DPR Forum

Welcome to the Friendly Aisles!
DPRF is a spin-off of dpreview. We are a photography forum with people from all over the world freely sharing their knowledge and love of photography. Everybody is welcome, from beginners to the experienced professional. From smartphone to Medium Format.

DPRF is a community for everybody, every brand and every sensor format. Digital and film.
Enjoy this modern, easy to use software. Look also at our Reviews & Gallery!

Do you find that you re-edit images processed in the field when you get back to homebase?

areallygrumpyoldsod

Active Member
I find that no matter how hard I try - I seem to re-edit all the photos I process in the field on my laptop when I get back to my home office and the large monitors I have there.

Do you?

I have just completed editing Day 1's captures from my 22 day long shot and have formed the following conclusions:
  1. I seem to be pretty good at finding the "good ones" amongst the herd but often there are several wrong choices -- with better images +/- 1 images before or after the one I choose -- often it is a tiny difference that makes the change necessary. Also when in the field I can easily step past fairly large groups of shots while I focus on processing action or interactions that are highlights from the day -- generally I am looking for the 5-10 shots that I remember out of the 1000-2000-or more I have taken. It is well worth going back through each days shoot to look for what was missed first time around - one welcomes surprises.

  2. Even though I load my presets (processing recipes) into LRC on my Laptop and applies these on import - I seem to be far too heavy handed when working on a 16" laptop in the field. The images I process and output in the field are often vastly oversaturated and contrasty AND too heavily cropped - when compared to the look I achieve later in my office.

  3. AND -- colour profile and white balance (particularly tint) choices need careful consideration. I shoot Lossless RAW with a FL colour profile and apply Camera Flat and my default preset on import - while this does a great job -- I have found that most of the shots I took with a Z7 appeared "purple" when compared to files shot with the same WB on a Z9. AND across the board most images appear over saturated and overly bright in the green colours.
Here are a couple of examples of an image taken early in the morning in a misty and overcast light - these are rendered for viewing in a bright screen. A full set of images can be seen here

FIRST the edit in the field:
20230311 - 044924 - _Z900854 - NIKKOR Z 400mm f-2.8 TC VR S -¹⁄₅₀₀ sec at ƒ - 4.5 - ISO 720 - ...jpg
  • NIKON CORPORATION - NIKON Z 9
  • NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S
  • 400.0 mm
  • ƒ/4.5
  • 1/500 sec
  • Pattern
  • Manual exposure
  • 0.3
  • ISO 720


Then the finalised edit in my office
20230311 - 044924 - _Z900854 - NIKKOR Z 400mm f-2.8 TC VR S -¹⁄₅₀₀ sec at ƒ - 4.5 - ISO 720 - ...jpg
  • NIKON CORPORATION - NIKON Z 9
  • NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S
  • 400.0 mm
  • ƒ/4.5
  • 1/500 sec
  • Pattern
  • Manual exposure
  • 0.3
  • ISO 720
 
in answer to point 2 is your macbook screen calibrated & what about the one at home, would make a big difference if not - I use an old Color Munki to do both of mine and it still works just fine

I don't tend to edit in the field - unless travelling on holidays, but it is always good to look at a processed image the following day with "fresh eyes" as its easy to over edit a photo in just one session
 
I've never been able to edit well on a laptop. The small size combined with my bad eyes makes it too difficult for me to get good results. I much prefer culling on the laptop to select images to edit on my desktop. I've known several photographers who edit perfectly on laptops, and most do calibrate the screens for consistent colors.
 
in answer to point 2 is your macbook screen calibrated & what about the one at home, would make a big difference if not - I use an old Color Munki to do both of mine and it still works just fine

I don't tend to edit in the field - unless travelling on holidays, but it is always good to look at a processed image the following day with "fresh eyes" as its easy to over edit a photo in just one session
Yes all my gear is calibrated and colour managed.
I produce initial output for SM and as a safe backup
 
Yes all my gear is calibrated and colour managed.
I produce initial output for SM and as a safe backup

Hmmmmmmm, only other thing I can /possibly/ think of at the moment, maybe its ambient light levels around you whilst editing (brighter in field editing?)
 
Nice shots.
I do not process in the field. Except maybe a few I email to family from a hotel.
Even in a hotel I mostly just cull and back up.
I travel with a Dell XPS-13, fits in my backpack when I move. 15" would be to big. Before that I had an 11" eeePC for travel. Alas, even linux got too big for that.
Maybe if I was really marooned for a few days with bad weather. But usually I find better things to do.
 
Hmmmmmmm, only other thing I can /possibly/ think of at the moment, maybe its ambient light levels around you whilst editing (brighter in field editing?)
No -- a) lack of sleep -- most edits were done at 03:00 before I needed to get up at 04:30 OR between game drives during the day.
b) the 16" screen is just to small for me.
I need my pair of wonderful 32" Pro Display XDRs colour calibrated / graded for P3-1600 nits -vs- P3 on the MBP - both are set to the "same brightness" -- well the brightness slider is in the same place on both.
AND - I just have more time back in my office.
 
When I'm on vacation, I often do a quick selection and edit pass on my 13" laptop, usually for timely family sharing on social media. I always find I can do better editing back at home on my desktop with 30" screen and mouse and proper desk and proper lighting.

As you have already said, some of it is more time, some of it is the larger screen, some of it is just a notion of better control with a mouse than a touchpad, but probably it's just being a lot more thoughtful when I have more time. Editing for me on vacation is something that usually happens after a busy day, at night right before going to sleep and is always very time challenged. I'm retired so editing back at home doesn't have any of the same constraints.
 
So, is one editing for professional reasons, i.e. I make my money doing this, or editing for personal satisfaction? I think that makes a difference., if not in output quality, certainly in time pressure, and maybe "expectations." I've found in many endeavors getting that last 10th of "quality" is a lot more work than the first 90%. And often unappreciated by viewers, but, -- of course -- not by the shooter.

At the end of the day, so to speak, we must please ourselves, whether Pro shooter or Enthusiast. And doesn't that change as we review our images over the years? All good fun, and what is enjoyable about photography.
 
Here are a couple more examples: this time of Athena who was dashing from a Ballantine tree where she had stashed her meal

BEFORE -- overly bright and saturated
20230314 - 101646 - _Z902861 - NIKKOR Z 400mm f-2.8 TC VR S -¹⁄₁₂₅₀ sec at ƒ - 5.0 - ISO 450 -...jpg
  • NIKON CORPORATION - NIKON Z 9
  • NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S
  • 400.0 mm
  • ƒ/5
  • 1/1250 sec
  • Pattern
  • Manual exposure
  • 0.7
  • ISO 450


After: much more muted and calming
20230314 - 101646 - _Z902861 - NIKKOR Z 400mm f-2.8 TC VR S -¹⁄₁₂₅₀ sec at ƒ - 5.0 - ISO 450 -...jpg
  • NIKON CORPORATION - NIKON Z 9
  • NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S
  • 400.0 mm
  • ƒ/5
  • 1/1250 sec
  • Pattern
  • Manual exposure
  • 0.7
  • ISO 450
 
Back
Top