If you think my EDIT of this photo SUCKS, show me how it's done

Click Here to download the DNG File.

Photo editing is so subjective, it’s like peoples opinions and we all know what opinions are like. We all have a style, we all have a way of getting to the final image. Some people start with pre-sets, others like me like to move sliders and see the results and others take a more regimented approach.

This photo is of my friend who was in town and in need of a few photos for a book. He mentioned the images would all be black and white and showed me the style that the other photographer had already shot for others.

I am sure some of you out there are wondering my thoughts about following what someone else had done for other photos. I had no problem trying to give Shannon what he was looking for. If that meant doing something similar to someone else’s style so be it.

When it came to editing this photo I knew I would go right to black and white. I ended up doing something different with this photo when editing. I recovered a lot of the highlights using the highlight slider which is something I don’t generally do. The reason I don’t normally do it is it tends to make the photo look fake. In this case I was very happy with the results.

I thought split toning would be a good idea but after I finished making the video I went back to my standard black and white edit. There was something about the split tone that was putting me off. I say it all the time, if you need to pull all the stops to make the image better there is something wrong. In this case I felt like I should go back to the original black and white and live with it.

If you like my edit or think it sucks please feel free to CLICK HERE to download this DNG file and have a go. Remember that everyone has a different style for editing, there is no right or wrong way. If you like your edit than stick with it but there is always room for learning.