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Bad Color???

Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 4:32 pm
by legostudios34
Railpictures is just too darn vague in their descriptions... Which way does the color need to go?

http://www.railpictures.net/viewreject. ... ey=3244980

Re: Bad Color???

Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 5:20 pm
by Y@
I don't see any real issue with the color. That's a sucky rejection. What program do you use to edit?

Re: Bad Color???

Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 6:35 pm
by bdconrail29
Best advice I can give you is:

1. Get away from that website. Just enjoy photography and quit messing with that garbage.

2. The colors do look a tad flat and the photo appears slightly underexposed.

Re: Bad Color???

Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 6:37 pm
by jkh2cpu
The color looks fine, but I'd lighten the shot a bit to the extent that the rocky roadbed was a bit lighter. They're probably really reacting to the outstanding sunlight glare on the engine's forward facing windows. You know of course that those guys aren't happy with any shots not meeting their formula, which is unpublished.

There's hope for you, but not for them ;-)

John.

Re: Bad Color???

Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 10:02 pm
by PatAzo
Take a look at the histograms and see if you can bring the exposure up a little bit. See if you can brighten it up a little without washing the color out. Exposure and brightness adjustments are different and I'd try bumping the exposure and see how it looks. I don't think saturation is to heavy. Yellows get overly bright quick if the saturation is up to high. The U.P. unit looks fine and the yellows in the grass are not jumping out. You're in the "golden hour" with the sun low in the sky. Deep color and soft shadows is one of the reasons to shoot late in the day. There is a bit of color cast to it. Look back at the white on the church and you can see it. Not that that's bad. It's part of the late day sun.

RP has some definite ideas on what is acceptable and their rejections can be a bit vague. They can be a bit inconsistent too. It's a good channel to hone your skills but don't let their style limit yours.

Re: Bad Color???

Posted: Mon May 19, 2014 10:09 pm
by legostudios34
Y@ I use Photoshop CS2.

Thanks for the ideas, I will try them.

Re: Bad Color???

Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 8:42 am
by bdconrail29
legostudios34 wrote:Y@ I use Photoshop CS2.

Thanks for the ideas, I will try them.
This is where shooting in RAW can really help. We're not in the film era anymore and WB, color casts, etc. are much easily fixed in RAW vs. in JPG or even in camera.

Re: Bad Color???

Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 3:46 pm
by legostudios34
bdconrail29 wrote:
legostudios34 wrote:Y@ I use Photoshop CS2.

Thanks for the ideas, I will try them.
This is where shooting in RAW can really help. We're not in the film era anymore and WB, color casts, etc. are much easily fixed in RAW vs. in JPG or even in camera.
I do shoot RAW now, so that sounds good.

Re: Bad Color???

Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 1:11 am
by trainerd
Railpicky: "ALL" selected pictures will have freshly washed/or re-painted (within last 6 months) locomotives, no faded, unusual lighting conditions are permitted or accepted. If you have faded/dirty colors, you must boost saturation at least 100% to achieve the fluorescent dayglo images we accept. But seriously, I wouldn't bother with Railpicky. Take your own pics and enjoy them.

Re: Bad Color???

Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 8:43 am
by NSSD60M
Kind of depends on who you are with that site and who you know. If you're a "big name," you can pretty much get whatever you submit accepted. Inconsistency Central around there. Seen accepted work with shadows obscuring the lead unit and even the own photographer's shadow visible. Not too mention dimly lit dull shots taken from inside shops, etc.
Like Bdconrail said, forget that site and do what is pleasing to you. After all, the prestige of racking up numbers on RP doesn't pay all that well...