Leonardo Mello - Pre-Screening & Postprocessing advice

[Leo 747]

Hello!
I've been having a few rejects specially on this "Bad Postprocessing" thing. Kinda annoying sometimes, since my workflow is pretty much the same for most of the pictures.

I've been using the Clone Stamp tool to get rid of dust spots. This tool tend to mess up the sky (leaving those weird circles and stains). However, the image only appears messed up when equalized.
The more you try to fix it, the more worn out the sky will look. Despite this, the regular view of the image is OK, and the sky is fine aswell. The problem only pops up when equalizing.

So why are pictures being rejected for a problem that is only appearing when equalizing the picture? Same goes for halos around buildings or tails. Some can't be seen when the image is normal.
Pic looks fine when in normal view, but looks weird when equalized. Well, the equalized version isn't the one which will be displayed in database, so why even bother? That's actually what I wonder.

Anyway, hope to see some answers soon.

Many thanks and best regards!
Leonardo

[LX-A343]

Hello!
I've been having a few rejects specially on this "Bad Postprocessing" thing. Kinda annoying sometimes, since my workflow is pretty much the same for most of the pictures.

I've been using the Clone Stamp tool to get rid of dust spots. This tool tend to mess up the sky (leaving those weird circles and stains). However, the image only appears messed up when equalized.
The more you try to fix it, the more worn out the sky will look. Despite this, the regular view of the image is OK, and the sky is fine aswell. The problem only pops up when equalizing.

So why are pictures being rejected for a problem that is only appearing when equalizing the picture? Same goes for halos around buildings or tails. Some can't be seen when the image is normal.
Pic looks fine when in normal view, but looks weird when equalized. Well, the equalized version isn't the one which will be displayed in database, so why even bother? That's actually what I wonder.

Anyway, hope to see some answers soon.

Many thanks and best regards!
Leonardo

We will only reject a photo, if the fault is visible in the unequalized photo. Equalizing a photo helps to make sure, that I as screener really am seeing a dust spot (for example) and not something different, which should lead to a rejection.

BTW, it's just a matter of learning how to use the clone stamp tool properly.

[flying Doc]

Please provide some examples of the rejections so you can get the answers to your questions.

[Leo 747]

We will only reject a photo, if the fault is visible in the unequalized photo. Equalizing a photo helps to make sure, that I as screener really am seeing a dust spot (for example) and not something different, which should lead to a rejection.

BTW, it's just a matter of learning how to use the clone stamp tool properly.

Many thanks! That was helpful, i'll try to pay more attention to the clone stamp usage.

Please provide some examples of the rejections so you can get the answers to your questions.

Here's a recent one, rejected due to "Digital Manipulation" (odd rejection reason for me, but anyway... lol)
When equalizing the pic, there's indeed a circle of the clone stamp tool at the sky. However, I swear I can't see it in normal version. The sky look perfect to me.

https://www.jetphotos.com/viewqueued_b.php?id=7823729

[LX-A343]

Many thanks! That was helpful, i'll try to pay more attention to the clone stamp usage.



Here's a recent one, rejected due to "Digital Manipulation" (odd rejection reason for me, but anyway... lol)
When equalizing the pic, there's indeed a circle of the clone stamp tool at the sky. However, I swear I can't see it in normal version. The sky look perfect to me.

https://www.jetphotos.com/viewqueued_b.php?id=7823729

Maybe you can't see it, but I don't need to equalize the photo to see those patterns.

[Leo 747]

Maybe you can't see it, but I don't need to equalize the photo to see those patterns.

Alright, i'll try to use it better. Thanks!!!

[abreumubarac]

Instead of using the clone tool, try to use the spot healing brush. I always use it to remove dirt and dust and I've never had a problem.

[Leo 747]

Instead of using the clone tool, try to use the spot healing brush. I always use it to remove dirt and dust and I've never had a problem.

Thanks man, i'll have a try

[B7772ADL]

Instead of using the clone tool, try to use the spot healing brush. I always use it to remove dirt and dust and I've never had a problem.

I was about to say the same thing... clone stamp is bad. Use the spot healing brush instead as it makes a much better job of integrating/blending the pixels around it.

[Leo 747]

Out of curiosity: does anybody know what can cause halo to appear all around the plane like this, on the original image (not the edited file)???

I don't use any setting "out of place" on my camera (for example: D-Lighting, shadow enhancement systems, etc), and halos still appear from time to time.

They are pretty annoying TBH, because some can barely be seen on the regular unequalized pic, but will lead to a rejection anyway

[Michael Rodeback]

Out of curiosity: does anybody know what can cause halo to appear all around the plane like this, on the original image (not the edited file)???

I don't use any setting "out of place" on my camera (for example: D-Lighting, shadow enhancement systems, etc), and halos still appear from time to time.

They are pretty annoying TBH, because some can barely be seen on the regular unequalized pic, but will lead to a rejection anyway

Generally, they are caused by using the shadows/highlights tool in photoshop. I've heard D-lighting on some Nikon cameras will cause them, though it's never caused them for me(turning D-lighting off is still a good idea though). Another thing that can cause them is something like clarity or dehaze in photoshop or your camera's picture control settings. I used to have a lot of trouble halos, but they went away when I stopped using the shadows/highlights tool and when I set clarity to zero in picture control settings.

[Leo 747]

Generally, they are caused by using the shadows/highlights tool in photoshop. I've heard D-lighting on some Nikon cameras will cause them, though it's never caused them for me(turning D-lighting off is still a good idea though). Another thing that can cause them is something like clarity or dehaze in photoshop or your camera's picture control settings. I used to have a lot of trouble halos, but they went away when I stopped using the shadows/highlights tool and when I set clarity to zero in picture control settings.

but i'm not talking about postprocessing issues. Some pictures simply come out of the camera already sporting halos, even with D-Lighting and other stuff turned off.

[dlowwa]

but i'm not talking about postprocessing issues. Some pictures simply come out of the camera already sporting halos, even with D-Lighting and other stuff turned off.

Very unlikely to see such halos on the raw file (not jpeg). Best to post a link to one of your images that you think has such halos.

[Michael Rodeback]

but i'm not talking about postprocessing issues. Some pictures simply come out of the camera already sporting halos, even with D-Lighting and other stuff turned off.

As I said, it's likely due to clarity or some other setting in picture control, which is in camera. It was pretty annoying for me until I found out that the solution was in the picture control menu.

[Leo 747]

Hi there!
I have a few questions about rejections related to cloning, specially those rejections due to digital manipulation and/or Bad Postprocessing.

1) Removing a fence from the edges of photos is accepted, or is it considered as "Digital Manipulation"?
Sadly, fences are very annoying when they show up on the picture edges. Some can be easily cropped off the picture. However, some might still be there, creating darkened corners, similar to vignetting issues. Sometimes, cropping them off would also lead to cropping parts of the plane, which is not what we want. This can be corrected by cloning parts of the sky or ground which aren't affected by the fence. Does this kind of correction lead to a rejection, even if the result is good? A good result would be: no cloning marks, well blended sky colors, etc.


2) Issues which can only be visible in the equalized version can lead to rejections?
Imagine that, after editing, you have a good picture with a nice sky. However, when you equalize it, there are many issues: color banding, some faint dust spots, cloning tool marks, etc. However, all these issues can't be seen in the normal version, they can only be seen in the equalized version. Can this pic be rejected due to these issues? Do we need to care about how our equalized pic look?
The same goes for halos. Some halos can't really be seen in the normal version, but can be visible (even if very faintly) on the equalized version. Is a "Bad Postprocessing" rejection really needed in these situations?

I'd like to know the opinion of the screeners about these subjects, because these are some issues i've faced before.
Please care to elaborate your answers, maybe to help other photographers aswell. Hope we can all learn a bit more
Many thanks in advance! Cheers!