It feels like it’s been months since I’ve managed to get out under a starry sky and capture some new compositions, (for the usual host of reasons and excuses) but I have found some time to work on my own personal development when it comes to post processing.
Post processing is a fundamental part of night photography. When shooting at night we always use RAW format, to enable us to capture all the information and data when in low light. RAW format photographs straight out of the camera look flat and lack contrast, (think of them as an unprocessed negatives if you like) so we need to use software such as Lightroom and Photoshop to process the photograph, bring back the details, balance the colors and balance the light.
Sometimes (all the time if your like me) it’s easy to be over excited after being out on a shoot, then get back home and go full throttle in a mad ADHD frenzy with the editing; but in my tired state and excitable rush, my workflow gets thrown out the window and a mad dash to apply lots of adjustments in the hope I can pull it off commences.
It’s not until you look back at the photograph the following day with fresh eyes, you realised something doesn’t quite feel right.
I’ve finally put some structure into my workflow and will try to follow this method going forward- and in the hope I can relay this information to my workshop clients to, so they can get the best out their Milky Way photography. Editing style can also be very personal, and it’s good to put your own creative flair into your shots, but learning a few basics will be a game changer in getting you on your way.
Once I’ve figured out how to become a vlogger (this could take a while!) I will work on putting together some videos and tutorials to help assist with post processing and share some useful hints and tips, to help get you on your way to creating some amazing night shots.
Here is an example below of my photograph from Roques De Garcia, in Tenerife – It’s a multi row panorama, with the sky being stacked separately in Sequator, then blended back into my foreground in Photoshop.
My first edit is the one with the purple cast- I do like the dreamy fantasy feel and this would have been a personal vibe at the time- but when looking back, it’s clear to see that this picture would also benefit from a more natural feel- using dodging and burning in certain areas to fix the light , and also creating different layers in photoshop to balance the colour.
I won’t go into detail in this blog about how I processed it, as I will use this photo for the first video blog, where I will go through my Lightroom and Photoshop workflow and explain all my different adjustments. But as you can see, the adjustments you make in post processing can make a huge difference to the overall look and feel of your photograph. It’s not easy to get it right and is a constant learning curve, but that’s all part of the journey of milky way photography!
Watch this space….
