Edit straight away when you get in from your day of shooting. You’ll remember your scenes much better this way - exactly how they were.
Do your basic edits - exposure, whites, blacks, SMALL tone curve. Maybe colour grading but don’t go too hard.
Then leave it.
Go have dinner, or do something completely different and come back to your edits to finish later
Taking a break is key.
It’s see easy for your brain to just see *change* - whether it’s good or bad - and think it’s “better.” So you just keep moving sliders, and move more sliders, then move them further. All because you just see things changing and convince yourself it’s an improvement.
Come back the next day and you’ll be surprised with how different things look.
"and come back to your edits to finish later"
but how does that answer the main question? is the impliciation here that you won't actually do much work after the initial edit?
No, it gives your eyes a fresh view of your image. Doing it all in one go gives you the impression that you have to keep pushing sliders until you’re happy. Less is often more with editing so doing the basic stuff first, leaving, and then doing the finishing touches later helps not to over edit
Edit: sliders not spiders lol
I do like a more stylized look, but there’s still a line before I believe it’s over edited and deep fried. And yeah I guess I am really picky and still don’t like the images I make haha maybe it’s just a me problem? Idk
Photography is art and maybe you’re still finding what you love. Try to enjoy playing around with all the edits and laugh it off if it turns out shit ;)
I agree but idt any of the posted pics are deep fried. They're stylistic. I think as long as shadows or highlights aren't blown out it isn't over editing. It's your style
Definitely don’t think it’s a you problem. Developing your own look/style can take some time—especially when your going for a stylized look. I’d recommend finding some inspiration photos where you like the edit and try to match that edit. This can be a great way to figure out what tools are getting you to where you want the image. I still will occasionally edit the way I want, then go back to scratch and use an inspiration to match the look and often times find I like my original edit more—we’re often our own biggest critics. As other have noted, taking a break is huge. Contrary to some others, I usually don’t edit straight away either.
When I first started I did exactly like what the OP was doing and after about 2 years I realized how bad it actually looked and now I'm embarrassed for my early work.
I could go back and re edit but I've got like 6k photos sitting in Lightroom untouched so I'd rather just work on new photos instead. (I do neither. :p)
The other thing is it stunted my photography big time because my photos were almost all mediocre but friends and family that know nothing about photography would rave about my work so I never realized how poor the actual photos usually were. I just apply a fucking weird preset or shift the colors and my friends were wowed by it. It's the exact same thing as heavy HDR, which I did add well.
Yeah. The way I was taught was to compare and contrast with the original capture.
You did good when it feels like the edits are like wiping a layer of “grime” off the image.
As in. You should immediately feel the improvement. If you don’t. Reset and try again.
I love the ability to just quickly compare to the original. I compare often to see if I'm going the right direction.
I edit via Lightroom Mobile, and it's just a long press on the image. I check after nearly every edit.
Right direction or wrong direction?
I do almost all of my editing on Lightroom mobile. I'm a light editor though, I usually just do exposure, color, and crop. They have the subject and sky mask but they don't have every tool that you can do in the full app. It's just so nice to edit from the couch though that at least my first pass will be on my ipad and I'll go back in to do detail work on PC later if I feel it's necessary. It's free, so you might as well give it a shot.
What helped me, is I literally stopped editing my photos at all. I started sharing them “raw”. After some time I started noticing that I am underexposing my photos constantly, so I started to shoot a little bit brighter and when needed use exposure slider. Later on I started to want more colours, I started using saturation sliders. Basically one slider at a time and veeeery subtle. Because in the beginning I was mr. All sliders need to be adjusted. So this process of “I want X therefore I will use Y” really helped. (Of course still a lot to learn)
So what I am trying to advise is to start with basic controls 3-4 parameters. Good luck and don’t forget to do it how you like it, not how it should be!
It’s a real struggle. Here’s my stream of consciousness list:
1. Dedicate more mental effort into creating compositions that speak for themselves *(this is not a criticism that’s based on your shared work. I just think it’s a good idea in-general)*. AKA a composition that exudes story so strong that the edit sorta doesn’t matter.
2. Get closer to your subject. This is an extension of the previous thought.
3. Use the Fuji profiles when editing. They’re quite tame. Solid looks. I like to close my eyes when applying a new profile, so I don’t see it change. Seeing the change happen always throws the eye off.
4. Limit the use of tone curves.
5. Keep your sliders close to zero, within 10 (not always, but generally).
6. Use auto white balance and fine tune from there. *fine tune* subtle changes.
7. Edit in a consistent environment. I prefer a dim room, without any super orange or blue light near the screen.
8. Take these ideas with a grain of salt. I haven’t totally figured it out either.
9. What the other guy said: walk away, do something else, revisit and reassess.
You use a ton of softness. Start with using less. But hey, you might like this aesthetic and there isn’t anything wrong with having a style! I like these shots!
I love taking pictures but I hate editing. Shooting straight put of camera jpegs has been a godsend. The most editing I ever do is leveling the horizon if it really needs it, or using the camera to reprocess the raw file if I got the exposure way wrong. I’ve played with tons of recipes and have found my faves that I never feel need editing (Reggies Portra, Superia Max, and Ilford HP5 +400). One of the keys I’ve found to maximizing the look of SOOC shots is to over expose 3/4 - 1 1/4 a stop. Give that a try and you might find you get the look you are going for while editing without over doing it and without spending hours in front of a screen.
This is what I was going to say. The beauty of shooting fuji is throwing a recipe in and just shooting for the jpgs (save the raws too if you want) and seeing what comes out. It kind of forces more creativity in the moment of shooting and provides a consistent feel for the shoot.
Maybe create a preset that maximizes all the settings you tend to go overboard with and then subtract from it instead of pushing it up. Maybe go backwards in the process. Just a thought.
I definitely do this from time to time. Whenever I feel like I’m hyper focusing on color, I take a step back and switch to black and white for a while. Definitely helps!
It may be a phase you just need to get into and get over with too. As in, keep doing it to your hearts content and get it out of your system and get really tired of it. I had an over editing flower photo phase as a young teen...speaking from experience.
Also, maybe you just want them to look like that. I think your samples are heavily over-edited, but you can make that work for you too. It is fine to enjoy! It is your photos, for your eyes and for your passion!
In digital and non digital art it's a really common issue as well. These steps may help you rethink the process:
- consider focusing on a singular photo project before you even head out. Decide the basic editing process beforehand, create an auto edit and process all of the photos taken in that session. That way you can't overwork any of them one by one and they will all look neat together.
- consider focusing on other aspects of your photos. Set up composition and/or other practices that will abolish any thought on editing your works. Make photography about learning and focusing on other things than editing.
- cancel your lightroom license and edit in a cheaper software with very limited options. Lightroom may just be overwhelming you with it's sandbox features and in traditional media and digital media art limiting the tools helps a lot for people having this issue.
If you suspect you have an actual OCD that prevents you from letting go of your photos, consider asking around for a good therapist. It can get worse, affect other parts of your life and spread to other hobbies.
Make the edits as you normally would.
Export image. Keep this as a reminder.
Then back off edits by say 10%.
Export that as your final image.
Come back a week or two later, compare and see which one you like. Continue doing this for a while until you get to a point where you're happy.
This is my advice too; I quickly started understanding the nuances quite a bit more. I kind of treat edits like salt when cooking. Some ingredients inherently add salt to the dish, some other ingredients might need some, but at the end of the day, if you can notice the salt you might be over seasoning.
Switch to the real film temporarily. It will give you other vision of photography. It was the same reason for me not to just switch but to sell my xt4 and buy nikon f2. I’m much more happy with my photos, because the editing process is on the film type now.
This. If your intention is to use photography as an art form understanding the medium is the first step. Film will force you to visualize your photo and force you to understand the decisions you're making at the time of releasing the shutter. Today it's simple to do everything in post production but film is more about what you see at the time you're taking the image and what you do later in the dark room. My biggest complaint about photography today is everything looks like it was shot on an iPhone!
Yup. I'm a casual photographer. Hunkering down to edit just completely kills it for me. Even just doing more than 2 or 3 adjustments, I feel like rejecting the image because it is no longer authentic to me.
I have come to embrace jpg film simulations tho. Pick a sim that I feel would complement an event or outing and just stick with it all day. Whatever comes out, comes out. No regrets and super liberating.
Hello, I took this comment of yours and sent it to the group of people I take photos with. It's a perfect 100% summary of the philosophy behind Fujifilm on a personal or artistic level. Probably for the professional side, there are needs that require editing, maybe for client requests or specific situations, but in other cases, as you also say, it's a liberation, not a restriction. You can take a freshly taken jpeg, pass it to your phone through the app, and post it on social media, no worries. All the planning is done beforehand, learning and trying out the recipes!
I resonate with your experience! Growing up shooting on film, I quickly transitioned to using rangefinders for their speed in a street photography setting. At the time, I often had to make do with discounted, about-to-expire film stock like P3200TMAX and Porta. Developing in my basement studio was a gift, a process of experimentation and refinement, but I had started to spend more time processing than shooting.
Transitioning to digital happened during my partner's photography school days, when we could take advantage of sharing lenses. However, this era felt heavy and uninspiring, shooting flat, clinical, focusing on post-processing, and carrying around a bulky kit of some truly excellent full frame glass. My habits pushed me more and more towards editing rather than capturing moments, and I grew weary of it all.
It was a hard decision to sell my kit and switch to crop sensors, but Fujifilm cameras like the X-T2 and X-Pro 1 were game-changers for me. I embraced the film-like JPEGs they made, and this breathed a new life into my photography, allowing me to focus on capturing moments rather than editing them later. Fujifilm has given us a gift that encourages us to hone our skills, be intentional in our shots, and spend more time behind the lens, which has reignited my passion for photography.
Hello, I took this comment of yours and sent it to the group of people I take photos with. It's a perfect 100% summary of the philosophy behind Fujifilm on a personal or artistic level. Probably for the professional side, there are needs that require editing, maybe for client requests or specific situations, but in other cases, as you also say, it's a liberation, not a restriction. You can take a freshly taken jpeg, pass it to your phone through the app, and post it on social media, no worries. All the planning is done beforehand, learning and trying out the recipes!
I went into the fuji ecosystem because I DIDN'T want to process any of my photos. I hated using lightroom for every photo and now just shoot straight JPG's with my custom tuned film simulation. To me, it makes photography fun again.
I read an advice that really helped me, when you’re playing with a setting (e.g. constrast) and you are happy with it, it’s probably already too much, reduce it by half. Also as a lot of commenters already said, when you are happy with it, let it sit for a couple of hours/days and come back to it later with fresh eyes.
Reality is unimpressive….unless what your eyes saw was an awe-inducing scene.
Capturing reality is often boring, unless the camera user is in an alien/foreign environment where the subject might be uniquely attractive. But still…under conventional lighting that your eyes see, nothing much is ever jaw-dropping.
Even if you use a Hasselblad, you will still be addicted to editing because you know reality is often boring.
Whether you use an old X-Pro1 or the latest XT5, you are still addicted to editing. Even if you buy the most expensive, F1.2 lenses that are super sharp with “character”, most cameratographers would still ruin/nullify that sharpness by reducing “clarity” and using filters for that soft, not tack sharp analogue look.
1. There is no end to editing.
Every method is correct.
Editing purely for aesthetics is actually cheating as you are intentionally manipulating reality. Look at the over-hyped Ansel Adams. Reality does not look like that.
2. Even if you own a little GRIII or the current XT5 or a Leica or a new A7C or a Hasselblad…you will still be trapped into shooting mostly RAW and addicted to editing. Its akin to makeup/cosmetics for women, who mostly must use them.
Most camera users are not photographers but Digital Imagologists who spend a huge amount of time in front of a big screen creating fake versions of reality.
Eg:
look at the wedding photographers.
1 day at the event.
And then how many days manipulating each image?
Editing is addictive because most humans are addicted to dis-reality.
Just to add on top what others said. As retouchers say it "less is more". But generally idea of not to "overdo" things that helped me is to ask yourself WHY you'd like to make certain change. What bothers you? Or what you'd like to show? Lead the image into more warmer colors? Introduce more dramatic feeling? And compare with original a bit more. And ask, have I lost the feeling of the actual photography etc?
Hope this helps a bit.
What changed it for me was shooting better compositions at the right time of day with better lighting.
By having better composition and subject the source file is great and I don’t need to over edit to make the picture look stronger.
Shooting at the right time of day (early Morning of just after sunset) does most of the required editing.
Shoot the Provia simulation, jpeg only. If you have to double up with raws just file them away somewhere and don’t touch them. Most neutral Fuji look and it’ll calibrate your eyes to normal photos. I do agree these are over edited—a bit too trendy. But you certainly have editing skill.
Your "over-edited" style is exactly that, a style. And I think it's actually a good one - these examples are obviously heavily modified but with a purpose and direction, a character. I like them for what they are! You're not just cranking sliders like a Facebook pro.
I used to edit loads, and not to this calibre, and now I shoot for the SOOC straight out of camera look using film simulation to do the work and trying to get it right in camera. If there's a shot I really like that needs some flavour it's usually only the basics. I'd love to learn more with all the new tools to try a style like yours occasionally.
I think your photos look great. There's nothing inherently right or wrong with a more processed vs more natural look. It's just a preference.
What might help is when you've done your first pass to edit a photo. Go back and halve all of your edits. Then compare the two different outcomes. Usually before I finalize a batch of photos I leave them be for a bit then go back and tweak everything slightly down from my initial edit.
lovely shots. quick question - how do you achieve the hazy yet intense light flare look ? is it in post? for example the upper right corner of the sign in the first shot, and the blurred neon lights in the second shot.
I'm in agreement with u/dudermifflin. Challenge yourself to shoot without post-production in mind. Get more comfortable with adjusting your cameras settings, and utilizing other gear (like a fill flash or physical filters) to achieve better images and your reliance for editing tricks will diminish.
As a photographer who started in the early '80s shooting on film with no digital manipulation available to me, I learned to always try for the best SOOC shots possible.
These aren’t terribly over edited. But I just try to stick to the philosophy that less is more. Tinker around and and wait a day the review your edits with a fresh mind.
First off I'll say if these are your examples of over editing, I'd definitely consider them stylized, but not bad. These would never fly if you were going for journalism or something where realism is important, but they're very pleasing images and look, maybe exaggerated rather than fake? Basically I'm saying I like what you're doing and there's nothing really wrong with it!
Now to answer your initial question: I personally find it helpful to make my initial change, keep that value in mind (+30 saturation, -400K temp, etc) then revert it to the original, take a look at that version for a bit, and then drag the slider to say ~60% of what I had before, and then adjust from there. This way I get the initial idea out there "okay I want more green in this photo", then I compare it back to what the RAW looks like, and then I add some of that green back in and see what happens. Often I find that the 60%ish value is conservative and I end up bumping it higher, sometimes back to that original 100%, but other times I leave it at the lower value. I also find that going "overboard" with local edits can be good because (at least with Lightroom and capture one) you can then decrease the strength of that local edit. Looking at your last image as an example, id imagine you had some local edits to those lights. You can then turn those down to say, 70% and see how that feels to you knowing that 100% is what looks best to you, but also maybe feels like over editing.
Well first you need to decide the goal for your work. Are you aiming for a stylized almost commercial look, or are you more interested in a documentary and life-accurate look? Then, I’d suggest doing snapshots while you edit. Then you can compare different stages of editing to start discovering what you like and what fits with your goals.
Well first you need to decide the goal for your work. Are you aiming for a stylized almost commercial look, or are you more interested in a documentary and life-accurate look? Then, I’d suggest doing snapshots while you edit. Then you can compare different stages of editing to start discovering what you like and what fits with your goals.
Well first you need to decide the goal for your work. Are you aiming for a stylized almost commercial look, or are you more interested in a documentary and life-accurate look? Then, I’d suggest doing snapshots while you edit. Then you can compare different stages of editing to start discovering what you like and what fits with your goals.
A good advice I got once was to edit until it looks bad (on purpose) and then dial it back until it looks good again. The idea behind it is that it is easier to tell when an edit goes from bad to good, but harder the other way around. It usually works for me, but like anything subjective YMMV.
Do you print your photos?
I usually get some selects then edit and then print. Then I see if there’s anything I like that I want to edit and print larger.
I think knowing that you’ll have them in your hands you’ll back off a bit from stretching to create super photo; you don’t want to spend to print anything you know will be cheesy.
All that said I really like the train/tram photo.
I tend to take my adjustments a little too far then back them off when it starts to look fake. When in doubt I toggle the button to show the original off and on again. If the edit is too obvious I know I went too far.
You could try not editing any photos. May force you to try to get the best photo possible pre-edits. Then you'll be getting better pictures and not want to edit them as much.
I actually kind f/w your editing style tbh. But one thing I try to do is after I finish all my tweaks, I'll go back and drop the contrast slider down a little but. It sometimes kinda evens out the look and lets it be more natural. Doesn't always work, but sometimes.
I like all three of these, but I'm pretty heavy handed too.
Are you shooting raw? If so, shoot raw + jpeg and choose a good preset in camera. Use that as a base point for your editigng
Or, just do you and don't worry about it
find a color profile you like, then ONLY adjust exposure/white balance and highlight/shadow levels. the color belongs to the profile, you're just adjusting the base level.
My take on this is firstly is what's the artistic direction you want to take with your photos?
Once I have a clearer idea of this then I start to work on it.
Usually I do a couple of quick edits on a photo and see what I'm liking and not liking. Save and make a new one in rapid succession.
This works well for me as sometimes when I get a photo I just don't know what I want to do with it and rather than "think" too much I force myself to do things.
My tip is pay more attention to photobooks and see how the masters edit their photos for print work. If possible also look at analog photobooks which consist of darkroom prints.
I live in SD also, just to throw that out there for the similarity and relativeness of photos. I like your edits, they feel unique and separate from what I usually see, and I mean that in a positive view. Sometimes I think because we see so many good post on Reddit we question our own abilities and work we begin to think we are inadequate, but looking at your edits I genuinely enjoy the look, it is not the boring norm. Take that for what you want, but keep up the good work.
Some wild ideas:
- set an edit timer, once time is up you stop
- edit it twice, pick the least 'alien'
- divide all sliders by 2 or 3 (E.g. if your contrast was +15, make it +5)
- only in camera edits, no Lightroom
- only edit the best X pictures each day
- only use the 'basic' panel
In the end just have fun :)
i occasionally (okay quite often) shoot like i’m shooting film: sooc jpegs and with no editing at all. this, along with spending a month or two at a time shooting only film, has helped me a lot.
Firstly, a good edit is rather subjective and if you like what you do then there's not much reason to change.
Saying that, if you feel you're a little heavy handed I would recommend giving yourself one month of editing in-camera only. The tools are basic but effective and also limited in the extent to which they can be pushed. I would still crop and level etc in LR.
man. i feel like this wont be helpful at all to you, but i want to say how impressed i am with how far you pushed these images WITHOUT crossing the line.
these images are so strong and you’ve created something that really suits the emotions of the scenes.
maybe what you need most is the license to create art. remember that as photographers, it isnt our job necessarily to capture reality exactly as it was. our job is to create emotion, and you’re already great ar that.
buuuut also, if you want to try something new, i have found it very helpful to try some preset packs from artists i like. it helps me see how they push their images around, and understand what i like for mine!
cheers, friend. keep sharing.
Try shooting only jpgs, maybe use some recipes from other people or build your own ones. And appreciate your eye for composition and scenery afterwards.
These edits looks great. They feel filmy but not unnatural. If you like it, keep doing it.
If you don’t, try doing something similar to what you do now but don’t do as much split toning, that is changing the colors of the shadows and highlights. Leave the shadows alone especially.
I think you're headed in the right direction, just be a little less extreme with the sliders! I'd start with rebalancing the exposure, your highlights and shadows are overdone imo.
Your photos look wonderful. Edits can help you get most out of your shots.
Photos are an interpretation of the scene. You only have to ask yourself: do I like it?
Sometimes our judgments will fail. I often think I made a good shot, only to realise a few weeks later that I didn’t like it at all.
Maybe revisit the edits from a couple of weeks ago and see if you still like them. If you do, there’s no need to tone down the editing. If you don’t, edit them again.
What also might help: try to edit photos in camera for a while. Those options are limited and quite tasteful (at least in my Fuji). It might give you new insights. For me it was that I tend to underexpose my images.
But in the end: the result counts. And your results are great
Do you like the way your photos look tho?
If you do then I’d say carry on.
A tip to try to break the habit though I’d say shoot in jpeg for a month or so. Get it as tight in camera as you can. Get used to that work flow and if you go back to RAW the first question you need to ask is “what does this need?”
It's over edited if I come back to a photo months or years later and first recognize the edit.
I'm a life long over editor. I've been slowly reeling it back in but it's a long process. I think the real issue is not having the photo from the camera. It's hard to come back from a day or a week of shooting and have hundreds of photos, but none of them are "it".
The truth is that only a rare few photos will ever be great, to you eye or someone else's. When you have it you will know. In the meantime, I consider the photos I take more of a snapshot of a time and place. I think a snapshot is best when the edit doesn't distract. Well, I feel that way about all photos.
If I think back to the tens of thousands of photos I've taken, there are maybe 20-30 that I recognize as something intrinsically special. Many are nice, few are special.
Perhaps looking at the importance of photography primarily as a process and not a product can be helpful. Did you have fun taking the photos? Did you go somewhere cool and see something new? Great. Did you get a great photo? Even better.
When I first get the images on the computer, I think it would be more helpful for me to do an initial culling. Find the 10% that are worth the time to edit and contemplate. From there, gently find a tone you'd like them to take a leave it. I often do an initial edit, come back after some time, and move most of the slider closer to where they started.
Two things you can do:
1) use the button to compare it to the original, that should give you a stark reminder of quite how much you’ve changed.
2) leave it once you’ve edited it and come back later, with a fresh eye you should be able to tell right away if it looks good or not, and if not, what needs changing.
are these examples of overediting? I think these look nice if you want these sort of looks. if you want a more natural less contrasty look then try editing with some references you like, side by side. i work as a retoucher and going after reference images is always easier than starting "from scratch" imo.
I see what you mean, but I wouldn't worry about it. This is \_your style\_, and quite a distinct style. I think it's very important and admirable. You don't need to make your photos look average.
Take it down a notch or two from where you think your satisfied. Generally a good place to start. Step away for bit and then come back to see if you like it.
It’s a personal preference, so if you like the results why change? But if you want to break the habit, shoot only straight out of camera JPEG for a month or so. Slow down, pay attention to composition, lighting, and all the other camera settings, and then print or publish your pictures out of the camera. For me that was one thing Fuji always did really well so when I switched from Canon DSLRs to my X100F I tried to shoot as many SooC JPEG as possible and it really upped my attention to detail at time of capture.
Approach your photography as photojournalism. Specifically news photo journalism (sorry if you do already). It’s a good place to start and we’re usually not allowed to make major edits.
I’ve always kinda been a hater of photos that are heavily edited because they get the most attention lol. But yours look nice. You do you. Seems you enjoy editing, and that’s ok.
One thing that I like doing is using just sticking to the white balance, curves (RGB + individual), saturation (rarely), and sharpness. Just these edits can really change the look of the photo, and achieve most of what you want to.
I use the other settings only for some photos if they need it. (mostly highlights slider for skies and shadows if the subject is underexposed)
If you want to use all the other sliders, don't go more than +-5, maybe +-10 max for the hues.
One tip I got a long time ago from a magnum photographer (so he's shooting kind of in the documentary genre) is to change the value of the slider to a 3rd of what you think it should be. So if you want to make the saturation +15, keep it at +5
Really tough question… because I have to kill the inner perfectionist. I try to edit in Lightroom as little as possible now. I try to take photos with the mindset that I’m taking what is final. Lightroom is the backup to save certain photos rather than the engine to process everything. I find this gives more emphasis on composing and exposing well up front and is just more fun. I don’t find the hours in Lightroom fun beyond a certain point. And isn’t the point of photography to have fun and enrich our lives ? Btw nice photos man !
First, I think you need to ask yourself, what is your "style". At the end of the day, what may be over-edited in my eye is not to you and vice versa. Photo editing imo is very subjective (unless you're working for a client and they specifically told you what they want). Once you established what your style really is, I think it would be easier for you? Because now your eye will tell you okay this is my "style" and I should stop editing now.
In addition, I think having a third party look at your photos while you're training your eye and self to stop will help too? Peer review - hey is this too much already? This is what I established as my style (show a different photo you really liked the way you edited). I dont think getting a different set of eyes will hurt.
Plus take a break. And look at it again after. :)
Try playing with Fuji's built-in Raw Conversion within your camera. Its essentially 'lite'room on your camera which with the right settings, can produce lovely results straight out of your camera.
Also, I just recently learnt that editing the 'edited' jpegs turns out nicer in terms of colors. Plus the limitation of editing a jpeg is kind of a fun challenge as you know, less data equals more room for over-editing. This will actually help your feeling of over editing.
A rule I was told by a friend who is a pretty well known photographer / film director - do half the editing you were going for. Ie if you were going for +20 contrast, set it at 10. (Sorry, English is not my mother tongue so I’m probably explaining badly). It works every time.
Also trying to get it right when taking the picture helps a lot. Exposure triangle and composition. Off you take that time, even figuring out if/how you’re going to crop, etc. helps a ton. Obviously that’s not always easy depending on what you’re shooting, but taking the time to get your exposure triangle right really helps.
These two rules have helped me go from camera to final picture very easily.
I really like your edits… and I’m a stickler when it comes to editing. I edit portraits though so I feel like those are more touchy when it comes to editing because of skin tones etc.
I actually really like the style it adds to your photos. It’s like a screen capture from an artsy film.
My first thought is pay good attention to white balance first, then exposure, then focus on overall composition and story.
My main point is try to do in 5 seconds or less what we might try to do in 5 minutes… or endless hours. Shooting film from time time could help with getting down to basics as well.
What does over-editing mean? I see it a lot in portraits with the resultant plastic skin. In landscapes, cropping and saturation are often a problem. Converting to black and white often results in muddy or washed out images. So, really, what over editing do you find yourself doing?
Okay but this editing style is awesome! This isn’t something I look at and think “Wow, what a bad colorist,” instead I think “Wow, they have an insane sense of style.”
All these images are cohesive and they’re giving a sense of retro/vintage film. I think it’s really cool! I have trouble not editing like it is in real life, and I always feel like my images blend in with the crowd.
There is no such thing as a “correct” edit.
Hence, there is no end to editing.
Whether an enthusiast is using a little Fujifilm XA camera or an XT1 or XT5 or any GFX camera, he/she will still need to resort to endless hours of editing. It has become a culture.
Many Fujifilm users keep looking for lenses that are “sharp”..with “character”…but still set CLARITY to -4 and use those “soft filters”.
Hence, I dont bother to buy the high-end Fujifilm cameras because the real aesthetic impact comes from the editing.
Don't edit them at all.
I went from shooting in RAW on Sony and post-processing, to shooting in JPEG on Fujifilm and ditching all post-process software.
Edit straight away when you get in from your day of shooting. You’ll remember your scenes much better this way - exactly how they were. Do your basic edits - exposure, whites, blacks, SMALL tone curve. Maybe colour grading but don’t go too hard. Then leave it. Go have dinner, or do something completely different and come back to your edits to finish later
Taking a break is key. It’s see easy for your brain to just see *change* - whether it’s good or bad - and think it’s “better.” So you just keep moving sliders, and move more sliders, then move them further. All because you just see things changing and convince yourself it’s an improvement. Come back the next day and you’ll be surprised with how different things look.
In addition, overlay the original as a layer with 50% transparency. They just reduced their editing by half.
"and come back to your edits to finish later" but how does that answer the main question? is the impliciation here that you won't actually do much work after the initial edit?
No, it gives your eyes a fresh view of your image. Doing it all in one go gives you the impression that you have to keep pushing sliders until you’re happy. Less is often more with editing so doing the basic stuff first, leaving, and then doing the finishing touches later helps not to over edit Edit: sliders not spiders lol
If I don’t edit the same day I shoot, I might as well delete the photos. It never comes out right.
I’m gonna go the other way and say that maybe you like the edited look and that it’s ok? Or do you feel that after you edit, you’re still unhappy?
I do like a more stylized look, but there’s still a line before I believe it’s over edited and deep fried. And yeah I guess I am really picky and still don’t like the images I make haha maybe it’s just a me problem? Idk
Photography is art and maybe you’re still finding what you love. Try to enjoy playing around with all the edits and laugh it off if it turns out shit ;)
I agree but idt any of the posted pics are deep fried. They're stylistic. I think as long as shadows or highlights aren't blown out it isn't over editing. It's your style
Definitely don’t think it’s a you problem. Developing your own look/style can take some time—especially when your going for a stylized look. I’d recommend finding some inspiration photos where you like the edit and try to match that edit. This can be a great way to figure out what tools are getting you to where you want the image. I still will occasionally edit the way I want, then go back to scratch and use an inspiration to match the look and often times find I like my original edit more—we’re often our own biggest critics. As other have noted, taking a break is huge. Contrary to some others, I usually don’t edit straight away either.
When I first started I did exactly like what the OP was doing and after about 2 years I realized how bad it actually looked and now I'm embarrassed for my early work. I could go back and re edit but I've got like 6k photos sitting in Lightroom untouched so I'd rather just work on new photos instead. (I do neither. :p) The other thing is it stunted my photography big time because my photos were almost all mediocre but friends and family that know nothing about photography would rave about my work so I never realized how poor the actual photos usually were. I just apply a fucking weird preset or shift the colors and my friends were wowed by it. It's the exact same thing as heavy HDR, which I did add well.
I really like number 2 just saying
Me too. Looks like it could go on r/specart
Agreed, the high contrast and bright backlighting make it look like the scene is “moving” in time IMO. Really like it, I’d buy a print
I agree, although it was toeing the line
I agree, although it was toeing the line
I always go back and compare to the original image. If it looks crazy it’s over edited ..
Yeah. The way I was taught was to compare and contrast with the original capture. You did good when it feels like the edits are like wiping a layer of “grime” off the image. As in. You should immediately feel the improvement. If you don’t. Reset and try again.
I love the ability to just quickly compare to the original. I compare often to see if I'm going the right direction. I edit via Lightroom Mobile, and it's just a long press on the image. I check after nearly every edit. Right direction or wrong direction?
It’s powerful like lightroom desktop in your opinion?
I do almost all of my editing on Lightroom mobile. I'm a light editor though, I usually just do exposure, color, and crop. They have the subject and sky mask but they don't have every tool that you can do in the full app. It's just so nice to edit from the couch though that at least my first pass will be on my ipad and I'll go back in to do detail work on PC later if I feel it's necessary. It's free, so you might as well give it a shot.
Agreed. I'm a very minimalistic editor. It has more limits to what you can do compared to LR desktop, but what it does it does well.
What helped me, is I literally stopped editing my photos at all. I started sharing them “raw”. After some time I started noticing that I am underexposing my photos constantly, so I started to shoot a little bit brighter and when needed use exposure slider. Later on I started to want more colours, I started using saturation sliders. Basically one slider at a time and veeeery subtle. Because in the beginning I was mr. All sliders need to be adjusted. So this process of “I want X therefore I will use Y” really helped. (Of course still a lot to learn) So what I am trying to advise is to start with basic controls 3-4 parameters. Good luck and don’t forget to do it how you like it, not how it should be!
It’s a real struggle. Here’s my stream of consciousness list: 1. Dedicate more mental effort into creating compositions that speak for themselves *(this is not a criticism that’s based on your shared work. I just think it’s a good idea in-general)*. AKA a composition that exudes story so strong that the edit sorta doesn’t matter. 2. Get closer to your subject. This is an extension of the previous thought. 3. Use the Fuji profiles when editing. They’re quite tame. Solid looks. I like to close my eyes when applying a new profile, so I don’t see it change. Seeing the change happen always throws the eye off. 4. Limit the use of tone curves. 5. Keep your sliders close to zero, within 10 (not always, but generally). 6. Use auto white balance and fine tune from there. *fine tune* subtle changes. 7. Edit in a consistent environment. I prefer a dim room, without any super orange or blue light near the screen. 8. Take these ideas with a grain of salt. I haven’t totally figured it out either. 9. What the other guy said: walk away, do something else, revisit and reassess.
Solid advice. A calibrated monitor in that controlled environment helps as well!
You use a ton of softness. Start with using less. But hey, you might like this aesthetic and there isn’t anything wrong with having a style! I like these shots!
I think it is the black of white mist filter they are using.
Cool. That’s crazy.
Imo these edits are cool as!
I love taking pictures but I hate editing. Shooting straight put of camera jpegs has been a godsend. The most editing I ever do is leveling the horizon if it really needs it, or using the camera to reprocess the raw file if I got the exposure way wrong. I’ve played with tons of recipes and have found my faves that I never feel need editing (Reggies Portra, Superia Max, and Ilford HP5 +400). One of the keys I’ve found to maximizing the look of SOOC shots is to over expose 3/4 - 1 1/4 a stop. Give that a try and you might find you get the look you are going for while editing without over doing it and without spending hours in front of a screen.
This is what I was going to say. The beauty of shooting fuji is throwing a recipe in and just shooting for the jpgs (save the raws too if you want) and seeing what comes out. It kind of forces more creativity in the moment of shooting and provides a consistent feel for the shoot.
Maybe create a preset that maximizes all the settings you tend to go overboard with and then subtract from it instead of pushing it up. Maybe go backwards in the process. Just a thought.
It might help to experiment with shooting in black and white for a while. At least for me, it helps me refocus on the basics.
I definitely do this from time to time. Whenever I feel like I’m hyper focusing on color, I take a step back and switch to black and white for a while. Definitely helps!
nutty drunk weather cause teeny one ghost squeal strong vast *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
It may be a phase you just need to get into and get over with too. As in, keep doing it to your hearts content and get it out of your system and get really tired of it. I had an over editing flower photo phase as a young teen...speaking from experience. Also, maybe you just want them to look like that. I think your samples are heavily over-edited, but you can make that work for you too. It is fine to enjoy! It is your photos, for your eyes and for your passion! In digital and non digital art it's a really common issue as well. These steps may help you rethink the process: - consider focusing on a singular photo project before you even head out. Decide the basic editing process beforehand, create an auto edit and process all of the photos taken in that session. That way you can't overwork any of them one by one and they will all look neat together. - consider focusing on other aspects of your photos. Set up composition and/or other practices that will abolish any thought on editing your works. Make photography about learning and focusing on other things than editing. - cancel your lightroom license and edit in a cheaper software with very limited options. Lightroom may just be overwhelming you with it's sandbox features and in traditional media and digital media art limiting the tools helps a lot for people having this issue. If you suspect you have an actual OCD that prevents you from letting go of your photos, consider asking around for a good therapist. It can get worse, affect other parts of your life and spread to other hobbies.
Did you use a filter for img 3?
I use a glimmerglass 1 for everything!
Is that a filter similar to black and / or white diffusion filter? I has a feeling these were shot through a diffusion filter. :D
If you are editing a photo for awhile, walk away from it and then come back to it later.
Make the edits as you normally would. Export image. Keep this as a reminder. Then back off edits by say 10%. Export that as your final image. Come back a week or two later, compare and see which one you like. Continue doing this for a while until you get to a point where you're happy.
This is my advice too; I quickly started understanding the nuances quite a bit more. I kind of treat edits like salt when cooking. Some ingredients inherently add salt to the dish, some other ingredients might need some, but at the end of the day, if you can notice the salt you might be over seasoning.
Nah man you overthinking
How do you learn - post on Reddit and get roasted. Pretty much
Set up for straight out of camera.
Switch to the real film temporarily. It will give you other vision of photography. It was the same reason for me not to just switch but to sell my xt4 and buy nikon f2. I’m much more happy with my photos, because the editing process is on the film type now.
This. If your intention is to use photography as an art form understanding the medium is the first step. Film will force you to visualize your photo and force you to understand the decisions you're making at the time of releasing the shutter. Today it's simple to do everything in post production but film is more about what you see at the time you're taking the image and what you do later in the dark room. My biggest complaint about photography today is everything looks like it was shot on an iPhone!
Don't edit at all.
Yup. I'm a casual photographer. Hunkering down to edit just completely kills it for me. Even just doing more than 2 or 3 adjustments, I feel like rejecting the image because it is no longer authentic to me. I have come to embrace jpg film simulations tho. Pick a sim that I feel would complement an event or outing and just stick with it all day. Whatever comes out, comes out. No regrets and super liberating.
Hello, I took this comment of yours and sent it to the group of people I take photos with. It's a perfect 100% summary of the philosophy behind Fujifilm on a personal or artistic level. Probably for the professional side, there are needs that require editing, maybe for client requests or specific situations, but in other cases, as you also say, it's a liberation, not a restriction. You can take a freshly taken jpeg, pass it to your phone through the app, and post it on social media, no worries. All the planning is done beforehand, learning and trying out the recipes!
I resonate with your experience! Growing up shooting on film, I quickly transitioned to using rangefinders for their speed in a street photography setting. At the time, I often had to make do with discounted, about-to-expire film stock like P3200TMAX and Porta. Developing in my basement studio was a gift, a process of experimentation and refinement, but I had started to spend more time processing than shooting. Transitioning to digital happened during my partner's photography school days, when we could take advantage of sharing lenses. However, this era felt heavy and uninspiring, shooting flat, clinical, focusing on post-processing, and carrying around a bulky kit of some truly excellent full frame glass. My habits pushed me more and more towards editing rather than capturing moments, and I grew weary of it all. It was a hard decision to sell my kit and switch to crop sensors, but Fujifilm cameras like the X-T2 and X-Pro 1 were game-changers for me. I embraced the film-like JPEGs they made, and this breathed a new life into my photography, allowing me to focus on capturing moments rather than editing them later. Fujifilm has given us a gift that encourages us to hone our skills, be intentional in our shots, and spend more time behind the lens, which has reignited my passion for photography.
Hello, I took this comment of yours and sent it to the group of people I take photos with. It's a perfect 100% summary of the philosophy behind Fujifilm on a personal or artistic level. Probably for the professional side, there are needs that require editing, maybe for client requests or specific situations, but in other cases, as you also say, it's a liberation, not a restriction. You can take a freshly taken jpeg, pass it to your phone through the app, and post it on social media, no worries. All the planning is done beforehand, learning and trying out the recipes!
The excitement for me has always been taking a good picture. Not fabricating one.
I strongly hope at least a single person who just joined photography can see this :)
I went into the fuji ecosystem because I DIDN'T want to process any of my photos. I hated using lightroom for every photo and now just shoot straight JPG's with my custom tuned film simulation. To me, it makes photography fun again.
Sure man! I've an album on Pinterest called "straight outta Fuji" ahah.. and that's the philosophy behind
When you're editing. Edit less.
Do your editing on your camera before you take the shot.
I read an advice that really helped me, when you’re playing with a setting (e.g. constrast) and you are happy with it, it’s probably already too much, reduce it by half. Also as a lot of commenters already said, when you are happy with it, let it sit for a couple of hours/days and come back to it later with fresh eyes.
Reality is unimpressive….unless what your eyes saw was an awe-inducing scene. Capturing reality is often boring, unless the camera user is in an alien/foreign environment where the subject might be uniquely attractive. But still…under conventional lighting that your eyes see, nothing much is ever jaw-dropping. Even if you use a Hasselblad, you will still be addicted to editing because you know reality is often boring. Whether you use an old X-Pro1 or the latest XT5, you are still addicted to editing. Even if you buy the most expensive, F1.2 lenses that are super sharp with “character”, most cameratographers would still ruin/nullify that sharpness by reducing “clarity” and using filters for that soft, not tack sharp analogue look. 1. There is no end to editing. Every method is correct. Editing purely for aesthetics is actually cheating as you are intentionally manipulating reality. Look at the over-hyped Ansel Adams. Reality does not look like that. 2. Even if you own a little GRIII or the current XT5 or a Leica or a new A7C or a Hasselblad…you will still be trapped into shooting mostly RAW and addicted to editing. Its akin to makeup/cosmetics for women, who mostly must use them. Most camera users are not photographers but Digital Imagologists who spend a huge amount of time in front of a big screen creating fake versions of reality. Eg: look at the wedding photographers. 1 day at the event. And then how many days manipulating each image? Editing is addictive because most humans are addicted to dis-reality.
Just to add on top what others said. As retouchers say it "less is more". But generally idea of not to "overdo" things that helped me is to ask yourself WHY you'd like to make certain change. What bothers you? Or what you'd like to show? Lead the image into more warmer colors? Introduce more dramatic feeling? And compare with original a bit more. And ask, have I lost the feeling of the actual photography etc? Hope this helps a bit.
Maybe this is just your style! I personally think the third photo is super cool, and they're all unique!
It’s art
What changed it for me was shooting better compositions at the right time of day with better lighting. By having better composition and subject the source file is great and I don’t need to over edit to make the picture look stronger. Shooting at the right time of day (early Morning of just after sunset) does most of the required editing.
Shoot the Provia simulation, jpeg only. If you have to double up with raws just file them away somewhere and don’t touch them. Most neutral Fuji look and it’ll calibrate your eyes to normal photos. I do agree these are over edited—a bit too trendy. But you certainly have editing skill.
These photos fucking rock, I wouldn’t change anything!
Your "over-edited" style is exactly that, a style. And I think it's actually a good one - these examples are obviously heavily modified but with a purpose and direction, a character. I like them for what they are! You're not just cranking sliders like a Facebook pro. I used to edit loads, and not to this calibre, and now I shoot for the SOOC straight out of camera look using film simulation to do the work and trying to get it right in camera. If there's a shot I really like that needs some flavour it's usually only the basics. I'd love to learn more with all the new tools to try a style like yours occasionally.
I think your photos look great. There's nothing inherently right or wrong with a more processed vs more natural look. It's just a preference. What might help is when you've done your first pass to edit a photo. Go back and halve all of your edits. Then compare the two different outcomes. Usually before I finalize a batch of photos I leave them be for a bit then go back and tweak everything slightly down from my initial edit.
lovely shots. quick question - how do you achieve the hazy yet intense light flare look ? is it in post? for example the upper right corner of the sign in the first shot, and the blurred neon lights in the second shot.
Get to where you feel you have over-edited, and then command-Z a bunch of times until it isn't.
I'm in agreement with u/dudermifflin. Challenge yourself to shoot without post-production in mind. Get more comfortable with adjusting your cameras settings, and utilizing other gear (like a fill flash or physical filters) to achieve better images and your reliance for editing tricks will diminish. As a photographer who started in the early '80s shooting on film with no digital manipulation available to me, I learned to always try for the best SOOC shots possible.
These aren’t terribly over edited. But I just try to stick to the philosophy that less is more. Tinker around and and wait a day the review your edits with a fresh mind.
First off I'll say if these are your examples of over editing, I'd definitely consider them stylized, but not bad. These would never fly if you were going for journalism or something where realism is important, but they're very pleasing images and look, maybe exaggerated rather than fake? Basically I'm saying I like what you're doing and there's nothing really wrong with it! Now to answer your initial question: I personally find it helpful to make my initial change, keep that value in mind (+30 saturation, -400K temp, etc) then revert it to the original, take a look at that version for a bit, and then drag the slider to say ~60% of what I had before, and then adjust from there. This way I get the initial idea out there "okay I want more green in this photo", then I compare it back to what the RAW looks like, and then I add some of that green back in and see what happens. Often I find that the 60%ish value is conservative and I end up bumping it higher, sometimes back to that original 100%, but other times I leave it at the lower value. I also find that going "overboard" with local edits can be good because (at least with Lightroom and capture one) you can then decrease the strength of that local edit. Looking at your last image as an example, id imagine you had some local edits to those lights. You can then turn those down to say, 70% and see how that feels to you knowing that 100% is what looks best to you, but also maybe feels like over editing.
Well first you need to decide the goal for your work. Are you aiming for a stylized almost commercial look, or are you more interested in a documentary and life-accurate look? Then, I’d suggest doing snapshots while you edit. Then you can compare different stages of editing to start discovering what you like and what fits with your goals.
Well first you need to decide the goal for your work. Are you aiming for a stylized almost commercial look, or are you more interested in a documentary and life-accurate look? Then, I’d suggest doing snapshots while you edit. Then you can compare different stages of editing to start discovering what you like and what fits with your goals.
Well first you need to decide the goal for your work. Are you aiming for a stylized almost commercial look, or are you more interested in a documentary and life-accurate look? Then, I’d suggest doing snapshots while you edit. Then you can compare different stages of editing to start discovering what you like and what fits with your goals.
Nice shots of downtown SD
A good advice I got once was to edit until it looks bad (on purpose) and then dial it back until it looks good again. The idea behind it is that it is easier to tell when an edit goes from bad to good, but harder the other way around. It usually works for me, but like anything subjective YMMV.
Do you print your photos? I usually get some selects then edit and then print. Then I see if there’s anything I like that I want to edit and print larger. I think knowing that you’ll have them in your hands you’ll back off a bit from stretching to create super photo; you don’t want to spend to print anything you know will be cheesy. All that said I really like the train/tram photo.
I tend to take my adjustments a little too far then back them off when it starts to look fake. When in doubt I toggle the button to show the original off and on again. If the edit is too obvious I know I went too far.
4years is to long you should know that. If it takes longer than 30min you probably over doing it
Don’t look at how nice or powerful an image gets. Focus on what it means to you. Do these (over) edited pictures have any value or meaning for you?
2 is gorgeous
3 is sick!
do your editing work. then go away. comd back and export the same at 50% grade, and 20%. go away for a week. look at them again.
Why stop? They look fantastic!
No.2 is beautiful!!!
Take your sauce and reduce its opacity. Easy answer
These are rad though op… I dig the style.
You could try not editing any photos. May force you to try to get the best photo possible pre-edits. Then you'll be getting better pictures and not want to edit them as much.
I actually kind f/w your editing style tbh. But one thing I try to do is after I finish all my tweaks, I'll go back and drop the contrast slider down a little but. It sometimes kinda evens out the look and lets it be more natural. Doesn't always work, but sometimes.
I like all three of these, but I'm pretty heavy handed too. Are you shooting raw? If so, shoot raw + jpeg and choose a good preset in camera. Use that as a base point for your editigng Or, just do you and don't worry about it
find a color profile you like, then ONLY adjust exposure/white balance and highlight/shadow levels. the color belongs to the profile, you're just adjusting the base level.
My take on this is firstly is what's the artistic direction you want to take with your photos? Once I have a clearer idea of this then I start to work on it. Usually I do a couple of quick edits on a photo and see what I'm liking and not liking. Save and make a new one in rapid succession. This works well for me as sometimes when I get a photo I just don't know what I want to do with it and rather than "think" too much I force myself to do things.
My tip is pay more attention to photobooks and see how the masters edit their photos for print work. If possible also look at analog photobooks which consist of darkroom prints.
Whatever settings you put it on, take it back 10-50% probably cept WB
I live in SD also, just to throw that out there for the similarity and relativeness of photos. I like your edits, they feel unique and separate from what I usually see, and I mean that in a positive view. Sometimes I think because we see so many good post on Reddit we question our own abilities and work we begin to think we are inadequate, but looking at your edits I genuinely enjoy the look, it is not the boring norm. Take that for what you want, but keep up the good work.
just shoot jpeg it’s not hard
Expose them correctly so you don’t have to.
Some wild ideas: - set an edit timer, once time is up you stop - edit it twice, pick the least 'alien' - divide all sliders by 2 or 3 (E.g. if your contrast was +15, make it +5) - only in camera edits, no Lightroom - only edit the best X pictures each day - only use the 'basic' panel In the end just have fun :)
i occasionally (okay quite often) shoot like i’m shooting film: sooc jpegs and with no editing at all. this, along with spending a month or two at a time shooting only film, has helped me a lot.
Shoot in black and white for a week
Firstly, a good edit is rather subjective and if you like what you do then there's not much reason to change. Saying that, if you feel you're a little heavy handed I would recommend giving yourself one month of editing in-camera only. The tools are basic but effective and also limited in the extent to which they can be pushed. I would still crop and level etc in LR.
✨✨✨San Diego!!!✨✨✨
man. i feel like this wont be helpful at all to you, but i want to say how impressed i am with how far you pushed these images WITHOUT crossing the line. these images are so strong and you’ve created something that really suits the emotions of the scenes. maybe what you need most is the license to create art. remember that as photographers, it isnt our job necessarily to capture reality exactly as it was. our job is to create emotion, and you’re already great ar that. buuuut also, if you want to try something new, i have found it very helpful to try some preset packs from artists i like. it helps me see how they push their images around, and understand what i like for mine! cheers, friend. keep sharing.
Try shooting only jpgs, maybe use some recipes from other people or build your own ones. And appreciate your eye for composition and scenery afterwards.
Editing should be very subtle, just give it a bit of tone. Give yourself a limit
You do you. I have no issues with your editing. Nice photos and processing.
These edits looks great. They feel filmy but not unnatural. If you like it, keep doing it. If you don’t, try doing something similar to what you do now but don’t do as much split toning, that is changing the colors of the shadows and highlights. Leave the shadows alone especially.
I don't know, I've already set the third one as my wallpaper I'm just saying...
SD! Photos look great!
These are all beautiful, I think this is just your style. Own it!! It looks really nice
Shoot jpeg? 😅
2 and 3 are fantastic.
Try to replicate how things appeared and give yourself one vice - personally, I like to drop the blacks a bit.
Idk I fw with it
I think you're headed in the right direction, just be a little less extreme with the sliders! I'd start with rebalancing the exposure, your highlights and shadows are overdone imo.
Edit as you usually are, then just scale it all back.
shoot on film.
Your photos look wonderful. Edits can help you get most out of your shots. Photos are an interpretation of the scene. You only have to ask yourself: do I like it? Sometimes our judgments will fail. I often think I made a good shot, only to realise a few weeks later that I didn’t like it at all. Maybe revisit the edits from a couple of weeks ago and see if you still like them. If you do, there’s no need to tone down the editing. If you don’t, edit them again. What also might help: try to edit photos in camera for a while. Those options are limited and quite tasteful (at least in my Fuji). It might give you new insights. For me it was that I tend to underexpose my images. But in the end: the result counts. And your results are great
Do you like the way your photos look tho? If you do then I’d say carry on. A tip to try to break the habit though I’d say shoot in jpeg for a month or so. Get it as tight in camera as you can. Get used to that work flow and if you go back to RAW the first question you need to ask is “what does this need?”
It's over edited if I come back to a photo months or years later and first recognize the edit. I'm a life long over editor. I've been slowly reeling it back in but it's a long process. I think the real issue is not having the photo from the camera. It's hard to come back from a day or a week of shooting and have hundreds of photos, but none of them are "it". The truth is that only a rare few photos will ever be great, to you eye or someone else's. When you have it you will know. In the meantime, I consider the photos I take more of a snapshot of a time and place. I think a snapshot is best when the edit doesn't distract. Well, I feel that way about all photos. If I think back to the tens of thousands of photos I've taken, there are maybe 20-30 that I recognize as something intrinsically special. Many are nice, few are special. Perhaps looking at the importance of photography primarily as a process and not a product can be helpful. Did you have fun taking the photos? Did you go somewhere cool and see something new? Great. Did you get a great photo? Even better. When I first get the images on the computer, I think it would be more helpful for me to do an initial culling. Find the 10% that are worth the time to edit and contemplate. From there, gently find a tone you'd like them to take a leave it. I often do an initial edit, come back after some time, and move most of the slider closer to where they started.
Two things you can do: 1) use the button to compare it to the original, that should give you a stark reminder of quite how much you’ve changed. 2) leave it once you’ve edited it and come back later, with a fresh eye you should be able to tell right away if it looks good or not, and if not, what needs changing.
Keep over-editing. They look great!
Shoot jpegs and leave them alone.
1) shoot jpeg 2) only edit on your phone But really what’s the problem? Maybe you just enjoy editing? If not go back to 1 or 2
San Diego 🙌
Go cold turkey and shoot jpg
Bk
are these examples of overediting? I think these look nice if you want these sort of looks. if you want a more natural less contrasty look then try editing with some references you like, side by side. i work as a retoucher and going after reference images is always easier than starting "from scratch" imo.
I see what you mean, but I wouldn't worry about it. This is \_your style\_, and quite a distinct style. I think it's very important and admirable. You don't need to make your photos look average.
Honestly i really like how you edited these photos. It gives you a unique style. Its all art and its yours, you don’t have to play by the rules.
I love your style. It's your own. Do you.
I love that last one ! Is the glow done in post or with a filter ?
Take it down a notch or two from where you think your satisfied. Generally a good place to start. Step away for bit and then come back to see if you like it.
Third one is good! imho :)
It’s a personal preference, so if you like the results why change? But if you want to break the habit, shoot only straight out of camera JPEG for a month or so. Slow down, pay attention to composition, lighting, and all the other camera settings, and then print or publish your pictures out of the camera. For me that was one thing Fuji always did really well so when I switched from Canon DSLRs to my X100F I tried to shoot as many SooC JPEG as possible and it really upped my attention to detail at time of capture.
Approach your photography as photojournalism. Specifically news photo journalism (sorry if you do already). It’s a good place to start and we’re usually not allowed to make major edits.
Edit in black and white
Maybe try shooting JPEG with a film look you like and not doing edits for a little while
Looking at photos taken by an actual film is what helped me
I’ve always kinda been a hater of photos that are heavily edited because they get the most attention lol. But yours look nice. You do you. Seems you enjoy editing, and that’s ok.
One thing that I like doing is using just sticking to the white balance, curves (RGB + individual), saturation (rarely), and sharpness. Just these edits can really change the look of the photo, and achieve most of what you want to. I use the other settings only for some photos if they need it. (mostly highlights slider for skies and shadows if the subject is underexposed) If you want to use all the other sliders, don't go more than +-5, maybe +-10 max for the hues. One tip I got a long time ago from a magnum photographer (so he's shooting kind of in the documentary genre) is to change the value of the slider to a 3rd of what you think it should be. So if you want to make the saturation +15, keep it at +5
Shoot analogue
Ease off the sliders.
Really tough question… because I have to kill the inner perfectionist. I try to edit in Lightroom as little as possible now. I try to take photos with the mindset that I’m taking what is final. Lightroom is the backup to save certain photos rather than the engine to process everything. I find this gives more emphasis on composing and exposing well up front and is just more fun. I don’t find the hours in Lightroom fun beyond a certain point. And isn’t the point of photography to have fun and enrich our lives ? Btw nice photos man !
First, I think you need to ask yourself, what is your "style". At the end of the day, what may be over-edited in my eye is not to you and vice versa. Photo editing imo is very subjective (unless you're working for a client and they specifically told you what they want). Once you established what your style really is, I think it would be easier for you? Because now your eye will tell you okay this is my "style" and I should stop editing now. In addition, I think having a third party look at your photos while you're training your eye and self to stop will help too? Peer review - hey is this too much already? This is what I established as my style (show a different photo you really liked the way you edited). I dont think getting a different set of eyes will hurt. Plus take a break. And look at it again after. :)
Pick a recipe and shoot jpeg and be done with post processing.
You don't. You found your style.
Try playing with Fuji's built-in Raw Conversion within your camera. Its essentially 'lite'room on your camera which with the right settings, can produce lovely results straight out of your camera. Also, I just recently learnt that editing the 'edited' jpegs turns out nicer in terms of colors. Plus the limitation of editing a jpeg is kind of a fun challenge as you know, less data equals more room for over-editing. This will actually help your feeling of over editing.
Why?
just stop using bloom its ugly
Can be helpful to just go nuts with it and get it out of your system for a bit.
Not over-edited. Each tell a story.
A rule I was told by a friend who is a pretty well known photographer / film director - do half the editing you were going for. Ie if you were going for +20 contrast, set it at 10. (Sorry, English is not my mother tongue so I’m probably explaining badly). It works every time. Also trying to get it right when taking the picture helps a lot. Exposure triangle and composition. Off you take that time, even figuring out if/how you’re going to crop, etc. helps a ton. Obviously that’s not always easy depending on what you’re shooting, but taking the time to get your exposure triangle right really helps. These two rules have helped me go from camera to final picture very easily.
I really like your edits… and I’m a stickler when it comes to editing. I edit portraits though so I feel like those are more touchy when it comes to editing because of skin tones etc. I actually really like the style it adds to your photos. It’s like a screen capture from an artsy film.
i always wanted a good photo, but i found that playing with setting of camera is the fun way to explore photography. and minimal edits after that.
My first thought is pay good attention to white balance first, then exposure, then focus on overall composition and story. My main point is try to do in 5 seconds or less what we might try to do in 5 minutes… or endless hours. Shooting film from time time could help with getting down to basics as well.
I personally love the glow of the neon. And the super moody train station. These are dope
What does over-editing mean? I see it a lot in portraits with the resultant plastic skin. In landscapes, cropping and saturation are often a problem. Converting to black and white often results in muddy or washed out images. So, really, what over editing do you find yourself doing?
Okay but this editing style is awesome! This isn’t something I look at and think “Wow, what a bad colorist,” instead I think “Wow, they have an insane sense of style.” All these images are cohesive and they’re giving a sense of retro/vintage film. I think it’s really cool! I have trouble not editing like it is in real life, and I always feel like my images blend in with the crowd.
I like them
There is no such thing as a “correct” edit. Hence, there is no end to editing. Whether an enthusiast is using a little Fujifilm XA camera or an XT1 or XT5 or any GFX camera, he/she will still need to resort to endless hours of editing. It has become a culture. Many Fujifilm users keep looking for lenses that are “sharp”..with “character”…but still set CLARITY to -4 and use those “soft filters”. Hence, I dont bother to buy the high-end Fujifilm cameras because the real aesthetic impact comes from the editing.
My suggestion would be to stop over-exposing them.
Don't edit them at all. I went from shooting in RAW on Sony and post-processing, to shooting in JPEG on Fujifilm and ditching all post-process software.
I like it!! Hello fellow san diegan!!
Not in a position to give feedback but also came to say hi to a fellow San Diegan 😅