I decided that this image would be good for a before and after post after finishing the editing, so today I just have the before and after images to share, not all the steps I took to get there.
This image was shot during sunrise whilst on a game drive at Ngala Camp in South Africa. It was quite surreal to have these massive storm clouds, the light from the sun rising, the moon visible and a rainbow all at one time. With so much going on, it was a challenging scene to deal with, and the image ended up rather flat and uninspired.
I decided to edit the single image using Aurora HDR Pro, as I find that the software is great in bringing out the detail and colour in an image, although it can be a little heavy handed at times. Herein lies the editing issue of course; trying to coax the best out of the image you have, without it ending up looking crunchy and radioactive. I layered two different presets within Aurora, blending them at different opacities, and then dialed back the result within Photoshop to find a level of punch that I felt worked for the image, and for my memory of what to scene looked and felt like.
I’d be interested to know any opinions on the edit – did I go too far, not far enough, or just right, based on what I had to work with? Everyone looks at things differently and I am always interested in the reactions of other people.
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www.jennifersawickyphotography.com for wildlife, landscape and nature inspired artwork.
and
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