Welcome to my first After-Before Friday post! (Like my catchy post header?) Yup, I know the title is reversed, but I figured I would post my better photo first, followed by the original. And, yup, I know there’s no catchy alliteration as with Wordless Wednesday or Silent Sunday, though there are “f’s” in after, before, and Friday! (If any of you can come up with a better title, please chime in.)
I always enjoy before-and-after photos. It’s interesting to see the creative post-processing choices of others and it’s a wonderful way to learn what can make photos better. Currently, I post-process to correct my exposure mistakes (and there are many). But as my skills with my camera improve (fingers crossed), I envision using post-processing to apply different creative choices to my photos. So I guess these posts will be a gauge of my progress.
Note: I’ve been thinking about turning this into a weekly challenge at some point. Until then, if you want to “unofficially” participate, feel free to create your own after/before post and leave your link in a comment here.
March 22, 2014, Burlington, Vermont
Lake Champlain
Frozen. Completely frozen out to the jetty and the two lighthouses at either end. People came with their dogs in tow to walk on the water, sit on the jetty, and watch the sunset. Unfortunately, the sky was mostly cloud-filled and the sunset turned out to be less than spectacular (and therefore so did those pictures), but this one picture made up for that.
AFTER
Walking on Water – Lake Champlain (22 March 2014)
Visual Venturing 
Love the idea behind this series Stacy, I really need to write more before and after posts. I did a short video near the beginning of the year, but haven’t really done anything since. Many people are completely unaware of the power of the tools that are out there, so it’s great to show those who are new to photography what can be done. And of course, we can all learn from each other no matter how long we have been holding a camera!
LikeLiked by 1 person
All my thoughts exactly, Ben. Your “Flying High” post with the before and the two “afters” introduced me (and others) to the Topaz software (thanks for that!). Would love to see the before “With Gothic Style” (because you already know how much I love the after :D).
LikeLike
Thanks for the visit on Flickr as well! Yeah I’d like to do more of those, maybe I’ll get back on the video side of things as well. I don’t really remember if that post was popular! Looking forward to seeing more of your before and after as well 🙂
LikeLike
Hey I helped out with your monitor discussion and thought I would check your blog out, nice job btw 🙂 I took your before and after idea and did a similar post myself. I think showing what an image can become is a really powerful way of sharing the potential to newbies that post processing is actually worth the effort.
I like the image above, did you use the grad ND filter in LR for the sky?
Good luck with the monitor problem – the aspect ratio issue just means you need to make sure any monitor you get runs at the resolution your laptop can support natively – you can still use other res on monitors but if its not native it will not look its best. Its not a drama but it is a small thing that might be worth keeping in mind.
Hopefully you got some useful info out of the discussion, if you get really stuck feel free to email me directly if you have some further questions, and good luck either way!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your input on the post has been invaluable! I’m not sure all my replies to you have shown up yet, as Leanne is moderating the comments and replies,and I’m 14 hours behind her. I went to bed while she was still up, and now that I’m up, she’s likely still asleep 🙂 But please know that I have appreciated everything you contributed to the discussion, and for reaching out to me here!
Thanks so very much, too, for the comment on my blog, and for the follow. I intend to visit the blogs of those who have so kindly offered their advice, and yours will definitely be the first one I go to! Replying to the comments coming in has kept me from doing that (Leanne warned that I might be kept busy — all definitely a good thing 🙂 )
As for the after-before posts, you’re spot on as to why I chose to do this. It’s very helpful to know that, most times, the images that are shared did NOT come out of someone’s camera just like we see. It can be very intimidating thinking that way, and conversely, very liberating to know that it is quite okay to post-process ones photos!
I went back to check my edit history on the after shot. I do like to use the gradient filter when the sky is in play, but I was actually surprised to find out I didn’t use it here. Seems I was able to push up the color by cranking up the clarity, which also helped to focus in on the people in the photo.
Again, thanks for all!
LikeLike
No problem, I started out about 5-6 years ago getting my first DSLR so I still struggle with stuff myself. I have a bit of an advantage with the computer side of things cos I work in the industry, but thats the only advantage 🙂
I started out being a bit of a purist when it came to editing photos, and I still am but my aim is to make my image look real, as real as what it really was, if that makes sense. It has taken a while but I have realised that its OK to edit a bit more, and in fact to get the look I want, more editing is actually a requirement.
So now I am working on improving my post pro skills and investing in my education there. Bring on You Tube!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can’t imagine I’m telling you anything you don’t already know, but Julieanne Kost, dubbed the Digital Imaging Evangelist from Adobe, has wonderful videos on tv.adobe.com covering a variety of Lightroom and Photoshop subjects : http://tv.adobe.com/show/the-complete-picture-with-julieanne-kost/.
So many learning curves for so many different things!
LikeLike
Hey thanks I have not heard of her before, I will check out the link. I started out with LR with the Scott Kelby books and with ver 4 I got the Lightroom Queen book as a more technical resource. Thats about it as far as my LR education has been except for the videos I recently bought from EyeVoyage (which I totally recommend BTW)
LikeLike
Ooh, I got to help YOU with something 🙂 I originally purchased Photoshop, not knowing anything about Lightroom. But now I find that I do most of my post-processing in Lightroom. Photoshop is better at healing and cloning, so I’ll often move into that for those needs, and then back into LR to finish. PS certainly allows for an amazing array of very creative applications, but for my current needs, Lightroom is my workhorse. I’ll have to take a look at EyeVoyage to see what that’s all about!
LikeLike
Yeah I dont actually know everything 🙂 I bought PS a year ago after attending a workshop by Trey Ratcliff and seeing what he did with it, but I have been so busy since I have done nothing with it since I installed it. Once I finish being a student as well as working full time I might have time!
LikeLike
🙂
LikeLike
What a stunning photo, I love it! I also love how you’ve processed it, really nice work! 🙂 Wonderful idea to make a series of after and before!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Elina! This one was definitely much easier than the Cour Marly 🙂 (I think I’m a “color” girl at heart!)
LikeLike
🙂
LikeLike
I like you order here, post the best one first. 😉 I always enjoy reading posts about the process of processing and will have fun following your weekly series! Lisa
LikeLike
Hi, Lisa! Thanks for the follow and for your comment! Yup, best one first 😀
LikeLike
Great start to the series ! I’m looking forward to see more.
LikeLike
Thanks for your vote of support! 🙂
LikeLike
What about “A&B” ?
LikeLike
Hi, Jaime! Thanks for the suggestion. It certainly is easier to say that “After & Before”:) It may be worthwhile changing to that once, or if, the idea takes off!
LikeLike