Thanks again Simon. The thoughts behind the image are very insightful. You start with a vision (a la Ansel Adams) and follow it through into post processing, using the right tools for the purpose. A wonderful photo and video!
Good attitude. With 18 years of Photoshopping an Lightroom experience (which on itself says nothing more than I am used to edit for a while and know most of the ins and outs of those applications) I see a lot of Photographer making the same mistakes (not you) First of all, try to make it as good as possible SOOC ! LR or Capture One ( I switch a couple of years ago to C1, cause IMO it is more sophisticated and gives us better control = LR on steroids) is mainly for GLOBAL adjustment. Although the newer versions allow us to go more LOCAL, it is not their strongest side, so go Photoshop for LOCAL adjustments including SHARPENING . (from within LR or C1 you can directly edit further in PS as TIFF or PSD) . This is the place for editing small accents and sharpening (better sometimes to do sharpening in a third party PS plugin specially made for that intention). Also make sure that all your application are set to 16 bit to keep detail till the end, some , like PS , are by default set to 8 bit so that you are thinking you are working in 16 bit but it has been converted without you knowing it. A good camera with a good lens of course gives you a good start and I noticed that I hardly adjust color cause it is damn good SOOC. 90% of the time I want to have the outcome like I saw in real (or turn it into BW, but then I shoot in color with the intention for BW), and I don't make skies unbelievable saturated or such crazy adjustments ! The other 10% I go for the artistic way and go crazy. Thanks for sharing
I've been doing Orton effects for years - as you suggest, though, it just doesn't work at all on some images. But having it at 10% opacity is something I haven't tried..... but I'll give it a go. I also like the 'negative Clarity' and 'negative Dehaze' - brilliant! Using those techniques on a good composition makes a top shot! Thanks!
Am amazed when you started the edit and said this is a raw file untouched but everything looks perfect like a painting , completely gob smacked lol.lovely matey
Really interesting and well executed tutorial man! Just a question - how does one get a picture to look like a painting? I still can't really believe that this is, what came out of the camera, it looks so unnatural and painted
@@SimonBaxterPhotography Really appreciate that answer, thanks (: I'm gonna have to just try it in our woods then. If nothing else, this was at least a huge inspiration!
Another masterpiece, probably one of your best photographs ever, perfectly executed in camera and even more so in Lightroom. I have a slight suspicion where you took the image ; )
That's very kind of you, Holger! I actually took this composition when with you on the 23rd but then went back and took it again on the 30th. Repeated visits and patience always works :) Many thanks!
@@SimonBaxterPhotography The patience certainly paid off, much better conditions with the light fog. I hope I'll have the opportunity to return to the place sometimes (maybe Mark has a couple of days off next fall...)
Thanks, Simon. Miss Meg, love this video, however. So...shoot as excellent a photo as possible then enhance if necessary in post, to match what you felt when taking the photo. Forget "fixing" in post, forget making the photo in post. I needed that.
The image has a fairy-tale like quality. There are times when we worry about images "popping" and being ultra sharp. It can detract from the excellent composition that may have been captured.
I saw this image already on instagram some days before and was absolutely amazed. Just incredible! I'm really thankful for this video now and I'm really surprised how good the RAW image looks already, although I'm using also a Sony camera. The editing itself is magnificent! Thanks for sharing Simon!!
As others have said the start raw file is amazing. I would have been chuffed to obtain that as a final image. Thank you for your time and effort and beautifully articulate description of your thought process. Stunning image.
10:40 I'm sure data would prove that highly saturate, punchy, bright spotted images get liked more on IG/Social, but would anyone print and hang an image like that? On the other hand, an image like this example is easy to image on the wall.
Hi Simon. Forgive me for coming across your video some three years after the event! I simply wanted to thank you for sharing your wonderful woodland image - the most beautiful I've seen. It really is stunning!
That has to be one of the nicest untouched RAW photos I've ever seen. I'm not sure I'd even know where to start with processing if that's what I had to start with; I'd have to print it out to see if anything looks off on paper. I'm sure UA-cam compression is making it look a bit less crisp (more painterly) when viewed in video, but it still looks incredible.
Hi Simon - I have watched several of your videos during the last few weeks and have found them very inspiring - I can't wait to get out again. One question if I may, in several of your editing sections you crop to specific proportions - 5x4 16x9 etc. Why do you do this rather than to specific elements in the picture?
I agree with you as I don't like too much the post processing and over all I have a little time that my work leave to me . So I don't use Photoshop / Lightroom ( that I think for a pro is a must ) but D x O and I'm happy with, as I can do almost all things you have done . So I thank you for your lesson and for the beautiful image and I'll try to remember your advice
Great video and a very good example of where and why sympathetic post-processing really comes into it's own and pays dividends..I think that general concept, i.e. editing in a sympathetic to subject manner, can be applied and adapted to suit all genres and situations of photography and their uniqueness.
Thanks for this informative video. I don't like spending a bunch of time at a computer photo editing, so I found your tips to be most helpful. As you pointed out, your photo already had a number of elements going for it in its raw form (light and composition, for instance). Your approach simply enhances those elements.
Thanks a lot Simon for that kind of peaceful and full of sense tips. Particulary when you only have 1 chance per week to go out to take photos, and the light or the enviroment isn't that good enough that day. And then you find yourself during the next week trying to tranform those flat pictures into something very punchy and spectacular, spending hours and hours on it. But it finally turns out into an overdone editing. That's very frustrating. The anxiety of social media, like if it was our main job, it's ridiculous. You can find tons of overdone images on Instagram, too much sharpening, too much orton effect and contrast and so on. And sometimes I've found myself going into that direction unluckily. That's why I appreciate so much your tips. Keep calm, do it simple and delicate, respect your own process and learn how to improve the shoot into the field. Thanks for sharing!
Great way to start my Sunday morning. Do you regularly shoot in the Lake District? I'm wanting to take my sister to Keswick in December for some hiking and photography in the mountains
I’ve recently got to grips with editing a bit better. Initially I found Lightroom fantastic but somewhat bewildering apart from basic adjustments. But the beauty of Lightroom is that it’s non-destructive so anything you don’t like you can undo. Recently with a bit of study and practice (re-editing old photos is a good way), I’m much happier with my edits. Composition the other hand ☹️
Excellent video. I will pay more attention to how I feel and what I am seeing next time I am shooting. Often I get back to my computer and really just start editing without thought to my original reason to shoot that particular image.
Stunning image and a great message about editing an image. As a fairly new photographer I have found it easy to be sucked in by images that have the "pop" factor but realise there must have been quite a bit of time sat in front of a computer to produce the final results.
Nice image but, that dark branch top left jars a little with me 🤔 Not in a major way perhaps it would do less so if the image were not being Viewed in utube.
Very enjoyable Simon, always good to hear another photographers post processing thoughts. Like you I hate the thoughts of hours in front of the camera.
Hey Simon, I always look forward to your videos! I enjoyed seeing how you edit a image, I think this can help me even though I do mostly Bird and wildlife images. See you on the next video! Saying hey ….Greg
I once went on a weekend trek in the Cederberg in South Africa with a photographer. He carried a 4x5 camera with him and spent hours at some locations waiting for the light. He took 7 photographs that weekend. (If you carry a 4x5 camera and plates up a mountain you do not just snap away!) His advice was that if you want to learn nature photography, study black and white photography to learn about light and contrast, and forget small format cameras. You cannot inspect quality into a poorly made item and you cannot Photoshop quality into a poorly taken image. Ten minutes of planning a shot can often save an hour in Lightroom.
I think maybe a lot of people want to edit "images that pop" to fulfill a goal of being noticed on Instagram. Unfortunately, I think that goal can be a disservice to goals such as becoming more creative or more artistic. 😔
Interesting walk through Simon and a really lovely image, which captures that Caledonian pine woodland perfectly. What amazed me more than anything else in this film is your ability to string so many sentences together during your introductory speech and outro without a break! How do you do that? Perhaps a video on this skill wouldn't go a miss!
Thank you very much, Simon.
Nice of you, to be so open about your edit.
We made some woodland photography at Scotland, so i keep this in my mind.
Thanks again Simon. The thoughts behind the image are very insightful. You start with a vision (a la Ansel Adams) and follow it through into post processing, using the right tools for the purpose. A wonderful photo and video!
Thank you very much, Larry :)
Excellent information Simon, will certainly try on some of my images. Thank you
Few photographers communicate so well …
Good attitude.
With 18 years of Photoshopping an Lightroom experience (which on itself says nothing more than I am used to edit for a while and know most of the ins and outs of those applications) I see a lot of Photographer making the same mistakes (not you)
First of all, try to make it as good as possible SOOC !
LR or Capture One ( I switch a couple of years ago to C1, cause IMO it is more sophisticated and gives us better control = LR on steroids) is mainly for GLOBAL adjustment.
Although the newer versions allow us to go more LOCAL, it is not their strongest side, so go Photoshop for LOCAL adjustments including SHARPENING .
(from within LR or C1 you can directly edit further in PS as TIFF or PSD) .
This is the place for editing small accents and sharpening (better sometimes to do sharpening in a third party PS plugin specially made for that intention).
Also make sure that all your application are set to 16 bit to keep detail till the end, some , like PS , are by default set to 8 bit so that you are thinking you are working in 16 bit but it has been converted without you knowing it.
A good camera with a good lens of course gives you a good start and I noticed that I hardly adjust color cause it is damn good SOOC.
90% of the time I want to have the outcome like I saw in real (or turn it into BW, but then I shoot in color with the intention for BW), and I don't make skies unbelievable saturated or such crazy adjustments ! The other 10% I go for the artistic way and go crazy.
Thanks for sharing
A great image and very nicely edited
Really great video teaching! Thanks so much!
Gorgeous image and I love the way you articulate your creativity. Keep up the good work!
I've been doing Orton effects for years - as you suggest, though, it just doesn't work at all on some images. But having it at 10% opacity is something I haven't tried..... but I'll give it a go. I also like the 'negative Clarity' and 'negative Dehaze' - brilliant! Using those techniques on a good composition makes a top shot! Thanks!
I'm going to pat myself on the back when I manage to produce unedited photos like your example.
Am amazed when you started the edit and said this is a raw file untouched but everything looks perfect like a painting , completely gob smacked lol.lovely matey
That's very kind of you, Brent. Thank you :)
Same here, raw file is amazing.
Again !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 13 our shift just going to bed and booom you upload lol .
Lol it was worth it, great video
Spot on!!! :) Thanks for the reminder as to thought processes in the field pre-PP
You know the composition is good when you're prevented from noticing the tripod! Did not see that until you pointed it out lol
Thanks. Its great too see how you process photos. ill use the Tone Curve much more now.
Very nice video Simon showing your thought process!
Darn Simon, I almost made it to bed. Now I have to stay up few more mi utes. 2:00am :)
Simon, you are a master! I also love your very direct, honest approach. Hope you never lose that.
Many thanks, Frank. I certainly won't :)
Really interesting and well executed tutorial man!
Just a question - how does one get a picture to look like a painting? I still can't really believe that this is, what came out of the camera, it looks so unnatural and painted
Thank you! As I said in the video, soft light with the right combination of subject and tones :)
@@SimonBaxterPhotography Really appreciate that answer, thanks (:
I'm gonna have to just try it in our woods then. If nothing else, this was at least a huge inspiration!
Where did you focus in this photo? I sometimes find that if I focus on a single tree that the rest of the image isnt as sharp because of that.
Useful tutorial Simon. Beautiful image, absolutely love it.
Good tips. Enjoyed the workflow.
That was one of the nicest pictures of a tripod that I have seen, and what did you go and do with it...?
Thank you. Your video has made me rethink the editing I do to make a photo POP. This is the subtly I want in my photos. Yours are just beautiful.
Another masterpiece, probably one of your best photographs ever, perfectly executed in camera and even more so in Lightroom. I have a slight suspicion where you took the image ; )
That's very kind of you, Holger! I actually took this composition when with you on the 23rd but then went back and took it again on the 30th. Repeated visits and patience always works :) Many thanks!
@@SimonBaxterPhotography The patience certainly paid off, much better conditions with the light fog. I hope I'll have the opportunity to return to the place sometimes (maybe Mark has a couple of days off next fall...)
Exceptional blend of philosophy and practice! Would love more!
I do something similar in Camera RAW and the add a touch of luminosity masks and Orton using ARCPanel extension. Also very quick and simple
Great picture Simon. The post processing was fairly simple and understandable. Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you :)
Very inspiring Thank You
Thanks Simon, a very sensible approach.
Excellent video Simon! great to hear your thoughts on processing and the importance of intent.
Cheers, Mr Gibbs! Thanks for watching :)
@@SimonBaxterPhotography I watch, I watch ;-)
Thanks, Simon. Miss Meg, love this video, however. So...shoot as excellent a photo as possible then enhance if necessary in post, to match what you felt when taking the photo. Forget "fixing" in post, forget making the photo in post. I needed that.
Many thanks, Joe! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
Great image and video Simon 👍
Once again, a thoughtful treatment of style and technique. Cheers!
Thank you Simon. A very interesting video. The quality of your photographic work is really excellent and your thoughts on processing are inspiring.
That's much appreciated, Ann. Thank you!
The image has a fairy-tale like quality. There are times when we worry about images "popping" and being ultra sharp. It can detract from the excellent composition that may have been captured.
Thank you, Steve! I completely agree :)
Interesting video Simon, it’s always great to see how you guys do your processing. Amazing photo, absolutely beautiful
Thank you very much, Anthony!
I saw this image already on instagram some days before and was absolutely amazed. Just incredible! I'm really thankful for this video now and I'm really surprised how good the RAW image looks already, although I'm using also a Sony camera. The editing itself is magnificent!
Thanks for sharing Simon!!
That's very kind, Luke. Thank you :)
Lovely image
Couldn’t agree more, Simon, with your emphasis on the in-field experience, connection, and vision.
Many thanks, Hillel!
As others have said the start raw file is amazing. I would have been chuffed to obtain that as a final image. Thank you for your time and effort and beautifully articulate description of your thought process. Stunning image.
Thank you, Craig. That's much appreciated :)
10:40 I'm sure data would prove that highly saturate, punchy, bright spotted images get liked more on IG/Social, but would anyone print and hang an image like that? On the other hand, an image like this example is easy to image on the wall.
Hi Simon. Forgive me for coming across your video some three years after the event! I simply wanted to thank you for sharing your wonderful woodland image - the most beautiful I've seen. It really is stunning!
Great video but absolutely stunning image , one of your best I’d say
Thank you very much, Andrew!
That has to be one of the nicest untouched RAW photos I've ever seen. I'm not sure I'd even know where to start with processing if that's what I had to start with; I'd have to print it out to see if anything looks off on paper. I'm sure UA-cam compression is making it look a bit less crisp (more painterly) when viewed in video, but it still looks incredible.
Hi Simon - I have watched several of your videos during the last few weeks and have found them very inspiring - I can't wait to get out again. One question if I may, in several of your editing sections you crop to specific proportions - 5x4 16x9 etc. Why do you do this rather than to specific elements in the picture?
To give your images real pop and impact, don't use Lightroom or Photoshop, just print them on balloons and tie these to housebricks... ;-)
I agree with you as I don't like too much the post processing and over all I have a little time that my work leave to me . So I don't use Photoshop / Lightroom ( that I think for a pro is a must )
but D x O and I'm happy with, as I can do almost all things you have done .
So I thank you for your lesson and for the beautiful image and I'll try to remember your advice
Wow. What a lovely photo. I like your very detailed description of how you arrived at your final vision. Thanks for sharing.
Great video and a very good example of where and why sympathetic post-processing really comes into it's own and pays dividends..I think that general concept, i.e. editing in a sympathetic to subject manner, can be applied and adapted to suit all genres and situations of photography and their uniqueness.
Thanks for this informative video. I don't like spending a bunch of time at a computer photo editing, so I found your tips to be most helpful. As you pointed out, your photo already had a number of elements going for it in its raw form (light and composition, for instance). Your approach simply enhances those elements.
Simon,
Excellent content, as always!
I on't see the link to the Orton Effect you referenced. Am I missing it?
Thank-You,
Mike
Thank you! Ooops, thanks for pointing that out. I'll and it now....
@@SimonBaxterPhotography Got it, thanks, buddy!
Mike
Thanks a lot Simon for that kind of peaceful and full of sense tips. Particulary when you only have 1 chance per week to go out to take photos, and the light or the enviroment isn't that good enough that day. And then you find yourself during the next week trying to tranform those flat pictures into something very punchy and spectacular, spending hours and hours on it. But it finally turns out into an overdone editing. That's very frustrating. The anxiety of social media, like if it was our main job, it's ridiculous. You can find tons of overdone images on Instagram, too much sharpening, too much orton effect and contrast and so on. And sometimes I've found myself going into that direction unluckily.
That's why I appreciate so much your tips. Keep calm, do it simple and delicate, respect your own process and learn how to improve the shoot into the field.
Thanks for sharing!
Great video, Simon! 'Couldn't agree more with you on your approach to capturing feelings/emotions of a scene and how editing follows thereafter.
Great way to start my Sunday morning. Do you regularly shoot in the Lake District? I'm wanting to take my sister to Keswick in December for some hiking and photography in the mountains
I’ve recently got to grips with editing a bit better. Initially I found Lightroom fantastic but somewhat bewildering apart from basic adjustments. But the beauty of Lightroom is that it’s non-destructive so anything you don’t like you can undo.
Recently with a bit of study and practice (re-editing old photos is a good way), I’m much happier with my edits.
Composition the other hand ☹️
Very informative, Simon. I look forward to more instructional videos.
Stunning image! Your passion always shines through! Love it!
Thank you very much, Chris!
Excellent video. I will pay more attention to how I feel and what I am seeing next time I am shooting. Often I get back to my computer and really just start editing without thought to my original reason to shoot that particular image.
Hi Simon,I love your editing to keep the image true to the time & the feeling of it when it was taken. Absolutely love your channel.
Stunning image and a great message about editing an image. As a fairly new photographer I have found it easy to be sucked in by images that have the "pop" factor but realise there must have been quite a bit of time sat in front of a computer to produce the final results.
Well said
Nice image but, that dark branch top left jars a little with me 🤔
Not in a major way perhaps it would do less so if the image were not being
Viewed in utube.
What a lovely and informative video. Thank you very much for sharing this information. I love the image.
Very enjoyable Simon, always good to hear another photographers post processing thoughts. Like you I hate the thoughts of hours in front of the camera.
👍👍
Hey Simon, I always look forward to your videos! I enjoyed seeing how you edit a image, I think this can help me even though I do mostly Bird and wildlife images. See you on the next video! Saying hey ….Greg
Great video Simon with excellent tips as always, That image is outstanding 👌👍
That is a beautiful image Simon. Great video though, even if I prefer your out & about vlogs!!
Thanks Simon to share your passion with these video, image very nice indeed!
Great video, thank you very much, Simon.
Very well thought through, cogent and clear. Can't be bettered, really.
Thank you Simon, very informative, as always.
Perfect example of how to edit to enhance rather than mask with over saturated colours and too much sharpening.
Great, intelligent comment and useful perspective
Well done Simon, it’s a beautiful image and your post processing edits reflect the your thoughtful outlook on nature.
Fantastic video, fantastic image, really interesting to see your workflow and capturing process.
Thank´s Simon, for your info into your workflow in LR. That image became so magic stunning!
Very well said! I agree with you 100%.
Beautiful photo and excellent instruction. Thank you simon
Very wise advice Simon, as always I love your perspective.
Stunning mate
Really well put together as always :-)
Many thanks, Dave. Hope you had a good trip!
Simon Baxter Challenging haha but loved it! :)
Excellent as usual Simon - Dave
Great image (even with the tripod included)
OMG what a nice picture!
I once went on a weekend trek in the Cederberg in South Africa with a photographer. He carried a 4x5 camera with him and spent hours at some locations waiting for the light. He took 7 photographs that weekend. (If you carry a 4x5 camera and plates up a mountain you do not just snap away!) His advice was that if you want to learn nature photography, study black and white photography to learn about light and contrast, and forget small format cameras. You cannot inspect quality into a poorly made item and you cannot Photoshop quality into a poorly taken image. Ten minutes of planning a shot can often save an hour in Lightroom.
Well done and well explained Simon!
Simon, are you trying to tell us great photographs are not made in Lightroom?
I know, such a crazy theory!
I think maybe a lot of people want to edit "images that pop" to fulfill a goal of being noticed on Instagram. Unfortunately, I think that goal can be a disservice to goals such as becoming more creative or more artistic. 😔
Learning moments
OMG this image blows my mind 😱
sooo good ✌️
Love this.
Love it Simon 😉
Interesting walk through Simon and a really lovely image, which captures that Caledonian pine woodland perfectly. What amazed me more than anything else in this film is your ability to string so many sentences together during your introductory speech and outro without a break! How do you do that? Perhaps a video on this skill wouldn't go a miss!