Does snow call for a different WB to start with ?
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
ISO 560, F 7.1 1.320 secs - 600 with 1:4 TC
I like the way you caught the elk; you can feel that he is trudging through the snow. The technical aspects I’ll leave to others with more experience in snow shots.
Hi Karl !
Before I say anything. I’ve two questions for you …
It is always helpful to analyze the picture, if you share the techs along.
It’s a great subject and I like the body language, but ideally, I would like to see the nose of stag, away from the bushes>
This is a single image Jagdeep -
I am curious to see what you do with it or at least let me know how you would go about processing
And thanks for checking in!
Karl
Hi Karl!
When I saw the image, it appeared to me as if white balance of Elk (which appeared warmer) and the BG was different, that’s why I asked you.
I may try to extract some more details in the darks here.
PS. If you want me to try processing on this, you may mail the raw at jagdeepwild@gmail.com
Thanks!
Thanks Jagdeep - I will send either via email or dropbox if too larger for gmail
Karl
Hi Karl!
I’ve processed it in Photoshop CC, since I didn’t witness this, white balance can be off, rest is upto you to evaluate. I liked the IQ of image !
Thanks for giving me this opportunity !
Karl, I found that a lot of my winter images from the park this year had a stronger blue/cyan caste than I’m used to. I found it difficult to process this at times, but I still generally just try to leave my WB in Auto and deal with it afterward.
It think it’s very easy to overcompensate for those blues, and I see a little of that in the first image you posted. The snow has a yellowish tinge (though the colors of the elk seem a bit more natural). It’s also lacks a bit of brightness and contrast, which I think Jagdeep tried to tackle in his version. Though I think his contrast on the subject is a bit strong, you can see how some of the detail will emerge if you at least brighten things up a little.
Max
Thanks for your feedback Max
I agree with you. I have redone this with some blue back into the snow. Snow should be on the bluer side
Re Bightness and Contrast - - i have to play with it - to make sure that the snow stays blue - Jagdeep did get that right imo
First, I really like your image. I grew up in Wyoming, and I love sagebrush!! I think you have a great composition and exposure.
Now regarding the snow: I take a LOT of snow pictures since I live in Alaska. It’s not that snow requires a different WB, it’s that the lighting can really, really affect how the snow appears. As Max said, sometimes everything simply comes out too blue, or too cyan. Then there is what happens when someone looks at the image on THEIR monitor; it’s gonna look different. White can take on color casts very easily, so it is an incredibly subjective thing. You were there; you saw the real thing, so you are going to have the best chance of making it look real.
I do like how Jagdeep brought out the details, and as Max said, he lightened it. For me, that’s a bit too light, but I do like how it brought out the sagebrush, and tracks in the snow.
I think part of it depends on what you end up doing with an image like this. If you end up printing it, that’s when you really want to get the white right. After scrolling up and down and looking at the images over and over, I’ve decided I like your (1st) post best. To me this looks very realistic. Maybe a touch more lightening and contrast, but not much.
Nicely done!
Thanks Genny for your kind observations. Auto WB does tend to make snow a bit blue - perhaps a bit more than it should be. But after looking at Jagdeeps dig, I decided to go somewhere between, both in terms of the snow and sharpness
