I still felt like the least experienced person in the class, but tonight I asked lots of questions, and learned a lot. Two sessions and I already feel like I’ve gotten my money’s worth from the class.
Tonight we talked about resampling, color modes, adjustment layers, and various methods for converting color images to black and white. As with last week, most of these topics were familiar to me, but we got into the theories behind the methods, and covered each much more extensively. I had already experimented with several methods of black and white conversion, courtesy of lessons provided on the Digital Photography School forums. However, now I feel more comfortable with those techniques.
In the image above I used two different methods for post-processing. The original image is on top, and it’s a shot of Laura on a ferry ride in Washington State. It was mid-day on an overcast day with less-than-ideal lighting. One of the first rules we learned this evening was that if color is a problem, simply get rid of it. In the second image, I added an HSL adjustment layer and created a slight sepia tint. I added another adjustment layer for lighting levels to bring out contrast. For the third image I first converted the image to gray scale, then added quadtone colors using Pantone values.
What I’m finding in this class is that I’m comfortable with the technology. I’ve used Photoshop for so long that I kind of know where everything is. I’m just not as comfortable with the basics of photography, and that’s what places me at a disadvantage. I’m not as good at spotting slight errors in exposure, so even if I know how to make the corrections, I’m not sure when it’s appropriate, or when I’ve gone too far. I guess that will come with time.