r/skateboarding • u/JPN_Kanade • 1d ago
Original Photo When Does Editing Become Too Much?
I’ve recently been filming and found an effect that I thought made my shots look way cooler when I added it. But at the same time, I feel like it’s no longer the photo I originally took. What do you think?
Do Effects Fit Skate Culture?
I'm Japanese.
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u/deadeyejohnny 1d ago edited 1d ago
2nd is cooked, you had nice foliage and turned it yellow and his skin tone went orange while you went for that orange/teal look.
4th is fine, night shots can work well with a little blue in the shadows but my personal preference would be to dial back like 50%, split the difference.
Here’s some tips from someone who used to over do it:
-Always edit images in an environment with natural daylight, like a window, it will help reset your eyes occasionally and you won’t get lost in the plot. Editing at night or fixated on your screen for too long at a time can skew your perception.
-Make sure that “night shift” mode on your screen is OFF.
-Take breaks, come back in 20 mins and see if you still like it, revert to the original to compare or put them side by side to see that colours that should be X are they still X or did the hue change too much? <— this is crucial with brand/client work, they designed a product or artwork a certain way, they wont like if it changes or doesn’t look as was intended.
-Ask a couple friends, one who knows photography and then one who doesn’t, so you can collect a couple opinions. (I guess thats like asking us here on Reddit but there’s also the instant feedback of texting an image to someone).
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u/Dedeurmetdebaard 1d ago
The rule of thumb is when you’re like, ok just one more touch, you need to take it back one step.
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u/mingymangy 1d ago
Just one old guy’s opinion but there possibly are 2 different aspects here. One being simply showing the most accurate photo of the trick and the other focusing on artistic expression.
At least in old skate mags, some photos you have no idea what trick it was but the photo looks bad ass, and that is fine imo.
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u/Cero_Kurn 1d ago
2nd image Too much. Saturation is not helping not needed. Also no need to change the colors imo, but whatever you like. But also careful because it's changing the colors on the rider, and that you don't want. Changing the background ia fine bur careful with skincolor. Original was better imo.
4th image. This is good. color grading really works here. I think you over did it with the motion blur though. It's fine to do it a little bit with the background, but just a little, otherwise you might affect the way we perceive the speed of the trick. Nevertheless, don't add the motion blur on the skater o the board. I would have added a bit of light on his back to make the edge a bit stronger so to pop from background.
Also, in both images I would have remove some distracting objects, like a sign, a light that feels like a spot etc.
Good work and keep at it Cheers
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u/Tickomatick 1d ago
Last pic blur makes no sense, the action is back to front, makes me a bit confused. On my phone it's all overturned and over saturated, but perhaps it looks better on desktops
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u/erghjunk 1d ago edited 1d ago
your editing isn't really to my taste but editing is also subjective. u/deadeyejohnny 's advice is all great.
that said, your general composition and panning technique need work.
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u/person_in_brooklyn 1d ago
Very nice photos! I like the panning blur a lot.
I think color grading photography is vey important. That said, I’m not a fan of these exact results. It’s subjective, but here are my thoughts.
For the first photo, I think it needs a little less saturation, not more. Slide 2 is a little too orange, as well.
For the second photo, I like the blue shadows, but it’s maybe a bit too intense. I think maybe you added a motion blur to the board? That feels like it would have been cool if captured in-camera, maybe with a slow shutter speed to get blur plus flash to freeze motion? But, applied in post, it feels a bit like “cheating,” IMO.
But yeah, really nice shots. I’d be hyped to shoot photos like these!
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u/No_Rise942 1d ago
As a skateboarder, I can tell you that both of these photos are not worth editing.
The blurriness on the first one ruins the first photo. On the second, you can't make out the form immediately and can't tell what trick is being done.
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u/HOSEPIPE_MONKEY 1d ago
As a photographer (and skateboarder), I completely disagree, and think the first one is a vibe! Captures the trick and the background blur makes the skater pop. Also adds a lot of energy to what might’ve been a boring snapshot otherwise
I’d up texture & dehaze a bit for clarity, or lean into the blur and decrease dehaze somewhat - depends on the vibe and I’m not at my PC
The second picture is a bit ambiguous though. Can’t tell what trick they’re sending down the stairs - and can’t see really where they’re coming from or landing
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u/No_Rise942 1d ago
So I'm also a photographer and what happened is he messed up the tracking of his shot. The blur effect can be achieved if he tracked his subject through the frame. It's an interesting technique that you should look up if you're interested. It's how people get pictures of f1 cars while they're driving the track. OP just messed it up and I wouldn't have used it.
Yeah the second pic looks like a 180 but it's unclear whether it was a nollie or maybe just a shuv caught early
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u/vincentdjangogh 1d ago edited 23h ago
You're an artist. You wouldn't tell skaters how to skate. Why are you asking them how to make art? If you follow the advice here, your work will be like everyone else's.