A Quick Overview In Post Processing Images

I’ve been spending a lot of time setting up a new website where I will host a good deal of images. It will use Zenfolio as a back-end and have the ability to allow for buying downloads and ordering prints. Before that while going through my 1300 or so cruise images I setup a few standard processes for processing images so that they look how I feel they should.

When processing images the way I do, it takes a good deal of time. I always am trying to find ways to speed up the process, but on the other hand I always want to have each image tweaked to my eye.

Here are a few points to my (post) processing process:

I shoot images in RAW (DNG) format with flat colors.
I use my old license of Photoshop CS2 on Linux through Wine.
I recently bought a copy of “Noise Ninja” plugin/standalone software.

Steps for post processing that result in finished full resolution pictures (meaning I don’t shrink these as they will be for my Zenfolio gallery):

Open a block of images in Photoshop (say 50 at a time) so the RAW converter pops up.
Go through each image and tweak the colors of the images I feel are worthy of public viewing.
For some images, straighten the horizon line and/or crop the image a bit.
Open all of the images in that set into photoshop.
Apply the first of two actions that I setup on the image to see if it makes the image vibrant enough for my eye and how I felt the scene looked at the time of capture. This action performs Shadow/Highlight correction (say +X% to both), +XX contrast, auto contrast, -X brightness. This action set results in a image with nice virbrant details yet extracts out some shadow and highlight detail I feel should be visible.
If the action results in a keeper, I continue on, otherwise I backtrack and do manual tweaking of the image from import.
Examine the image and remove any dust spots or other anomalies using the spot healing brush, or the clone stamp tool if the spot brush has issues. I also make final modifications to overall look and feel with various tools.
Action 2 consists of auto processing setting in Noise Ninja to remove unwanted sensor noise, conversion from 16-bit to 8-bit, and saving a jpeg in 12 (maximum) quality.

So lately I’ve been going through batches of images with that process in mind. It is time consuming, but I feel it results in the best image possible.

Viltrox AF FE 28mm f/4.5 VCM ASPH ED Lens Overview

Viltrox asked me if I wanted to take a look at this unique compact autofocus full-frame prime lens with a focal length of 28mm and a fixed f/4.5 aperture for Sony E-mount cameras. Viltrox agreed to my standard collaboration terms before sending me the lens. In the video I talk about features, how it works in practice, and show photos I had taken on a photo walk with the Sony a7S as well as the APS-C a6000. Viltrox is starting this off as an Indiegogo campaign. They told me that it will eventually be sold through normal retailers: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/viltrox-af-28mm-f4-5-fe-chips-size-ultra-thin-lens They said it will be $99 USD or 109 Euros with discounts during the crowdfunding period. Check out Indiegogo for details. I am not an affiliate of that website. You can check on the status of availability through my usual affiliates: B&H Photo Video Amazon As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases! The front of the lens. K...

Camera Gear Reviews and Marketing Issues Exposed

A great overview by Gerald Undone on his experiences in the field of camera gear related videos! It is an important topic. The more open the better, I’d say. After over 13 years making photography and videography gear videos, I’ve not had a huge amount of success comparatively, but I’ve also never been especially brand safe to begin with for these companies to consider me. 🤣 I think his mentions toward the end of the video are especially important. The unwritten pressure, or worse with companies like Insta360 , shouldn’t be acceptable and should be publicly called out more often. That’s probably the only way things will actually change for the better. I created a video detailing my opinion on the topic further: More of my comments on the video… His YouTube channel. 4:30 I understand that’s what Gerald does, but are there situations where companies are paying for flights and hotel costs of other reviewers with the expectation of a video/article being produced? (EDIT: I’ve seen confirm...

First look at the Sigma 18-50mm F/2.8 for Sony E-mount bought from KEH

I've use a Sony Alpha A6000 and the PZ 16–50mm F/3.5–5.6 OSS kit lens with my computer as a webcam for a long time now. It's a lower cost option that has been very consistent outputting 1080p at 30 FPS to a USB based HDMI capture device. The kit lens is generally fine, but it has a few quirks. The biggest issue is that throughout the zoom range the maximum aperture value is not fixed. This introduces technical challenges when I want to show detailed views of product or similar use cases. There are also other considerations I'll talk about later in this article. So I decided to buy the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | C lens in E-mount as a replacement. Links in this article are a mix of paid and through my affiliates. I earn from each in different ways. One is a flat fee and the others I earn from qualifying purchases. Considering them for your purchasing needs helps make the creation of this information viable! I made a video unboxing the lens and trying it out with Open ...

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