Photo Enhancements

[TXPalerider]

I know this is technically not photography. But, I wonder if any of you guys enhance your digital photo's with a photo editing software prior to developing them. If so, what things do you change to help enhance the outcome of the pics. I've been toying with PhotoShop for a while and have done some neat things. But, I don't seem to be really consistant.

I've also, had some fun with PhotoShop putting people and things where they don't belong. But, that's probably another thread.

[onthefly]

TXpalerider,

Check out Bob Johnson's website: http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips.html

He posts weekly tips that quite often deal with Photoshop techniques. Make sure and check out archive of previous articles, there is a wealth of information in them.

Good Luck!

[Cutter]

My usual workflow is Unsharp Mask (20-60,6), and some contrast boost. Exposure correction if it is off. Occasionally I will boost color saturation for landscape shots.

My rule is usually, if it looks good on the monitor, it looks good on paper (photo paper). I did some tests a while back.. printed the same photo about 6 times. Each photo had different photoshoping techniques (sharpening, exposure correction, color enhancement, etc) and what I saw on the screen is representive of what I saw on the print.

One thing to keep in mind, is your monitor though. My laptop does not display photos true to life (photos look overexposed when they really aren't), whereas my desktop does. So monitor type and calibration plays a huge role.. best thing to do is do a test print and compare it with your monitor..

Another thing to look into are ICC profiles (available in photoshop). You can apply a profile to your photo that adjusts it according to the printer you are printing it on (eg a fuji frontier) and your monitor.. so what you see is what you get.. I have not explored this yet(although considering it so I can post process on the laptop). So far the desktop is close enough..