Zion Winter 2021: Composition Review

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3 жыл бұрын

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Пікірлер: 46

@alexnail 3 жыл бұрын

I love how you just use curves for precise edits. It’s exactly what I do and gives you so much control. Interesting video Ben!

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Alex! Yup, if there is one tool a photographer should know how to use, it's curves. But hey, buying a lightroom preset pack from an influencer is also a solid choice. :-)

@mitchellmysliwiecphotography 2 жыл бұрын

Enjoyed the walk-through, Ben. Would like to more of these down the line.

@brianbeattyphotography 3 жыл бұрын

Man, the subtlety of your editing is great to watch. The end result is completely natural and balanced.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks as always Brian! That's the thing about film, and especially slide film. The experience of viewing the transparencies is so very immersive, and when I edit the photos, I'm just trying to get back to that experience.

@brianbeattyphotography 3 жыл бұрын

@@BenHorne Since watching more of your editing & film review videos my editing process has probably halved. But then the time spent getting the perfect comp has doubled, so it's probably a wash haha.

@SD_Alias 3 жыл бұрын

Nice to see you editing. It is so easy with curves. Most people think too complicated and find curves too difficult to understand. But it is just a simple shift of the tonal values from an existing to a wanted value…

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Very true, I think most people think you have to do some really over-the-top editing these days, and there is so much emphasis on processing over finding great subjects in ideal light. When you have a great subject in great light, very little is often required, and the curves tool sure is very powerful.

@umagico 3 жыл бұрын

Great job Ben, thank you very much!

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

So glad you enjoyed it!

@lfac 3 жыл бұрын

Great insight as always in your composition review. The effect of cropping is very impressive, specially on the third photo. It really brings the photo together.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Luís! It's definitely one of those things where a subtle crop can make a big difference.

@Hirsutechin 3 жыл бұрын

I really appreciate you talking through the composition and processing decisions made, I learned a couple of things from them. Really enjoyable series this time!

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

So glad to hear you enjoyed it!! Thanks as always for watching!

@jefffinley9305 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the narrative of your thinking as you composed. The photo at 6:31 is my favorite of your trip. The snowy tree contrasting with the dark rock to the left is striking. In addition, while I understand your thinking with regard to cropping the fallen branch photo, for some reason I seem to prefer the uncropped version at 16:30 over the uncropped version. To my unrefined eye it just seems more balanced with regard to space devoted to the main subject and the framing region around the main subject. As always, thank you for sharing your trip.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Jeff! I sure was lucky with that photo of the clearing storm and the snow covered cottonwood. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. It'll be interesting to see how my perception of the fallen maple branch photo changes with time. While I was setting up that composition, I was struggling to balance those elements, and it was only after the crop that it felt the conflict was minimized.

@elmachomen 3 жыл бұрын

Wonderful video Ben, as always! Your composition reviews are becoming one of my favorite videos, I love the way you walk us through the thought process behind the decisions you made both in the field and in later in the edits of the scans, invaluable lessons that you're sharing, thanks once again. Keep up the good work!

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks as always Kevin!

@dannynash5713 3 жыл бұрын

Fascinating to watch Ben! Both the shooting and editing! 👍

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it Danny!

@prkanne1925 2 жыл бұрын

Fascinating and thank you for sharing

@BenHorne 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching Anne!

@andrewherbert9938 3 жыл бұрын

Enjoyed that Ben , the images are some of your best . Interesting to see your use of curves layers , it’s something I’m just trying to get my head around. Looking forward to seeing this trip in “ Between the Wind “ mk2

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Andrew! Curves is by far the most powerful tool in photoshop. You can do so much with it and it's super important for dialing in those subtle adjustments.

@stuartbaines2843 3 жыл бұрын

Interesting colour variability, although Very subtle!. I liked the final results they certainly have I feel achieved the Feeling of the day 👌 These days are Very Rare at least in UK I have Only ever seen one, which lasted 15 minutes!.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks as always Stuart! It sure was a fine week to be in Zion.

@alanclark9691 3 жыл бұрын

Interesting to hear you describe in detail your thoughts on composition, as shot and in post, and also your edits. I also found it interesting to observe how most of your curves edits were made dead centre affecting principally the midtones with very little contrast changes. Fascinating.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Alan! Since these are slide film scans where the highlight and shadow tones are mostly fixed, I don't need to do much in terms of S curves or anything like that. I find that most of the work can be done by pulling the middle of the curves. There is a lot more wiggle room with the mid tones, and this way it doesn't affect the highlight and shadow areas very much. An exception to this is when I tweak the individual color curves. I might want to remove a particular color from only the shadow tones for example.

@terrywbreedlove 3 жыл бұрын

17:10 This is the type of crop I usually won't make. Because now after cropping when Matting the image for a frame you will lose even more of it. Something that close I tend to just leave and let the Matt crop for me.

@brianbeattyphotography 3 жыл бұрын

This is a great point

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

That's a very good point indeed. Usually when I do a framing project, I have an extremely minimal overhang of the mat, so I feel quite confident being precise with the edges, but I can definitely see how that would be an issue if one was losing a noticeable about of image on each side. Thanks as always for watching and commenting Terry!

@sridipnag1117 3 жыл бұрын

Master Craftsman

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Sridip!

@SafoCZ 3 жыл бұрын

So this was a great lecture on colour curves in Photoshop :-D

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! The curves tool is definitely the most important one in photoshop. So incredibly useful!

@duringthemeanwhilst 3 жыл бұрын

the image at 6:30 is one of your finest ever in my opinion. I could stare at it for ages :-) the Provia v Vevia findings were really interesting. I really thought that Provia would be far more faithful to the scene especially given its "coolness"! also in that image, the way the dusting of snow interacts with the sandstone to the right of the scene looks like it may have made for an interesting study.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! It really was a surprise that the Velvia shot was the better one to scan. I would have never guessed that, especially since the Provia looked so much better on the light box. I sent that sheet of film for a drum scan so I'll be recreating those same edits. I look forward to seeing that one in print.

@tjcuneo 3 жыл бұрын

Enjoyed the video and your explanation of each images edit. Had you considered changing the color space to LAB to make the initial luminosity and color balance adjustments and then revert back to a RGB color space? I found it helpful when dealing with image made in similar conditions.

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

That's something I've played with in the past, but I never really became comfortable with it. I really enjoy being able to do the adjustment layers with curves so I can tweak things after the fact.

@xasaintx 3 жыл бұрын

It's funny. For that first image I preferred the Provia. It might have something to do with the KZfaq compression and seeing it smaller on a screen, but I thought the tree stood out from the sandstone better due to your dodging, and I actually enjoyed the colour cast at the bottom of the shot as it read slightly blue on my screen along with the magenta which felt like the lower area was in shade so drew my eye from the bottom cool area, up to the warmth of the sandstone (which I enjoyed the saturation of more in the Provia), and then landed on the brightness of the tree. So, overall, love the images and I'm not going to complain either way, but just funny how what was a negative to you worked for me. Also, my wife wants a print of that second image, which is the first time she's said that about one of the KZfaq photographers I watch!

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Chris! Yeah, I think KZfaq crunches the images a bit in the videos. The difference in the foreground is more so on a smaller scale. There was more depth and nuance to the color of the light hitting the snow covered plants in the foreground, and also some of tree trunks and other branches were more neutral with the Velvia shot. It was definitely a surprise. That's the sort of thing that would show up quite a bit more if a large print was made, but it's quite subtle in the video. The second photo prints beautifully. I just shipped out a 11x14 of that one today. :-)

@berthaduniverse 3 жыл бұрын

I don't know if I missed the episode on how you scan, but was this a drum scan (high rez) or a flatbed scan (low-med rez). Also, are you mounting in oil? Thanks Ben, luv your stuff...

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Paul! The scans shown in this video are all flatbed scans. Although the flatbed scans are good enough to make prints from, I send my sheets of film to Michael Strickland for a professional drum scan when prints are ordered. This way I can offer the best possible print quality. When I flatbed scan my own film, I tape it to a custom mask I cut out of rubber. It keeps the film suspended off the scanner glass, and avoids newton rings. I haven't messed with oil mounting or anything like that. The flatbed scans with my scanning mask have done the trick for me.

@Prashant.Khapane 3 жыл бұрын

strange question to ask you Ben - what desk are you using?

@BenHorne 3 жыл бұрын

I don't know the specifics, but my wife ordered it online. It's actually a dining table with a matching bench seat. I find my computer scanner, and light box takes up more space than a usual desk can handle, but if you shop for dining tables, you'll have some fantastic options.