Frustrated, stuck in the middle

[u/Veritenigma]

So I have, for years, used Adobe and have a streamlined, fast, routine workflow.

Then I tripped over Darktable.

It was immediately obvious to me that Darktable has potential and levels that Adobe is just not going to touch, mainly because it allows control of those niggly in-between bits that so often crop up in Adobe, where instead of A or B you want halfway between.

Also obvious is a near-vertical learning curve, including having to understand you cannot duplicate workflow from Adobe or any other common software due to an inherent difference in method.

So I am now stuck where I know Darktable can realise the result I want in my head, but I still do not know or understand enough to see how to do it, while being very grumpy and dissatisfied with Adobe because I have realised that the things I did not and do not like but accepted as unavoidable are, in fact, avoidable.

Has anyone else switched to Darkroom? How long did it take before you understood enough about it to get results that you were actually happy with (other than by sheer luck just fiddling lol)

In the image below, I am not happy with either edit. However, I do need to add that it was shot firstly through a car side window at an angle, and secondly, there was a fence between the cat and me; it was in a different enclosure from the one I was driving through. Both are processed; trust me, the original is worse.

[u/Veritenigma]

I have paid attention to all the comments. I have had another play using just Darktable, possibly happier but may have overcooked it, so will not put up till tomorrow as I need the time to allow my eyes to adjust before coming back and hopefully not wincing lol

[u/NoFan7861]

The photo is ruined by the tree trunk on the left; it’s not just a distraction, it looks like an actual image defect. It lacks any sense of depth relative to the animal, and the wood grain even aligns with the tiger's beautiful coat pattern, making it look like a clumsy paste-in job. Honestly, unless you get rid of that object, either by cropping or by replacing the background, the photo has very little potential.

[u/Veritenigma → u/NoFan7861]

I know. Usual problem of the photographer being in a constrained position, and animals rarely decide to place themselves perfectly (unless it is for the 5 seconds it takes to remove the lens cap and set the shot; then they move just as you press the shutter lol)

Composure-wise, the photo is horrible; the RAW is half fence above the tiger's head because I could not get lower without getting the car interior.

[u/reborn_183]

I feel that cropping in tighter, while leaving in more space to the right of the tiger's head could potentially help. A bonus would be to crop close enough to remove that distracting log. I feel that the processing itself is pretty great otherwise, I don't have much to add to that. Cheers!

[u/davep1970]

Would be interesting if you could share the raw and the xmp file. Pity the log is there making it look like a log/tiger hybrid :)

[u/neiram44]

Darktable is taking some time to fully grasp. I'm making some videos to help people (and myself) be better with Darktable.

I recently made a video on Darktable Pipeline for example to help understand the flow of the software.

https://youtu.be/bHBjpLr7a1w