Post Processing good or bad?

Again it depends. If your a journalist photographer you shouldn't  materially modify the screen you photographed. That said many of the pictures you've seen of the civil war were dragged. The Life magazine the photo of a motorcyclist surrounded by beer bottles was likely stagged.

So even journalistic photographs have been "post (sic) processed". All that has really changed are the tools. Digital images and processing software.

So it's OK to replace a sky our other background, change the color of clothes, of vehicle, ... But just you can there are times to shouldn't. Only you the photographic artist can make the choice. Let your moral compass be your guide.

Fstoppers has an article.

Do you shoot wide open?

Like many things in photography, it depends. 

As in I've stated before when the question is, what settings do I use? It depends.

What photographic effect are you attempting to achieve? 

This article may help 

How I Cull, Choose, My Keepers

 I'm a user of Lightroom Classic so this discussion is based on my experience and choice on how I cull my photo shoots. There is not correct way but it is MY way.

• Import my images from my card

• During the import I make sure my destination is correct.
• I add appropriate Key Words.

• In Library mode Loupe view
• Enable the Navigator window
• Set CapsLK it you want to advance to the next image you make a solution.
• Use the P, pick flag, U, Unflag, X, Flag for seletion.
• In each image I am looking at, Focus, Composition, Exposure
• X anything out of focus.
• P or U if the composition can be fixed with a reasonable Crop.
• P or U if Exposure can be improved by about +-2 stops.
• U if it is a memory shot that I would not post.
• I will often use 1:1 to verify focus,
• Now I will remove, delete from storage, all X's
• Now I will go to Grid view and use the attribute  "tab" to view all the P, White flagged images.
• Go back thru the Picks and rate each using number ratings 1 to 4. 1 = I may edit, 4 = I will edit. 2 or 3 = Maybe.
• With the Picks add the 4 stared to sort the 4 stars. Birds in flight that are mostly heading to you with the eye in focus is a definite P4.
• Remove the CapsLK.  Now it's time to edit.
• With my Picks and 4's selected I go to the Development module.
• As I go thru the editing process I may demote the rating to a lower number, 3 or lower, or Un-flag or X to mark for deletion.
• When I am happy with the edited image I will promote it to 5.
• If I have to many P-5's I review again and demote, 4 or lower,.

• I've been attempting to just have 1 to 3 of a similar image, like a sunset, sunrise, moon, ... Why force the viewer to make a  choice from 10-20 good photos that are very similar?
• For example on a recent shoot I have several good/great images of a Great Blue Heron in flight. I choose the one that you could see the eye, extended wings, etc. in sharp focus and detail.

This one, 

Pixel Peeping and Image Qualify

Which camera, FF, crop sensor, M43, cell/tablet, which lens, what ISO, ...

To me, get the shot is most important. Yeah I read a lot and even understand some of it.

The net of a recent article is,

"A great camera can recover from situations that lesser cameras can’t, while a convenient camera that’s “good enough” can capture shots you would have missed. Pixel peeping is worthwhile, up to a point, but can rapidly become an expensive game with few winners. Finally, the answer is simple: make your clients happy, because a great image you can’t deliver, or that nobody else ever sees, has little value." 

Or, 

"Of course a good photo has to be well exposed and in focus; but among the many things we can learn from even a casual examination of the history of photography, is the fact that some of the greatest photographs ever recorded are hardly perfect according to any technical metric. If you can create a photo that boasts a pleasing (or intriguing) composition, is beautifully lit, features an interesting subject and evokes a particular thought or emotion in the viewer is, then you’ve done something worthwhile. And you don’t need to pixel peep to validate that — the people who see your photo will do it for you."

Or,

"Let’s face it

If we were to walk up close to a famous painting in a museum and study it pixel by pixel, you’d find irregularities in the brush strokes, problems with color and skewed lines. So why do we do it with photographs? Similar to paintings in a museum, photographs are meant to be viewed as a whole, and from a certain distance. Hence I have learned to never go beyond a 50 percent crop when judging the sharpness of photos on my monitor."

https://www.slrphotographyguide.com/pixel-peeping-why-you-shouldnt-do-it/

https://macprovideo.com/article/photoshop/pixel-peeping-why-you-should-care-about-image-quality

UPDATE: How large can you print on your MFT camera? I've often wondered how big. The answer 3 to 4 for wide. No I didn't try it. I watched this video. 

The big take away is if your photos are on the web resolution isn't that big a deal. That said extreme crop will rears it resolution head. 

Print to see where the rubber meta the road.

Whistling Ducks

 I just can't add much here.

Olympus Hi Res

 A Hi Res photo. Olympus creates a 60 meg raw file. What is this? "The camera captures multiple images by shifting the sensor and then combining these images into one large, high-resolution RAW (or JPG) file." The detail

Sunset at Sun-N-Fun Resort Sarasota FL

Photographers worry to much

Yes we and more importantly the pundents and "pro's" worry. They worry about ISO. We should but not that much. JPG vs RAW  but it doesn't really matter. We worry about sensor size, but should we? We worry about which camera or lens is better but should we? 

But really those worries really don't matter that much. Yes it's my opinion but it's the exposure, focus, framing the image. What's included but often what's not included is more important.

Get the exposure as correct you can in the image. It's the image that is what's important. And the distance the image will be viewed. 

Yes low ISO, lens, sensor size,  FF have their place but it's the focus, exposure, framing that make the image.

I have left out motion blur because that can be an artistic choice.

Note to self OI.share

Olympus OMD cameras, most if not all, have a shooting mode called "Pro-capture". In this mode when you use a half-press of the shutter release the camera begins to capture images. When you continue to a full press the pre recorded images are stored to the card as well the images taken while the shutter release is depressed.

You can configure the number of images in the half press as well the total images saved.

The OI.share app provides shutter release as well full remote camera control.  I found that when I have set the shutter release mode to Pro-capture the camera will as many images as I have set to the image limit number I have set.

Understanding the Lightroom Catalogue

I'm trying to make sure I understand the basic blocks of Lightroom as it relates to files on my computer, Catalog, Virtual copies and collections. See the following photo.

During the Import operation files are written to or added to the storage device, usually a drive. The LR Catalog adds entries that contain; image file location, meta data, image thumbnail, and other information need about the image file.  

During other operations in the various modules, eg. Library, Development, additional entries are made to the Catalog for the imported/registered file. 

When a photo is added to an Collection additional entries are made to the Catalog. 

When a Virtual created another entry is made to the Catalog. This new entry will contain any additional processing, Development, Libray, etc. but not change the previous  processing. If the virtual copy is added to a collection the catalog data for the virtual copy will have information about that collection.

At least that is what I understand.

    

This is the response from my post in Laur Shoe

This is the response to Laura Shoe, "

Laura Shoe That is correct, Larry. Good for you for working through it putting it in language/visuals that make sense to you - lessons you create yourself are lessons not forgotten!

"

Also the Lightroomqueen has an excellent explanation "What is a Lightroom catalog"

SOOC, Straight Out Of Camera

SOOC, Straight Out Of Camera, not really, "Today images are not really straight out of camera

The camera actually applies certain settings and filters to the image after it has been taken. Images are taken in a raw format and then whatever factory settings the camera company has decided will make the final output look better as a .jpg, those factory settings are applied. We often get photographers ask us why their raw files are not as bright as the jpg’s and it’s because of post processing inside the camera. These settings can be tweaked by the photographer and yes, you certainly can output a printable image straight out of camera, yet technically some processing has occurred." From https://www.slrphotographyguide.com/what-does-sooc-mean/ 

YMMV

Sunsets and Lightning

A few sunset shots and attempts to get Lightning but the strikes were over 40 miles away and just light the clouds but I like the effects. For the Lightning shots I used Olympus Live Composite.

Plan your Photo shoot

I use Photopills but I am still learning about all it's features.

For those who are interested in Photopills here is the link, https://www.photopills.com/#bonus

Here is a cheat sheet https://attachments.convertkitcdnn.com/128395/3cf81d51-4e3b-4c8f-81a2-59c454a72979/PhotoPills%20Cheat%20Sheet.pdf

User guide https://www.photopills.com/user-guide

Why I Stopped Worrying About Hi ISO Updated 9/9/2023

I had be accused of being to technical most just want to get a good photo. But a photo is a combination of both the technical and artistic. You don't get  a great photo by disregarding one or the other. 

So put on your big boy or girl pants and read the links below.

Yes, low ISO results in a better image. No argument with that.

But you, well me, want to get the shot. In focus, no unintentional blur. Get the shot! 

There are many post processing programs that can reduce "noise/grain ..." and they are improving.

In an Olympus FB post I wrote, "Larry Kurfis IMHO, regards to ISO, the print is the proof not the pixel peepers. Who looks at fine oil paintings with their nose on the painting? I agree low ISO is best but don't sweat it."

In a shot, composition, shutter speed, aperture are much more than high ISO.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Edit: some bit of a vindication

• not be afraid of high ISO
• Shooting at ISO 100 revisited!