mcliffy2 10 Posted January 19, 2014 I'm curious what people think. My personal view had been that Instagram degrades photos in a way that can admittedly look cool on very small screens (e.g., an iPhone), but in the end, was not something that was viable for "real" photography. However, I recently purchased the Nik Collection of PS plug-ins. There are many professional photographers that I admire (e.g., Tony Wu) who are big proponents of Nik. Some of the filters in the Nik Collection, especially in Color Efex, reminded me a bit of Instagram. I started playing with them and begrudgingly admit they are kinda fun, and I like some of the results, even if they aren't exactly "realistic." Here's one sample of a photo I ran through the Detail Extractor in Color Efex (to bring out the texture in the water surface), and then a Sepia preset in Silver Efex. It is a bit hyper-stylized, but I think I kinda like it, in a guilty-pleasure kind of way. So what do people think? Is this type of Instagram-esque post-processing cheesy? Or is it a viable way to add some variety to our UW photos? I have thick skin -- its OK if the consensus hates this picture and everything like it. I'm more just curious what people think on this topic. Galapagos_2013-234_FINAL_Sepia by mcliffy2, on Flickr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cary Dean 3 Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) It's a nice image. Don't know if I like it sepia toned... Why shouldn't you be able to process your images as you see fit. It is your art after all. I know many who take DSLR shot images and post to Instagram as a social media marketing tool. I still prefer the mobile image acquisition behind it though. Up to you I imagine. Edited January 19, 2014 by Cary Dean Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alison Perkins 28 Posted January 21, 2014 I find myself liking it. But I wonder if I saw the original whether I might like that more...? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mcliffy2 10 Posted January 21, 2014 I find myself liking it. But I wonder if I saw the original whether I might like that more...? Here is the original (without the sepia filter from Silver Efex). Galapagos_2013-234_FINAL_HC by mcliffy2, on Flickr 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bvanant 153 Posted January 21, 2014 Personally, I like the sepia one a lot more probably because it looks a lot less like the 10,000 other hammerhead photos out there. Good job I think. Bill 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alison Perkins 28 Posted January 23, 2014 I like the sepia better, brings out the main shark. You could be onto something. Play with some more. :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marjo 8 Posted February 18, 2014 Eh... not my thing but to each his own. I personally draw a line at "mason jars". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
troporobo 198 Posted February 19, 2014 I hav nothing against being creative in this way. There is a place for hyper realism and a place for personal interpretation. With this particular image, I am not loving the sepia tone. It would be interesting to see it in black and white, perhaps with high contrast and dynamic range like Ansel Adams' style Share this post Link to post Share on other sites