https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:29:25 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo/page/2#post-610051 Wed, 02 May 2012 06:37:19 +0000 HeleenH 610051@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>That's right, Angie, I forgot to mention I take my pictures in RAW, which gives me the opportunity to change the white balance later. I always use that setting and if my DH changes the general setting to auto, it annoys me like crazy. My camera doesn't give me the RAW option in the auto. P is just auto with the added option of taking pictures in RAW. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo/page/2#post-610021 Wed, 02 May 2012 05:28:03 +0000 Kari 610021@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>A Seattle photo meetup would be great! I know my self-portrait photos are definitely subpar. A lot of that's related to the camera - like Diana, my point and shoot doesn't have capability for a remote, so I have to focus on a nearby item like a wall or a post and hope that the camera will be semi-in focus when I step in front. Messing with the lighting when I'm not even in the photo takes forever, and I don't have a full array of manual settings - they are all at least semi automatic. I've taken some decent photos, though, but not self-portrait shots.</p> <p>I dream about buying a good DSLR, especially after a neighbor/friend gave me a crash course with his Nikons a couple years back. Maybe later this year, budget permitting... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo/page/2#post-610005 Wed, 02 May 2012 05:02:10 +0000 Anonymous 610005@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This is a great thread Greg! I'd seriously ask a question if I knew what language you all were conversing in! My camera is dying slowly and now I know where to go for recommendations when it's time to replace it. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo/page/2#post-609936 Wed, 02 May 2012 03:21:40 +0000 Elly 609936@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm a long-time film photographer that used to process my own b&amp;w film. Now that I'm back to renting and living in a community that no longer has a community darkroom to rent out, or even a photo lab that processes b&amp;w it has really cut down on much I shoot . . . and finally after years of resistance I'm out of excuses and it is time to invest in a DSLR. Actually, it is supposed to be an incredibly expensive graduation gift. </p> <p>I've been curious a time or two about what the photogs on YLF shoot. </p> <p>I'd love to come to a YLF photo meetup. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo/page/2#post-609927 Wed, 02 May 2012 03:08:36 +0000 nicoleb 609927@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>LOL thanks Greg </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo/page/2#post-609913 Wed, 02 May 2012 02:48:36 +0000 Greg 609913@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>The photo meetup is a great idea.</p> <p>Nicole, your commitment to shallow depth of field is unprecedented. And the fact that you have done it manually gives the picture a kind of surreal vibe. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo/page/2#post-609869 Wed, 02 May 2012 02:08:54 +0000 Amy 609869@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Fantastic. I've worked with Photoshop quite a bit (both for photography and web design). While I wouldn't claim to be an expert, I have a fairly good handle on it and would be happy to share what I know. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo/page/2#post-609867 Wed, 02 May 2012 02:05:38 +0000 Jenava 609867@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Let's do it! I have a pretty good grasp on the technical stuff of photography, but not really with digital aspects. I don't get what RAW means, and even though my dad had a very early (1996) version of Photoshop I'm pretty illiterate with it today. At least I know how to use the rubber stamp tool (my brother gave himself a third eye for HIS senior portrait...boys...) and I know why the burn, dodge and crop tools have those funny pictures because I did that stuff in the darkroom! (-:</p> <p>But I'd be thrilled to learn even a FEW things from Greg, Aida and anyone else about the digital side, and I'd be happy to share whatever I can about the other side...Coffee shop, cameras, and a few laptops, I think we'd be set! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo/page/2#post-609861 Wed, 02 May 2012 02:01:01 +0000 Amy 609861@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Sign me up, Jenava! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo/page/2#post-609859 Wed, 02 May 2012 01:59:15 +0000 Aida 609859@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'd so be down for that Jenava! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo/page/2#post-609856 Wed, 02 May 2012 01:56:58 +0000 Jenava 609856@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ohh, I just had a fantastic idea! What if we had a YLF Seattle PHOTO meet-up...all the folks interested in photos and editing could have a little pow wow over coffee and share tips! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo/page/2#post-609854 Wed, 02 May 2012 01:52:20 +0000 Jenava 609854@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Aida, that reminds me of when I took my own photo senior portrait for the school yearbook...only that was a very old, very manual camera! I think I used F/16 just to make sure everything was in focus...which, BTW, nichole, you should be careful of using TOO low of an F-stop because srsly then your nose will be in focus and your ears will be out of focus! My experience playing around with this is that you have to be pretty far away from the background and use a pretty low f-stop to get it REALLY blurry. Also, I think higher quality lenses usually give you the option of lower/higher F-stops...something to keep in mind. You can also play with using a higher-speed film (crap, do they call it just ASA, now, since there's no film?? Like 200, 400, 800, you know what I mean) and using BOTH a slow shutter speed and low apeture, then add a flash and some movement...the flash can act somewhat like a shutter and helps make the background blurry (but the entire photo will also have a slightly blurred effect)...like this photo I took a while back. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo/page/2#post-609828 Wed, 02 May 2012 01:30:32 +0000 Mellllls 609828@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Very interesting, thanks for sharing. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo/page/2#post-609826 Wed, 02 May 2012 01:29:34 +0000 Aida 609826@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Great post Greg! I do exactly this process with my own photos! But I don't do the overlay with a b&amp;w version of the image, just the original image; I'm going to give that a try, looks like it would give me a bit more depth as opposed to contrast with the way I do it now.</p> <p>Since I use my little point-and-shoot with the self timer instead of hubby's SLR, I shoot in full manual (I picked my PnS specifically because of this feature) and leave the aperture at f/8 all the time so I don't have to pop in a focusing object, and then set the shutter speed myself. But anyone who wants to shoot something lower in aperture mode, like f/2 or f/4, you can place in a focusing object when you click the timer and then throw it out of the way when you move into frame so the right place gets blurred.</p> <p>I also do minor photoediting as needed, almost always for things related to using a self-timer instead of a human photographer; small things like a hair that blew in my face right as the timer goes off or an unfortunately located clothing wrinkle that I happened while running into frame. Very very occasionally I will do heavier editing (usually to combine successful elements of different poses when I'm having a particularly non photogenic day), but for the most part I try to leave it alone and I would say 95%+ of my photos have no retouching. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo/page/2#post-609688 Wed, 02 May 2012 00:11:30 +0000 nicoleb 609688@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I want to be able to background defocus so badly sometimes i do it section by section in Gimp. It takes forever. How nice it would be to simple use a certain lens and press a button. :P</p> <p>And you can still tell i did it by "hand" if you look closely. -_- </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo/page/2#post-609654 Tue, 01 May 2012 23:39:48 +0000 Greg 609654@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Jenava, I meant what I said, but we're kinda saying the same thing. :-)</p> <p>The F number is the whole fraction f/D where f is focal length and D is aperture diameter. That's the number you see on the camera readout. So yes, the bigger the F number the smaller the aperture size (D).</p> <p>Before we got into the complexity of apertures I did say "choose an exposure", which in 'A' is equivalent to "choosing the shutter speed" because the aperture is fixed and, as you say, the exposure is the total light coming in and therefore a function of aperture size and shutter speed. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo/page/2#post-609604 Tue, 01 May 2012 22:42:05 +0000 Jenava 609604@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>The F number is actually the bottom number of a fraction, right? That's why the BIGGER the f-stop, the SMALLER the hole...because 1/16 is smaller than 1/8.</p> <p>Also, don't you mean you let the camera pick the SHUTTER SPEED? I think exposure is the total amount of light let into the camera (shutter speed/aperture combo).</p> <p>I need to work in Photoshop a little more. I think there are tons of things I could do to improve my photos if I just took a little time... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo#post-609590 Tue, 01 May 2012 22:27:06 +0000 Greg 609590@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Amy, that's exactly what I do, but I wasn't sure why shooting in full auto made it impossible to adjust white balance on the computer. Perhaps I misunderstood.</p> <p>White balance is a whole other topic! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo#post-609581 Tue, 01 May 2012 22:06:49 +0000 Amy 609581@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Greg, maybe Helen shoots in RAW format and edits the white balance there...the plug-in I have in photoshop for RAW files allows me to do that. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo#post-609558 Tue, 01 May 2012 21:40:42 +0000 sarah 609558@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Greg, I really appreciate this. You'd never know it by my posts, because I'm too embarrassed about the neighbors to take outfit photos outside, but I actually do try to pay attention to the details of photography, and learn as I go, so I'm really excited that you're going to posting these tips. I already shoot in aperture mode, when I'm taking "real" pictures (as opposed to outfit pics to post!), so, yay, I can check that one off! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo#post-609526 Tue, 01 May 2012 21:03:52 +0000 Ana 609526@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow, this thread is fascinating! Thank you, Greg, for the technical rundown and the thorough responses. Everyone's comments have been really interesting to read through as well.</p> <p>Sarah, I would happily take your camera, you know, if you couldn't stand to even look at it anymore or something. You have a lot of skill too. I was always really happy with the photos you took (thank you). : )</p> <p>My camera is just okay. Actually, I'm thinking of upgrading to the iPhone 4S and if I did, the phone would actually be a better camera than the point and shoot I use. Heh. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo#post-609490 Tue, 01 May 2012 20:28:44 +0000 Greg 609490@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Diana, my word, that sounds painful! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo#post-609482 Tue, 01 May 2012 20:23:27 +0000 Greg 609482@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Rae, just...</p> <p>1. Create a new "Black &amp; White" adjustment layer on top of your photo layer<br /> 2. Choose blend mode "Overlay"<br /> 3. Set opacity of the layer to 10%</p> <p>With higher opacity, you'll get more drama. I have added a version with 80% opacity here. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo#post-609473 Tue, 01 May 2012 20:17:31 +0000 rae 609473@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Fascinating. I vaguely remember some of this stuff from when I took photography in high school - only back then we worked with film cameras! I don't think my little digital camera has an aperture priority mode. </p> <p>I'm really interested in how you layered the 10% b/w version on top. I've never tried this, but you can bet I'm going to go home and play on Photoshop! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo#post-609467 Tue, 01 May 2012 20:14:29 +0000 Diana 609467@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Greg, the camera I have right now (a Canon digital elph) has a weird quirk w/ regards to focusing and the self-timer, where it focuses when you push the button, not when the photo actually snaps. So I need to focus it on something in the background (the bookcase, in my photos) and then stand as close as I can to the bookcase in order to be in focus, so being able to manually focus it would be lovely. Plus, I think I am used to taking photos of things on microscopes where obviously the plane of focus makes a big difference, so I like to be in control of the focus. There are probably a million other things that I would love to be able to manually control but I just don't know about them yet! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo#post-609462 Tue, 01 May 2012 20:08:40 +0000 Greg 609462@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Diana, do you mean completely manual focus? I must admit I hardly ever use that. But it is true that the automatic focus on a good SLR is much better than on a point and shoot.</p> <p>Amy, that's interesting. I'm going to give it a try. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo#post-609456 Tue, 01 May 2012 20:03:36 +0000 Greg 609456@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>HeleenH, that's interesting. How do you access the white balance info on the computer later?</p> <p>Personally I find 'A' easier because in 'P' mode, the dial changes two things at the same time (aperture and shutter speed). I prefer to just control the aperture and let the camera choose a shutter speed.</p> <p>BTW, this is related to Nicole's point about "background defocus". That is precisely the effect you get if set the camera to 'A' and choose a larger aperture. Of course, to make things confusing that corresponds to a *smaller* f number. But the point is that, as HeleenH says, controlling aperture is all about depth of field, and depth of field determines how much of the background is in (or out) of focus. </p> <p>Sarah, just to add... the great thing about lenses is that they can transfer to your next camera (as long as you stay with the same brand and continue to use an SLR of course). So even if the $200 lens doesn't give you the improvement you want, it will be useful for the next Nikon SLR you choose.</p> <p>Nicole, yeah, you need an SLR to get that depth of field effect. On the other hand, you're getting very cool results with your current camera. When you do have an SLR you're going to kick some ... :-)</p> <p>Tortoise, I'm sorry, but I have zero experience with cameras at that level. But I have seen that Ken Rockwell has some advice on good options at all levels. This page, for example: <a href="http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/recommended-cameras.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.kenrockwell.com/tec.....ameras.htm</a> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo#post-609455 Tue, 01 May 2012 20:03:12 +0000 Amy 609455@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Haha...I don't need a drama button. It just seems to happen. </p> <p>Greg, this is great. While the photos I post here are often...subpar...I sometimes take more care with processing them. I do something similar as you describe above. I layer a black and white version over the original, and, instead of overlay, I use the "luminosity" setting. I sort of "equalizes" the darks and brights, but not in a flattening sort of way. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo#post-609415 Tue, 01 May 2012 19:15:20 +0000 Diana 609415@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This post is making me want an SLR. But that is SO not in the budget right now. I would kill for manual focus on my point and shoot. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/typical-post-processing-in-the-making-of-a-ylf-photo#post-609411 Tue, 01 May 2012 19:11:57 +0000 HeleenH 609411@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Sarah, if you are uncomfortable going straight to the 'A' setting, the 'P' is a nice start.It doesn't allow you to determine which depth-of-field you have, but it gives you more freedom in editing the picture on the computer. When I shoot pictures in the 'auto' mode, I tend to forget to adjust the white balance and can mess up my pictures. If you shoot in P, you can adjust it later on, as the camera hasn't thrown away the data.</p> <p>Added later: this will only work if you set your camera to taking RAW or RAW+jpg images, as your camera will keep all information in the RAW image and throw away lots of data in the jpg image. </p>