Author: koalie

My image editing routine on desktop

I also covered my image editing routine on mobile.

Equipment

I used to carry a fabulous Panasonic DMC-GH3 digital camera (and before then there were six other cameras), along with several wonderful lenses (the ultra flat and very bright 20mm / F1.7, the super versatile 14-140mm / F4-5.8, the 100-300mm / F4-5.6 sniper lens for wild animals, and my beloved Leica Elmarit 45mm / F2.8 which is so perfect for portraits in low light, not just for macro.)

Black digital camera next to four lenses ordered by size on a dark wooden table
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 camera and lenses: 100-300mm / F4-5.6, 14-140mm / F4-5.8, Leica Elmarit 45mm / F2.8, 20mm / F1.7

I also used to carry around my neck a usb GPS dongle whose recordings could somehow be reconciled with my RAW photos, and which allowed me to visualise my photographic tracks on a map, and to add geolocation data to my pictures, that I would then spend significant but enjoyable time post-processing and posting to Flickr.

Me, white woman, bending forward and smiling by the ocean in the sun. I wear sunglasses on my head and a lanyard around my neck.
The USB GPS dongle around my neck, tucked in my swimsuit top, photo of December 2015, Hawaii, USA

Hardware & software

To do that, I needed a computer on which I ran Adobe Lightroom, and a couple of external hard drives (one for storing my photos, my Lightroom catalogs; and another drive to back everything up.)

I also used the “Web” tab in Lightroom to export collections into a custom HTML template and generate index pages, medium and thumbnail versions of the photos into the appropriate folders that I would then copy to a third external hard drive (where my personal website content was saved) which I would then “rsync” to actually mirror everything on the website in production.

The last time I did all of that was a long time ago (in December 2014), but I have done it countless times and I remember lots of it; from the layout of Lightroom and sliding cursors, to my gestures along every step of the workflow.

Editing routine

  • Sort (aka delete massively)
  • Keep only those photos that catch my eye or have potential or perfectly render what I had wanted to capture or convey
  • Move to post-processing

Essential adjustments

Here are the most common and most useful elements of post-processing for me, in roughly that order:

  • Straighten horizontally and/or vertically
  • Crop out anything that doesn’t belong, or which distracts from the subject
  • Adjust the white balance
  • Reduce highlights & increase shadows
  • Fiddle with the contrast maybe
  • Boost vibrancy most probably
  • Increase or diminish definition (globally or selectively)
  • Is grain desirable?
  • Does monochrome work better?
  • Find the right balance between noise in dark parts and definition
  • Selective tweaks to enhance some features of the image (for example darken areas so that other parts of the image are promoted, or lighten someone’s eyes just a bit, or de-saturate the colour of some objects so that they become less visible.)
  • Erase distractions (from red eyes to ugly lamp posts however small, or even people in the background, or objects, anything that is small enough if it’s part of the focus or not too obvious so that the “healing” is invisible.)

What happened after December 2014?

I can not close this post and give way to the next one (about my image editing routine on mobile) without tying that loose end.

There is a number of reasons why I stopped carrying the photo gear I love so much and no longer sat at the computer to edit photos and post to flickr and my website. These are the main ones:

  • iPhone cameras and built-in photo software became really good for such small and portable devices, and really convenient.
  • Work was competing for time, after I was give more responsibilities.
  • My longtime relationship ended and I couldn’t bring myself to even get the damn pictures out of the SD card, let alone look at them and do anything with them.
  • Then, four months after I had resolved to pick it up again in 2017, the iMac I had lusted after for years and finally saved enough to purchase got stolen when my home was broken into.
  • Lightroom stopped being a software you own; Adobe moved to a subscription model and I was not willing to pay for software I use once every few years.

Art: Lago di Como, 3 (step by step)

The final piece in the series of Lake Como poster art that I’m painting with acrylic paint markers.

This is a flowery balcony overlooking the lake and coastline under a grey sky.

Finished piece, dated and signed in thin black ink, next to the 15 markers I used.

The final result.

I used 15 acrylic paint markers, including the white to delineate snow on mountains on the horizon, and mark villages on the green hills.

The size of the painting is 8.5 x 12.5 cm.

It took me 4 hours to complete.

An entire hour was spent choosing the right colors among the 60 markers that I have.

Step by step

Loose pencil sketch on textured watercolour postcard. The outline marks a bush of flowers in the foreground and where the land it around the lake.
Preparatory sketch on a sheet of regular printing paper where I tried out many of my paint markers which are scattered around the pages on the wooden table.
Two shades of warm grey for the sky
Two shades of pale blue for the mountains and white for the snow
Pastel light green and medium blue for the middle-ground mountains
Two shades of blue for the lake
Three shades of green for the land
Two shades of pink and red for the flowery bush in the foreground, white marks on the land to suggest villages.
The back of the postcard where I painted small rectangles of the colours I used and their reference number.
The three pieces in the series, framed, and propped against the reflective surface of my piano
The framed three postcards in the series of Lake Como poster art interpretation

Art: Lago di Como, 2 (step by step)

Second piece for my series of Lake Como poster art interpretation. I’m having such a nice time with the acrylic paint markers!

View on an island in a lake seen from behind a couple enjoying the view. In the background are mountains. On the island are a few houses and a tower amidst a lot of greenery. The entire foreground (couple, plants, balustrade, cypress trees) are silhouettes.

Finished piece framed in black wood with a white mounting mat on a white table

The result framed in black wood.

I used 15 acrylic paint markers with a thin nib.

The size of the painting is 8.5 x 12.5 cm.

It took me about 3 hours from start to finish.

Step by step

Loose pencil sketch on a textured watercolour postcard. The outline marks an island with a few houses, mountains in the background and a couple of people, plants, balustrade, cypress in the foreground.
Soft yellow for the sky
Pale yellow for the lower part of the sky
Yellow-green for the top of the mountains
Grey-blue for the shadows of the rocky mountains
Another light green to paint the parts of the mountains that have vegetation
More of the grey-blue to give contrast and shadows to the mountain vegetation
Dark blue, bright blue, subdued bue and pale blue for the lake
Two shades of warm grey to paint the main building and tower at the top of the island, as well as the outer wall around it.
Yellow for the facades of the two houses and orange for the roofs. I used a think black ink pen for the windows and to give an outline to the boat and its passengers, the building and the tower.
Four shades of green to paint the vegetation on the island.
Dark burgundy for the parts of the foreground that are lit by daylight
Darker burgundy for the rest of the silhouettes in the foreground
Date and signature in white

Art: Lago di Como, 1 (step by step)

I hadn’t “arted” in months, when I suddenly got the itch again.

In the meantime I purchased a new set of acrylic paint markers in shades of “natural earth” and a thin nib.

I chose to paint a series of scenes from Lake Como in Italy. This is an island or peninsula by the lake with cypresses, yellow houses with red orange roofs. The sky is several shades of pale yellow and ochre. The foreground shows some flowers and more cypresses at the right. In between the island, the water of the lake is pale and dark blue.

Finished piece framed in black wood and white mounting card against a white table

This is the final result, framed in black wood.

I used 13 acrylic paint markers with a thin nib. The size of the paining is 8.5 x 12.5 cm.

It took me about 3 hours to complete from start to finish.

The whole process is rather pleasant and relaxing. I really like that the paint is opaque, because it’s error proof!

Step by step

Rough pencil sketch on a textured watercolour postcard. The outline marks where the visual elements will be: cypress trees and flowers in the foreground, land and houses, and clouds
Bright yellow for the clouds and sky
Pale yellow added to the sky
Light brown to add contrast to the cloudy sky
Light green to mark where the cypress trees are lit
Medium green for the cypress trees
Dark green for the parts of the trees that are in shadow
Six houses near the top of the hill. The roofs are orange and the sides of the houses that are in the shadow are painted dark red.
Vivid yellow for the facades of the houses
Thin black ink pen for the windows
Medium green to paint patches of the hill's vegetation
Pale green for the hill's vegetation that is catching the sun light
Dark green to finish the hill's vegetation
The shore of the hill is painted with two shades of burgundy
Pale blue and deeper blue to paint the lake, saving space at the bottom for the flower bed
Medium green for the flower bed background
Vivid yellow and red for flowers in the foreground
Dark green to give contrast to the flower bed and mark areas with shadows
Finished. I used a white pen to date and sign. The postcard is next to the 13 markers I used: pale and medium blue, yellow, orange, red, pale and dark burgundy, three greens, egg shell, pale yellow and pale brown.