarity on waterfall, recovered shadows on boat and increased exposure and highlights slightly on boat. Didn’t touch mist or color
r/postprocessing • u/Basic_Celebration504 • 1d ago
I feel like there's potential in a heavy crop on the white horse?
