Image exposure editing

I started fiddling around today with the Sony Image Data Converter software that came with my camera. It's basically a simple form of lightroom software with what seem to be fairly basic functions.

 

First up is the pic of Mio with the orange rose, original:

 

Edit version:

 

 

Next up is the pic of Mio at the fountain/"pool":

 

Edit version:

 

Any feedback or critiques are welcome. I could also add the particular edits I did to each if asked.

 

*Edit: Adding one more set for consideration.*

 

Mio at Hooters:

 

Edit version:

Edited June 19, 2012 by Guest

I really like the edit to the first one, Just some subtle extra light to help bring out some detail in the jacket and hair but the flower is still nice and rich color.

 

The only thing I see in the 2nd and 3rd image is that there may be a little too much brightness to the adjusted image, some of the colors are a bit washed out.

 

Does that image program offer some adjust-ability to what tone ranges get brightened up? A general "brightness" tool usually makes everything brighter but if you can limit it to the dark and medium tones it should keep it from getting a little washed out. Not sure I'm explaining that very well.

 

I love the composition of Mio by the pool, very nicely setup shot and she's so cute in that outfit. I love the shot of her at Hooters as well but I'll be honest, some of that is because I love their wings and haven't been to Hooters in years. haha Wouldn't a 1/3 scale Hooters outfit be the best!

 

Hopefully the program your using has some tools for adjusting the light level in certain ranges, like just the shadow or midrange area. Hope that helped out some, feel free to ask if you need a better explanation of what I said. haha

  OtakuDepot said:

I really like the edit to the first one, Just some subtle extra light to help bring out some detail in the jacket and hair but the flower is still nice and rich color.

 

The only thing I see in the 2nd and 3rd image is that there may be a little too much brightness to the adjusted image, some of the colors are a bit washed out.

 

Does that image program offer some adjust-ability to what tone ranges get brightened up? A general "brightness" tool usually makes everything brighter but if you can limit it to the dark and medium tones it should keep it from getting a little washed out. Not sure I'm explaining that very well.

 

I love the composition of Mio by the pool, very nicely setup shot and she's so cute in that outfit. I love the shot of her at Hooters as well but I'll be honest, some of that is because I love their wings and haven't been to Hooters in years. haha Wouldn't a 1/3 scale Hooters outfit be the best!

 

Hopefully the program your using has some tools for adjusting the light level in certain ranges, like just the shadow or midrange area. Hope that helped out some, feel free to ask if you need a better explanation of what I said. haha

 

 

For the 1st one, all I did was adjust the color temperature to 6600K, set advanced highlight distortion correction, and add +30 to Saturation.

 

2nd image was +1.00 EV to Brightness, color temp to 6600K, advanced highlight distortion correction, +20 to Saturation. I should probably back the Brightness boost down a bit.

 

Edited: reduced the Brightness adjustment to +0.67 EV

 

 

3rd image was +0.67 EV, color temp to 6600k (probably should have left that alone), Manual DRO of +50 to Highlights and +50 to Shadows, advanced highlight distortion correction.

 

Edited: Removed DRO adjustments

 

 

I thought the same thing about the 1/3 Hooters outfit, but I doubt Mio would be up for wearing one...

 

I'm not sure if the software allows for adjusting brightness within certain ranges within the image, if it does, I've not figured out how to do it without making things look wierd.

I definitely like the second adjustment to the poolside picture a lot more.

I think your on the right track.. One thing I do is add contrast and try to closely match the picture to the actual conditions that my eye saw. Some of your pictures because you adjusted light levels also gained a bit of a red hue to them, which can be corrected either with a temperature adjustment or a tint adjustment. Check your White balance settings (Which is temperature.) Generally.. bright light washes things out.. so by adding more contrast and lowering the temperature you can gain more depth and a more realistic lighting situation without sacrificing color. Outside that, I like the pictures!

  tsunamidelta said:

I think your on the right track.. One thing I do is add contrast and try to closely match the picture to the actual conditions that my eye saw. Some of your pictures because you adjusted light levels also gained a bit of a red hue to them, which can be corrected either with a temperature adjustment or a tint adjustment. Check your White balance settings (Which is temperature.) Generally.. bright light washes things out.. so by adding more contrast and lowering the temperature you can gain more depth and a more realistic lighting situation without sacrificing color. Outside that, I like the pictures!

 

I've since switched to using Lightroom 4.2 for my editing, since I have a Fuji X-Pro1 that IDC4 doesn't work with, LR has helped me quite a bit in making better edits.

 

I was actually shooting for the conditions I saw when I shot those, but my skills with IDC4 were severely lacking when I posted this.

Ahh... I was wondering.. Sounds like you got it sorted out then!