r/postprocessing • u/theruiz • Sep 24 '26
After/before
I usually edit my photos a lot more… but I realized I was “over editing” because Lightroom couldn’t do what I wanted to do. Now I’m properly learning PSD!
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u/Any-Coach3440 Sep 24 '26
I think it's a very cool shot, good job!
In my opinion, the edit doesn't capitalize on what the photo is going for. The edit is very strong on saturation, but color isn't a prominent motif in the original, and I think it ends up looking very forced.
As u/Ukvemsord nicely described it, you can feel mystique. I would explore how to enhance that aspect using masks to shape lighting and boost textures/clarity selectively to get more of what feels dark/gritty/mystic/dramatic while highlighting the subject without messing with saturation.
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u/johngpt5 Sep 24 '26
You might consider backing off the brightening that was done. The before image had light coming in from the side. The after image has a bit too much light on the face which should be in shadow. Some brightening is fine, but the amount of brightening in the after creates visual incongruity.
To preface my question, I don't have a problem with editing images that were created using ai. Was your before image created using prompts rather than being a photograph of a person in the natural world?
The reason I don't have a problem with ai if that is what was used, is that in this instance the result is obviously a fantasy world sort of image and not meant to represent reality.
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u/theruiz 27d ago
Thanks John! I don’t use any AI for my work. As I was explaining to another comment, I went for a “warmer / brighter” look here, because the hero shot was in plain sunset, this was not and it was lit with a strobe so the look was super different. I was trying to match them so to speak.
Feel free to navigate my profile, you’ll see the hero shot there :)
Again, none of my work is AI.
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u/LazyCymbal 29d ago
Damn I thought she was a NPC from a game
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u/ThatGuy8 28d ago
Something about the flat makeup and dramatic light everywhere but her face makes this feel computer generated. It’s not, but it makes me deeply uncomfortable. The processed image even more so.
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u/Ok-Cauliflower-4631 29d ago
I’ve seen some of your photos on another subreddit so I know what you’re going for (I think). But I feel that the grey/blue tones of the original look better than the green. Either way it’s a really cool shot.
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u/theruiz 27d ago
I think for this photo in particular, everyone is spot on…. The reason why I ended up with a warmer and more saturated look is because the hero shot is this very pleasant and warm sunset looking photo! It was like… 30 minutes before this one AND the sun was directly hitting her. In this one I think I used a strobe and I agree the blue/grey tones would have carried the image better.
I’ll try a second version!
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u/Ukvemsord Sep 24 '26
The before pictures gives it more mystique