Post by Phil on Mar 22, 2015 1:00:00 GMT
I figured I'd post about my mobile workflow, because it's changed recently and I don't think I've totally talked about it on SS.org.
I've started doing things a bit different recently. I used to avoid VSCO, because I wanted to make all the changes manually. I've been using Photogene because it has similar parameters to Lightroom, especially the tone curve, but I was having some issues with it. The RBG adjustment was pretty much useless, because it was pulling all the colours in the JPG, unlike the HSL sliders in Lightroom. The tone curve is handy, but pulling the highlights looked bad easily, and pushing the blacks seemed to overly smooth the photo. Also, I can't find a grain adjustment for the life of me, so even though I was trying to crush the blacks a bit to make it look like film, it looked too smooth and digital to me.
I've finally stopped caring and I use VSCO now. Choosing a preset is a lot faster, and you can dial the overall amount of the preset down to taste. I'll typically dial a preset back to about halfway, and then go in and add +3 grain or so to keep it from being too smooth. The only thing I still use Photogene for is vignetting, when I want it. VSCO's vignetting is way, way too feathered, so it pretty much just darkens the whole photo.
Here's a pretty good example of how it works. I pretty much always end up choosing Classic Chrome on the Fuji - the odd time I'll do monochrome, but it's rare. I'll bounce the Classic Chrome JPG into VSCO and almost always end up using T1 - it reminds me of Classic Chrome but with really crushed blacks and slightly cooler shadows. I'll back it off from full blast to about half, add the +3 grain I mentioned earlier, and if I want vignetting, save it and send it to Photogene for that. The Photogene step is a hassle, so I'm gonna see if there's some vignetting settings I can change in VSCO.
I wish I'd saved an in-between photo, but I'll delete it to keep my camera roll from getting too cluttered. So here's a SOOC Classic Chrome JPG, and the finished file with VSCO's T1, some grain, and a little Photogene vignetting.
Dawn Classic Chrome by philbabbey, on Flickr
Dawn by philbabbey, on Flickr
I've started doing things a bit different recently. I used to avoid VSCO, because I wanted to make all the changes manually. I've been using Photogene because it has similar parameters to Lightroom, especially the tone curve, but I was having some issues with it. The RBG adjustment was pretty much useless, because it was pulling all the colours in the JPG, unlike the HSL sliders in Lightroom. The tone curve is handy, but pulling the highlights looked bad easily, and pushing the blacks seemed to overly smooth the photo. Also, I can't find a grain adjustment for the life of me, so even though I was trying to crush the blacks a bit to make it look like film, it looked too smooth and digital to me.
I've finally stopped caring and I use VSCO now. Choosing a preset is a lot faster, and you can dial the overall amount of the preset down to taste. I'll typically dial a preset back to about halfway, and then go in and add +3 grain or so to keep it from being too smooth. The only thing I still use Photogene for is vignetting, when I want it. VSCO's vignetting is way, way too feathered, so it pretty much just darkens the whole photo.
Here's a pretty good example of how it works. I pretty much always end up choosing Classic Chrome on the Fuji - the odd time I'll do monochrome, but it's rare. I'll bounce the Classic Chrome JPG into VSCO and almost always end up using T1 - it reminds me of Classic Chrome but with really crushed blacks and slightly cooler shadows. I'll back it off from full blast to about half, add the +3 grain I mentioned earlier, and if I want vignetting, save it and send it to Photogene for that. The Photogene step is a hassle, so I'm gonna see if there's some vignetting settings I can change in VSCO.
I wish I'd saved an in-between photo, but I'll delete it to keep my camera roll from getting too cluttered. So here's a SOOC Classic Chrome JPG, and the finished file with VSCO's T1, some grain, and a little Photogene vignetting.
Dawn Classic Chrome by philbabbey, on FlickrDawn by philbabbey, on Flickr