Problems with contrast

[ThomasW1974]

Hi Guys,

had this one rejected due to contrast problems. Light conditions where
a bit difficult.

http://www.jetphotos.net/viewreject_b.php?id=1353071

Do you think this second photo from the series is better and has
a chance to be accepted?

Thanks for your help!

[brianw999]

The second one looks better as far as contrast is concerned but the first is a better angle of shot. How about adjusting the contrast of the first. Not only will this improve the contrast but also the sharpness, which may also need a little kick of around 50, 0.2, 0 USM

[AlanF]

I just had a quick mess with the levels and USM and came up with this not perfect but gives you an idea that it is savagable

[dvincent]

I think it's saveable but borderline.



Only problem is editing a compressed image and then recompressing it makes it take a real hit on quality. There's also some banding because it's not a 16-bit source image. But this is just to show that you can do it.

A good contrast S-curve in PS and a slight levels tweak and you're in business. Top it off with a little USM and you're set. I also made a slight color tweak to adjust the grey balance.

Now, whether a screener would like the edit is something else

[ThomasW1974]

Hi Guys,

thanks for the feedback so far. I think i will start from scratch and give it another
try. I see where i went wrong.

Dan, your edit caught my eye! Looks pretty good, though working on a compressed
image.

[dvincent]

Tom:

Thank you. It's a snowy day up here in New England and I figured I would give it a shot. I do PS for a living in print production so it's no big deal for me to do edits.

How familiar are you with PS curves tool? I looked at the histogram and saw that it was mainly bunched up in the midtones (hence washed out/low contrast). Using an S-curve with the curves command will help restore this without blowing out your highlights. Much more flexible than the contrast tool.

Was this from a RAW file or from a camera JPEG, by any chance?

[ThomasW1974]

Dan,

the curves in PS are not really my darling. I mainly adjust levels and brightness/contrast.

Original shot is RAW (Canon, CRW).

[ThomasW1974]

OK Guys,

i've reworked this damn image over and over again. It's not about getting it
accepted here (no upload since the first rejection) - it has become now a personal war between China Airlines and me

I'm completely stucked, whatever i do the contrasts will not appear, but
of course i would manage to make it look overexposed, dark and just sh**t

I don't do this very often because i always want to learn myself and it's a challenge which i'm willing to accept. But well, here it is..my CRY FOR HELP!

If anybody is bored enough and has a solution, please feel free. I give up...

Tell me your e-mail adress and you'll get a 2.3MB jpg-file - just converted from raw without any further processing.

Thanks in advance!

Thomas