Pixiq

Read Me First explanation of how to determine which of your images are most successful. Part One in a series.

Do you have high self esteem? I do. It allows me to think most of my photos are good,  many are excellent, and a few are world class. Am I being honest, or delusional? 

My adult students are uncertain if their photographs are any good at all. They need validation of the obvious: "That one is a winner, so delete those other 72." I know it's tough love, but life is short and there are no maybes when deciding which pictures to keep and which to dump.

I'm not talking about editing in the camera. I mean afterward, once your digital photos have been imported into your computer. How do you decide on the best of your best?

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Below is one of my favorite recent photos. I took it, so it should be. Top is the original, and bottom is the edited version, which took five minutes to enhance in Adobe Photoshop CS5, using IMAGE > ADJUSTMENTS, then a sequence of LEVELS, CONTRAST, SATURATION, and CURVES sliders. This location is the Mt. Bigelow transmission towers near Tucson, Arizona, USA.

The image evolved from being weird and forbidding to structural and dynamic. It makes me think: "Where is that? I bet it's interesting in person, at different times of day and in a variety of weather conditions."

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My student Susan sent me these BlackBerry snapshots, asking: "Are they decent photos, Nemo?" Below are three originals.

Let's work first on the building photo. Susan wanted to portray the unusual cantilevered balconies, but her original image was too murky. By cropping vertically, then applying IMAGE > ADJUSTMENTS > LEVELS / CONTRAST / EXPOSURE / SATURATION, her picture achieved her goals, without it having to be converted to a more abstract, architectural black and white. The result is below.

I couldn't decide at first what to do about the black shade triangle in the lower right corner of the picture of the leafy deck. Cropping to remove the triangle didn't look good either horizontally or vertically. I realized the triangle provides contrast and energy to the primary subject, so I kept the photo full frame, and did some IMAGE > ADJUSTMENTS edits: EXPOSURE, CONTRAST, and LEVELS. Now the entire photo is more lively and expressive.

The precise settings I use are not important. Photoshop does the heavy lifting, once I determine an image is worthwhile. If you don't like my choice of images, or my editing results, I still have confidence in the photos and methods.

I wanted to show Susan how dramatic cropping and IMAGE > ADJUSTMENTS can yield rather severe results, so I went a little overboard on the stones image using CURVES, EXPOSURE, and LEVELS. Don't shoot me, please. The key to this picture's success is the relationship between the large leaf and the green corner, assisted by the smaller leaves among the stones.

Another student's photos will be evaluated in a second article in this series. Your comments are welcome below.