My East Coast Pics (Even More Pics Added)

[Antlershed]

Ok, I found my software, so I got to mess with it a little tonight. Here's my first attempt. I will post more as I do them.

Arlington National Cemetery...

[X-Force]

Great pic. i have been there once. its very humbling.

[robb92]

Did you get to watch the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown? I wish you could have sent me a pm and I could have gotten you up on a tour of Air Force 2 and maybe some presidential M&Ms

[Antlershed]

No, I didn't. I wish I would have had a lot more time there, cause we were just kind of bouncing from one thing to the next with not much time to check each one out.

[Antlershed]

I finally got around to picking out my favorite pics and editing them, which took a while cause my computer is a POS. Let me know what you guys think. I'm still trying to get the hang of this RAW thing...

[popeshawnpaul]

Great pictures Brent.  Did you mess with the white balance at all?  They all look pretty good for white balance so I wondered if you are that good out of the camera or fixed it after...?

[Antlershed]

Thanks Shawn. No, I didn't adjust the white balance at all. I just used the few adjustments that the Nikon software has, and at that point was just so tired I decided they looked good enough for me. Most of them didn't seem to need a ton of adjustments, which was a change for me since I'm used to shooting with my POS lens. I guess maybe it was worth it to pack the 2.8 lens around... 

[huntnphool]

Wow, nice pics Brent. Love the one with the reflection

[Antlershed]

Thank you.

Shawn, or anyone, at what point are you putting your sig on the picture? PS7 won't allow me to do it while it is saved as a tiff. So, I am having to save it twice as a jpeg (once to convert it to jpeg, and then once after I add my sig), and I can see the little bit of detail loss. Any ideas?

[huntnphool]

You're posting them as JPEG anyway, its only another 5 seconds to add the signiture with CS2 or CS3

[Antlershed]

Right, but don't you lose detail each time you save it when its a jpeg? If I could add the sig when it is still a tiff, I would only have to save as a jpeg once. Maybe I'm confused...

[huntnphool]

Right, but don't you lose detail each time you save it when its a jpeg? If I could add the sig when it is still a tiff, I would only have to save as a jpeg once. Maybe I'm confused...

Yes but the point being they are not being posted as tiff, so if you have to take the time to convert to jpeg just take the extra 5 seconds and add the signiture then, no need to put the signiture on if its just sitting in your drive, the only time you will need it is when you share it

[popeshawnpaul]

You can use the text tool with a tiff.  There should be no limitations.  Just make sure you change the mode down to 8 bit tiff.  Also, make sure you flatten the image so there aren't multiple layers.  To answer your question though...I put the border and signature on as the last step.  Then I save as a jpg.  Here is my general recipe for raw photos:

1.  Open in Adobe Camera Raw or DPP
2.  Adjust white balance and major adjustments to exposure and colors
3.  Adobe then opens the photo in PS (or you can do it manually)
4.  Crop to 800 px wide
5.  Adjust levels
6.  Adjust contrast and color
7.  Sharpen  (with animals, I try and only sharpen the animal)
8.  Border
9.  Signature
10.  Save as a jpg

Oh, and the cardinal rule...don't ever save a jpg more than once.

[Antlershed]

I think the 8 bit vs 16 was my major problem. I must have missed where I could choose that in the Nikon software. Then I can use the text tool and avoid saving twice as a jpeg. Thanks guys.

[boneaddict]

I think they look great