My Wildlife Photography Workflow // Postprocessing Wildlife Photography

Summary

In this video, the creator shares their newfound passion for wildlife photography, discussing the challenges and techniques that set it apart from landscape photography. They demonstrate their workflow, from choosing a powerful 500mm lens to capturing action shots, selecting the best moments, and post-processing strategies. Key techniques include refining color contrast, reducing noise, sharpening focus, and enhancing key details, such as catchlights in the eagle’s eyes. The creator also highlights the use of software like Photoshop and Topaz for noise reduction and resolution enhancement, offering viewers a thorough, insightful guide to wildlife photography.

Takeaways

• 😀 Use warm tones to create contrast between your subject and background for a dynamic visual effect.
• 😀 Adding a subtle boost of brightness and warmth can enhance the mood of the image without drastic changes.
• 😀 Adjusting the highlights with a levels adjustment layer increases texture and dimension in the subject.
• 😀 The key to a more lifelike portrait is emphasizing the catch light in the eyes, making the subject feel alive.
• 😀 A Dodge and Burn layer with an overlay setting can be used to selectively enhance areas like the catch light in the eyes.
• 😀 The Orton effect can create a soft, atmospheric feel in your images, adding depth and visual interest.
• 😀 Using a luminosity mask for the Orton effect helps restrict the effect to highlight areas, preserving shadow details.
• 😀 Topaz Photo AI is a powerful tool for noise reduction and sharpening, improving image clarity and detail.
• 😀 Noise reduction can be applied to backgrounds while preserving sharpness in the subject, creating a more balanced result.
• 😀 Enhancing resolution with Topaz Photo AI can help recover detail in cropped images, improving overall sharpness without over-sharpening.
• 😀 Wildlife photography requires careful editing, particularly to bring out the contrasts and details of the subject, like feathers and eyes.

Q & A

Why is the contrast adjustment to the highlights important in wildlife photography?

The contrast adjustment to the highlights is important because it enhances the texture and dimension in the feathers, especially in areas that are typically overexposed or too bright. This helps to reveal more detail and make the image feel more dynamic and realistic.

What role do catch lights play in wildlife photography?

Catch lights are crucial because they bring life to the subject's eyes. In wildlife photography, without catch lights, the eyes may appear lifeless and unnatural. By emphasizing the catch light, the subject's eyes become more engaging, making the image feel more alive.

How does the Orton effect contribute to the image?

The Orton effect adds a soft, ethereal quality to the image by blurring the highlights and reducing harsh details. This creates a sense of atmosphere, making the image feel more dreamlike and adding depth to the lighting and color contrasts.

What is the purpose of using a Luminosity mask in the workflow?

The Luminosity mask is used to selectively apply adjustments to specific tonal ranges, like the highlights, without affecting the shadows. This allows for more precise control over the image, enhancing areas that need emphasis, such as the warmer tones in the highlights while keeping the cooler shadows intact.

Why is it important to apply contrast to the highlights and not the shadows?

Applying contrast to the highlights and not the shadows helps to preserve detail in the darker areas while enhancing the texture and clarity in the lighter regions. This ensures that the image has depth and contrast without losing important shadow detail, which could make the image appear flat or washed out.

What does the Topaz Photo AI tool do for wildlife photography images?

Topaz Photo AI helps with noise reduction, sharpening, and enhancing resolution in wildlife photos. It selectively sharpens the subject while reducing noise in the background, making the subject clearer and more defined. It also enhances resolution, which is especially useful for cropped images or lower resolution shots.

How does the warmth adjustment affect the overall image?

Adjusting warmth in the image introduces a color contrast between the cool background and the warm subject (the eagle). This contrast makes the subject stand out more vividly against the background, creating a visually striking composition that emphasizes the main subject.

What is the benefit of using a Gaussian blur in the Orton effect process?

The Gaussian blur softens the image, which helps to reduce harsh details and create a more atmospheric and dreamy look. By applying this blur to the highlights, the effect enhances the image's mood and visual appeal while making the overall composition feel more cohesive.

What specific details are enhanced by the Topaz sharpen feature?

The Topaz sharpen feature enhances fine details like the texture of the feathers and the clarity of the subject's eyes and beak. It sharpens these areas without introducing noise or making the image look overly processed, improving overall clarity without detracting from the natural look.

What is the significance of using a merge visible layer in the workflow?

The merge visible layer creates a single layer that combines all the adjustments and edits made to the image. This allows for further processing, such as applying blur effects or using external tools like Topaz Photo AI, while keeping the original image layers intact for non-destructive editing.