"Hazy Images" - Correction Possible Post Processing ?

shotokan101 · 08-09-2009, 2:50 PM

Hi,

I've a few of my Holiday Pics. that show quite marked "Haziness" - the majority were shot using only a Skylight Filter and I was wondering whether it's possible to remove or minimise the effect in "Post Production" and also how best to minimise the effect when shooting in future.

I have access to the original 9MP RAW images in most cases if that helps.

See the picture beklow for a scaled down copy of what I'm talking about.

Thanks,

Jim

*tdodd* · 08-09-2009, 5:47 PM

Here's a very rough and not terribly successful effort in Lightroom. Given the increasing effect of the haze as you look deeper into the picture it may need more advanced tools, like Photoshop, to fine tune adjustments in different areas of the image. Main features of the edit were....

1. Try to recover blown highlight (nearly impossible with JPEG);
2. Darken the shadow tones a lot, so that the picture does at least get close to having some blacks in it;
3. Increase contrast and local contrast quite a bit;
4. Try to remove some of the blue cast (unfortunately I've buggered up the sky while trying to fix the land. That's why I think you might need Photoshop or similar - different parts of the picture need different adjustments, so global adjustments are not working well.).

shotokan101 · 08-09-2009, 6:05 PM

Thanks Tim - I can see some of what you've been attempting and it's definitley inproved the image in some areas without doubt.

I hope you're wrong about it possibly needing full-blown Photoshop

Any suggestions about avoiding it in the first place ? - would a particular filter type have helped ?

Pics. were taken mainly with aa Finepix S9600 BTW.

Jim

tontoshorse · 08-09-2009, 6:17 PM

As what Tim says, there's a few tweaks

which brings back some of the image, but the background is difficult to get any detail back.

Was it as hazy when you took the pic? I don't know of any filters for P&S cameras, other then holding a CP against the lens.

*tdodd* · 08-09-2009, 6:19 PM

IMHO a UV filter will be of no assistance at all. UV filters were intended to be used to prevent fogging of FILM. Digital sensors are not susceptible to such issues since the sensor already has a UV filter in front of it. I'm not really sure but maybe a CPL (circular polarising) filter might help give you more contrast at the point of capture, but basically it looks like you are shooting through mist/cloud and there is really not much you can do about that. If your eyes can see it then so can the camera.

Probably the best thing is to shoot at a different time of day, or when the weather is different, so that the light is falling from a different angle or there is no mist/haze in the first place. Think of a crisp, clear winter morning, rather than hot hazy summertime. If you have a chance to reshoot then try early morning, before the sun has had a chance to warm everything up too much.

Martin.D · 08-09-2009, 7:35 PM

It would work better with the Raw but this is my effort - I targeted the levels and colors of the haze to bring it out..

It maybe a little dark but you get the idea..

nikonuser11 · 08-09-2009, 8:22 PM

would it be worth someone here who's good with Ps to take the RAW version shotokan has and improve it for him, obviously the pic means a lot to him and it's a pretty nice landscape?
Just a thought

shotokan101 · 08-09-2009, 8:27 PM

Thanks for the suggestions Guys - BTW the Finepix S9600 isn't a P&S (or a PoS

) it's a Bridge Model so takes standard filters.

http://www.cameras.co.uk/reviews/fuji-finepix-s9600.cfm

Martin - I can't see "your effort" is a link missing or is it on your Flickr site ?

The haze/mist was visible though I didn't think it was quite as heavy as it appears in some of the pics - but of course that may just be my memory at 52

.

So any suggestions for "cheapish" editing s/w that allows the tweaks you're talking about ? - or would Gimp or Paint etc. do ? as I know that the Gimp RAW Plugin supports Fuji RAF format.

Whatever s/w I end up with I'd like to have some batch processing available.

And finally (so far

) are noticeably better results going to be available using the RAW full res pictures ?

Jim

shotokan101 · 08-09-2009, 8:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cherokee1111

would it be worth someone here who's good with Ps to take the RAW version shotokan has and improve it for him, obviously the pic means a lot to him and it's a pretty nice landscape?
Just a thought

FWIW that paticular pic is "nothing special to me" - I just chose it as it's one of the worst examples so i was interested in what could be done.

Saying that though I would be very interested to see what "could" be achieved reasonably easily with the RAW version.

Jim

*tdodd* · 08-09-2009, 8:41 PM

I assume Photoshop Elements will have enough tricks to do what you need, without spending a bundle (Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 (PC): Amazon.co.uk: Software), but I don't use any Photoshop products, only Lightroom, so don't quote me on that.

If you want to upload the raw somewhere I'll take another crack at it with Lightroom. Mind you, that costs more than PSE.

RobDickinson · 08-09-2009, 8:46 PM

I'd probably try nic softwares polarising filter 1st, then levels adjustments, be realy carefull with any sharpening too.

shotokan101 · 08-09-2009, 8:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdodd

I assume Photoshop Elements will have enough tricks to do what you need, without spending a bundle (Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 (PC): Amazon.co.uk: Software), but I don't use any Photoshop products, only Lightroom, so don't quote me on that.

If you want to upload the raw somewhere I'll take another crack at it with Lightroom. Mind you, that costs more than PSE.

Thanks Tim - I'll try to find a suitable upload site and will post a link - much appreciated.

Jim

shotokan101 · 08-09-2009, 9:32 PM

Well as "luck" would have it the pic I posted was just after I was forced to swith off RAW mode

as I was nearly out of space on my remaining memory card.

I've uploaded another similar pic (but not quite as bad) in raw mode to the link below :-

MEGAUPLOAD - The leading online storage and file delivery service

The comparable downsized jpeg pic is seen below :-

Jim

OrbitalPete · 08-09-2009, 9:33 PM

OK. A CPL will definitely help. Haze is due to an excess of diffracted light, and light is diffracted in all polarising directions. A CPL will allow only a certain polarisation though.

As far as PP goes, as has already been suggested a big contrast/curves adjustment can help massively. however, to really clinch it I would be tempted to use HDR techniques which are usually applied on difficult exposures.

What I would do is take the RAW file and process it 3 or 4 separate ways - each time focussing on a separate area of the photo. Then load each image in as a separate layer in PS Elements and mask them out so that that you have each region of the photograph correctly exposed.

When they are in the layered form you can adjust contrast/saturation/vibrance etc individually to ensure they blend smoothly.

shotokan101 · 08-09-2009, 9:37 PM

Thanks Pete - I think I just about understand what you are suggesting - not how to do it of course

.

Good to know that you think PE could "hack it".

Jim

OrbitalPete · 09-09-2009, 6:21 AM

PE may even have the File - Automate - HDR menu option from full blown PS. If so, you don't need to get caught up in teh masking and matching; simply make 3 or 4 different exposure versions, save them, then point the HDR tool at them all.

shotokan101 · 09-09-2009, 9:19 AM

Thnaks Pete - hope you're right about that - would greatly simplify the process I imagine so perhaps a member with PE7 could confirm or otherwise ?

Thanks,

Jim

OrbitalPete · 09-09-2009, 9:25 AM

On the other hand, doing it the masked layers way will give you some great experience ina very very useful technique, and it's not at all difficult

shotokan101 · 09-09-2009, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OrbitalPete

On the other hand, doing it the masked layers way will give you some great experience ina very very useful technique, and it's not at all difficult

I agree that you're correct about that Pete but of course as a "newbie" to the whole Digital Scene Layers have always been a bit "intimidating" although I do appreciate the importance and flexibility of them amd that I will need to get to grips with them " at some point"......

Jim

OrbitalPete · 09-09-2009, 10:18 AM

I'm happy to put a tutorial together for it if people would find it useful. I may do that this afternoon anyway - there's been a few people in the last month or so not sure how to work with layers...

shotokan101 · 09-09-2009, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OrbitalPete

I'm happy to put a tutorial together for it if people would find it useful. I may do that this afternoon anyway - there's been a few people in the last month or so not sure how to work with layers...

That would be great

....as you've got PS I presume it will be "based" on that but in general the techniques will be "portable" - at least to PE ?

Jim

*tdodd* · 09-09-2009, 10:32 AM

I just had a crack at the raw file, again in Lightroom. Here are the before and after versions....

I can't get the distant mountains looking good, even if I ignore the effects my edits have on the foreground.

shotokan101 · 09-09-2009, 10:41 AM

Thanks Tim - well the image certainly looks much improved to me and subtle enough still to look natural and not overprocessed.

I wasn't really that hopefull of being able to eradicate it completely and would be happy to "settle" for the result you've achieved so far - of course not if it meant forking out nearly £200 for Lightroom

Just really wish I had the RAW of the original pIc now

Regarding Lightroom/Photoshop/Elements etc. what's the real benefit of Lightroom ?

Jim

*tdodd* · 09-09-2009, 10:55 AM

For me, the great thing about Lightroom is speed of use and simplicity, which is especially handy when you have large volumes of images to review/edit, e.g. from a wedding, sports event, vacation etc..

It has great image management and cataloguing features, easily accesiible editing, can produce slideshows, websites and print in various ways. I only use the image management and editing features but I find it to be superb for those things - a nice balance of power, simplicity, speed. I have tried using Photoshop (CS3 and CS4) and by contrast I find it a struggle to learn it. For me it is incredibly unintuitive and I just get stuck and have to keep referring to help/tutorials. Software should not be that hard to use, so I have quit trying.

You can download a free 30 day trial of Lightroom, or you might like to watch an online demo just to get a feel for what it can do. This is for LR 1 but will give you a good overview - Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Tutorials by Michael Tapes.

Here's an example of the power Lightroom can have, even if it doesn't match PS for ultimate control....

Original....

Lightroom edit....

shotokan101 · 09-09-2009, 11:14 AM

Thanks Tim I can see your point - I too found a brief "skirmish" with a trial of PS a while ago pretty offputing.

No doubt it's like anything powerful - really useful and easy once you've climbed the learning curve.

I'll have a look at Lightroom just to get an idea of it's abilities and also a play with PE7 I guess.

Jim