ylu01 - Editing Advice

[ylu01]

You can post an unedited jpeg here, or post a link to the raw file if you prefer.

I can't seem to post it here, as the dimensions exceed the maximum allowed by jetphotos.com. I do not know if there are any places that allows hosting of cr2 files. Do you know of a site that would be helpful here? Or, does the jpg work for you here as well, as I shoot in raw + jpg.

[dlowwa]

I can't seem to post it here, as the dimensions exceed the maximum allowed by jetphotos.com. I do not know if there are any places that allows hosting of cr2 files. Do you know of a site that would be helpful here? Or, does the jpg work for you here as well, as I shoot in raw + jpg.

Full-size jpeg should be fine, we're just checking to see how soft the original is.

[ylu01]

um...I tried, and it won't allow 5184x3456 as it exceeds the allowed size, so I will be posting some links instead:
https://lensdump.com/i/tdWWBb
https://lensdump.com/i/tdWio7
https://lensdump.com/i/tdW08r
https://lensdump.com/i/tdWIJF
https://lensdump.com/i/tdWZe3 - Also, for this one, how are top lit photos looked here at JP? This is when it's about right down the middle where the shadow is cast.

See if you can access them, thank you.

[dlowwa]

um...I tried, and it won't allow 5184x3456 as it exceeds the allowed size, so I will be posting some links instead:
https://lensdump.com/i/tdWWBb
https://lensdump.com/i/tdWio7
https://lensdump.com/i/tdW08r
https://lensdump.com/i/tdWIJF
https://lensdump.com/i/tdWZe3 - Also, for this one, how are top lit photos looked here at JP? This is when it's about right down the middle where the shadow is cast.

See if you can access them, thank you.

I can confirm all of these images are quite soft. Not a perfect example, but compare a close crop of one your images, to one from my most recently accepted - https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/1055442



You should be able to notice a distinct difference in sharpness.

My guess is the cause of the softness is three fold:
1. poor conditions (distance/heat haze)
2. below average lens quality
3. too much cropping


Settings seem to be appropriate, and I don't think lens shake/technique is playing too much of a part. You will need to try and shoot in better conditions, and understand the limitations your equipment may have.

[ylu01]

Hi, can i ask for some thoughts on these?
is the lighting good and level on the china eastern?
for the air canada are crops like that allowed?
...Soft?
Thanks

[ylu01]

Hi, can i ask for some thoughts on these?
is the lighting good and level on the china eastern?
for the air canada are crops like that allowed?
...Soft?
Thanks

Can I please get some inputs on these, please and thank you.

[pdeboer]

Hi, can i ask for some thoughts on these?
is the lighting good and level on the china eastern?
for the air canada are crops like that allowed?
...Soft?
Thanks

1st is a bit soft and dark tones look very dark
2nd looks unleveled to me
3rd is backlit and cut off

[ylu01]

Hi,

Not asking for prescreening advice this time, but a question on software used.

I have a history of having photos rejected due to being soft. In earlier exchanges in this post shows that my pics are soft from the start. In newer batch of photos after that, I adjusted some settings to have pics come out a bit more sharper. However, I am not sure anymore if pics are sharp enough or not from the start, and I don't want to bombard the forums/this post with a few pics every few days. As mentioned above, I use Adobe Lightroom, and export images at 16:9 at 1280px wide. After export the image would look pretty soft and smaller words on aircraft is possibly blurred.

So, sort of continuing from one part last time and, I just wanted to ask:
1. is this software limitation?
2. I currently edit photos on mobile/android, on my tablet, would it make a difference if I switch to something like PS and edit it on desktop?
3. Lightroom or PS?

Thank you for any input.

[dlowwa]

I have a history of having photos rejected due to being soft. In earlier exchanges in this post shows that my pics are soft from the start. In newer batch of photos after that, I adjusted some settings to have pics come out a bit more sharper. However, I am not sure anymore if pics are sharp enough or not from the start, and I don't want to bombard the forums/this post with a few pics every few days. As mentioned above, I use Adobe Lightroom, and export images at 16:9 at 1280px wide. After export the image would look pretty soft and smaller words on aircraft is possibly blurred.

So, sort of continuing from one part last time and, I just wanted to ask:
1. is this software limitation?

Unlikely.

2. I currently edit photos on mobile/android, on my tablet, would it make a difference if I switch to something like PS and edit it on desktop?

That would almost certainly be the main cause of your issues. Editing on a mobile is not a good idea if your images will be screened on a proper desktop/monitor. You should edit them on the medium they will be evaluated.

3. Lightroom or PS?

Personal preference. Lightroom is a simplified version of PS, but still has well more than you need for simple aviation photography editing.

[ylu01]

Unlikely.



That would almost certainly be the main cause of your issues. Editing on a mobile is not a good idea if your images will be screened on a proper desktop/monitor. You should edit them on the medium they will be evaluated.



Personal preference. Lightroom is a simplified version of PS, but still has well more than you need for simple aviation photography editing.

I see, thank you for the input.

[jhud922]

um...I tried, and it won't allow 5184x3456 as it exceeds the allowed size, so I will be posting some links instead:
https://lensdump.com/i/tdWWBb
https://lensdump.com/i/tdWio7
https://lensdump.com/i/tdW08r
https://lensdump.com/i/tdWIJF
https://lensdump.com/i/tdWZe3 - Also, for this one, how are top lit photos looked here at JP? This is when it's about right down the middle where the shadow is cast.

See if you can access them, thank you.

Hi Ylu01,

I ran a few of these through my normal workflow and did some quick edits and sharpening to clean them up. I think these are "closer" to what JP wants, not sure if they'd be accepted or not, but maybe dlowwa can comment if they are slightly closer to what JP wants to see?

Overall however, they are pretty soft and you have some large dust spots, etc.

I would say

1. make sure you shoot in raw
2. make sure your camera is set to choose all the focus points as well as the type of autofocus that tracks the subject
3. aperture on that lens looks fine
4. in post, make sure white balance is good, equalize to remove dust spots, apply some sharpening both before and after re-sizing for export
5. save at highest jpg settings

We all have issues with focusing etc, but your combo of Camera + lens should yield sharp results given all things being equal.

[ylu01]

Hi Ylu01,

I ran a few of these through my normal workflow and did some quick edits and sharpening to clean them up. I think these are "closer" to what JP wants, not sure if they'd be accepted or not, but maybe dlowwa can comment if they are slightly closer to what JP wants to see?

Overall however, they are pretty soft and you have some large dust spots, etc.

I would say

1. make sure you shoot in raw
2. make sure your camera is set to choose all the focus points as well as the type of autofocus that tracks the subject
3. aperture on that lens looks fine
4. in post, make sure white balance is good, equalize to remove dust spots, apply some sharpening both before and after re-sizing for export
5. save at highest jpg settings

We all have issues with focusing etc, but your combo of Camera + lens should yield sharp results given all things being equal.

Hey There,

Thanks for the reply. From the points you mentioned, I already follow them. I have concluded that the batch that these pics are from, are indeed soft from the raw. I have a few newer batches since then of which I have improved on From previous posts in this thread, pics are ultimately soft after the resizing, as dlowwa have pointed out, the issue may be due to the fact that I have been editing photos using Adobe Lightroom on my android tablet, and not PC.

The order that I have been doing things so far:
1. crop the pic,(mostly 16:9)
2. turn on dehaze and clarity to clear dust spots, then turn them back down
3. lighting - contrast, whites, blacks, exposure etc
4. turn up some sharpness
5. export as 1280p width

So I do it all in one go, because from some previous experiences, I fear that's how some compression artifacts may appear in the sky. Not sure if it should be done in a different order. .I never export the image and then edit it AGAIN for some round 2 things. I understand that there are or may still have dust spots. My thinking is since these are not hard to clear, I can keep editing them. Main issue is if the contrast/lighting etc is ok.


The current issue is it would seem to be sharp enough in the raw...but somewhere down the road it goes wrong. I am going to see if fixing it on desktop would be any better. I do have a few more that i want to try, but then I don't want to spam the forum every few days with a few new pics(I do try to be fair and pick some that do seem to be JP worthy, such as good frame and good lighting, which I can use for further editing).

Thank you
.

[ylu01]

Hi, I saw this that a friend sent. I just wanted to ask, how is it that something is soft AND oversharpened? Can't seem to wrap my head around it.

[dlowwa]

Hi, I saw this that a friend sent. I just wanted to ask, how is it that something is soft AND oversharpened? Can't seem to wrap my head around it.

Happens relatively frequently, aircraft/image is soft/blurry and then badly oversharpened in an attempt to compensate. Would need to actually see the image in question to comment more.