From Camera to Final Image

The image: an EA-18G Growler at the Ocean City Airshow, August 2024.

Above is the finished version of an image I took of a Growler doing a high speed pass in Ocean City, Maryland. I shot the image with a Nikon Z9 and Nikon Z 100-400mm f4.5-5.6, ISO 64, 1/500th of a sec. @ f9, shutter-priority, center-weighted average metering. I used back-button focusing and shot a 1 second burst at 20 FPS. The sun was almost directly overhead and slightly to the right, which is less the optimal, but probably helped illuminate the cone of condensation that formed around the jet at high speed.

What follows is my workflow in processing this photo out of the camera.  The changes are subtle, but I think make a huge difference. To understand my approach to post processing, first let’s look at the image straight out of the camera (SOC).

The original image as shot with no post-processing.

As you can see, the original image is heavily top-lit and even center-weighted, the meter basically is forced to average the dark shadows and the bright white condensation, leaving a large part of the aircraft in shadow. I probably should have opened the aperture somewhat, but, in general, I’d rather shoot an image that sits right between the two extremes than one that trades highlights for shadows or vice versa. I can gain back as much shadow detail as I want without losing the sharper, deeper shadows. Tilt the expsoure too far in either direction and I find you end up turning the blackest blacks and whitest whites a dull grey. Tonal range is still my ultimate goal.

The other issue is, as much as I’d like to have kept the jet dead center, the subject did wander toward the top right of the frame. This is the advantage to high megapixel cameras—I can crop to center the subject and still have a lot of resolution left. So the image will need to be cropped. Fortunately, my image sensor is clean, but here is where I’d typical remove any sensor spots or similar issues.

Before we go any further, a word on sharpness. For me, it is the whole ballgame. If this image isn’t tack sharp without any post-processing, it limits my ability to crop. It also forces me to process more heavily, trying to gain back that critical sharpness by basically using micro-contrast sliders to give the appearance of sharpness. While that often is necessary, when I have an image that is not tack sharp right out of the camera or very close, I usually just leave it on the hard drive. I hate having an image that only appears sharp when viewed as a thumbnail or when shown on a smal screen. If it isn’t sharp 1:1 pixels on a large display, I basically throw it away. I want to use post-processing tools creatively as much as possible and not as a means of ressurecting a failed shot. Of course, we all screw up shots, so that often isn’t possible, but it’s always my goal. 

A 1:1 pixel crop of the cockpit section. For me, I have to be able to read names and count rivets for me to consider the image sharp.

I use DxO Photolab (currently Version 7) to process RAW images, so below is the JPEG image after export from DxO PL7. In PL7, I used the programs’ proporietary noise reduction, some of the programs’ clear view contrast processing (very similar to “de-haze” in Photoshop), and I brought shadows up slightly. The below image is now ready to be edited in Photoshop.

JPEG exported from DxO Photolab 7 before final editing in Photoshop.

I think when I get an image in Photoshop is where I shift focus from getting a solid baseline image to making creative changes that suit what I think the image should look like. I am a firm believer that it is nonsense to produce images straight out of the camera, simply because cameras do not process light the way the human eye or brain does. Our iris is a continuosly variable aperture and our brains are sophisticated image processing computers. To limit an image to only what can be controlled by the camera is to leave it half-finished. I want to preserve what I saw with my eyes, not with the camera. So, for me, the creative process requires extensive post-processing in order for me to achieve the real goal: presenting the world with reality as I saw it. I want to share my view of how this jet appeared on that day in August to me, not to my Nikon.

So here’s how I processed the final image. I use Photoshop Camera Raw Filter first, making the following changes: 1) in Effects, I bring up Dehaze slightly, while dropping Texture and Clarity (Texture and Clarity can be fun and they have their place, but I find if the original image is sharp and contrasty, they just tend to make it noisy and somehow “messy” looking), 2) on the Light panel, I bring down overall contrast slightly (Dehaze increases contrast, so to compensate, I usually dial overall contrast back), 3) I use the Tone Curve panel, bringing up Highlights and Lights slightly, dropping Darks slightly, and bringing up Shadows slighty, 4) I go to the Color Channel mixer and slightly reduce Luminance for the blue channel, while also bringing Saturation down slightly, and 5) I go back to the Light panel and make minor changes to Shadows, Highlights, Darks, and Lights until I get the image to pop, but still look natural.

The last step I take, given there is minimal noise and the image is sharp, is to use Topaz Labs DeNoise AI. I find all Topaz Labs’ plugins very useful, but I also find they must be used in moderation. I use the Low Light AI model, the Remove Noise slider at around 35%, the Enhance Sharpness slider at 1%, Recover Original Detail at 1%, and Color Noise Reduction at 28%. If I have a noisier or softer image, I usually don’t go much higher, only because as good as AI is, it does tend to induce artifacts that can be distracting. If sharpness is more an issue, I will use Topaz Labs Sharpen AI. I oaccasionally use other plugins from Topaz Labs or Nik, but I mostly find that Photoshop’s Camera Raw Filter does everything I need.

And all of that ultimately results in the final image you saw at the top of the page. Now I can’t say that this workflow is correct or optimal or that other people don’t have far better ways of processing their images, but this is the workflow that I find suits how I shoot and process. If nothing else, you might find it inspires you to try techniques you might otherwise have never used. Either way, I hope it was a worthwhile read!