# Behind the madness....



## Dr. Green Fang (Jun 14, 2013)

*Just noticed, this is for a more "intricate" reading. I'm very stoned, so disclaimer has been done*

Just wanted to give you all a little peak into my photography world. A lot of you have mentioned you like my photography etc, and I just wanted to show you what I have to work with as a starting image in HPS lighting. I'm sure you're all familiar with that overly yellow, blown out, insanely over exposed shot of a flowering bud in hps. Well, most of that can be sorted with some good filters and post editing. 

As for filters, there's little lens attachments you can get for your Digital SLR camera that don't allow certain spectrum's to pass through etc. I still need to get a big filter set, and some new lens'.  Anyways...

Most of the ability to snap a shot in the tent during flowering stems from my post editing in a program called "Lightroom 4."  This is an extremely powerful (and some-what complicated) piece of real photo, editing software. It's especially made for editing the .RAW format that a Digital SLR is famous for taking. I'm taking images with my Canon EoS T3 in RAW format, then uploading them to Lightroom 4 for post editing, before I export them as .JPG no larger than 1200x800 and also no larger than 488 kilobytes. 

This allows me to adjust the exposure, contrast, B&W, clarity, color spectrum etc etc etc (I could go on!) Now, when you get a shot in natural light, or proper flash being bounced off a ceiling with the right backdrop.. you can produce pretty epic shots even with an iPhone. But post editing is just amazing to help the process. NO, it's not cheating.. I'm not in Photoshop using brushes to touch up areas or make it like things were / weren't there... all Lightroom does is allow me to manipulate the RAW shot that was taken. It allows me to subtract yellow spectrum for blue, and make the picture more clear, sharpening how it looks! 

Here's an example. The yellow picture is original, un-edited.. and the next.. well.. speaks for itself. 

What I'm getting at, is know your limits (1200 x 800 and 488k .JPG) and know what you can do within those limits. Now what I have to say isn't just for anyone with a Powershot, or super easy shot 3000... granted you can post edit them too.... it's more for people using "better than low end" cameras. 

I, myself, have an entry level DSLR. A Canon EoS T3  a.k.a. 1100D. You can purchase this now for $429.00 here: hxxp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1CZ0D38980

It has less focus points (freakin' 7 of them tho!!) and less megapixels, but still blows any other non DSLR out of the water!! Also, most of the power of a great shot is in the composition of the shot and the lens used. Luckily, the lens that comes with the camera (15-55 mm) is quite decent for a starter lens. 

I'll add more on to this after another bong rip and a break to reflect. Also, any questions that may be asked. 

Remember, this is the exact same shot, just post edited in Lightroom to bring out what was already there. :aok:


----------



## ShOrTbUs (Jun 15, 2013)

i'm looking forward to our photo sessions on skype, soon as i pick up my camera


----------



## YYZ Skinhead (Jun 15, 2013)

*Whoa.*  :holysheep:  Had you not explained the process, I would think the original shot was the manipulated one.


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Jun 15, 2013)

ShOrTbUs said:
			
		

> i'm looking forward to our photo sessions on skype, soon as i pick up my camera




Cheers Shortbus! I'm ready as soon as you are!  



			
				YYZ Skinhead said:
			
		

> *Whoa.*  :holysheep:  Had you not explained the process, I wouldn't think the original shot was the manipulated one.




Cheers YYZ! :aok: Glad you dig the shots. 

I can use this thread to do more comparison shots as well, so expect more.. if there's interest of course


----------



## ShOrTbUs (Jun 15, 2013)

EllisD said:
			
		

> I can use this thread to do more comparison shots as well, so expect more.. if there's interest of course



interest you say? i do believe this forum is full of porn addicts :48:


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Jun 15, 2013)

Then I expect more people to check into this thread pronto!!  



lol, or just you Shortbus. And YYZ... That'd be fine too  As long as I have 1 person at least entertained, I'll continue. :aok:


----------



## Locked (Jun 15, 2013)

Awesome pics Ellis...I just downloaded Lightroom 5. 

If anyone wants to check it out here is the link>>>http://kickass.to/adobe-photoshop-lightroom-5-0-final-32-bit-chingliu-t7505063.html

You will need a bittorrent client like Utorrent to download it. 

Utorrent>>>http://utorrent.download1b.com/


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Jun 15, 2013)

The most of the work is done in "develop" mode just FYI (to point you in the right direction) 

Cheers on diving in. At first Lightroom was confusing to me, and I still don't know it really, but I do understand some aspects of it, and they really help!!  

Cheers for checking in HL. :aok:


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Jun 15, 2013)

I'll gladly give any and all info I know along the way.. you all just need to fund my 50mm Macro lens.... send paypal payments to _________ 


lol


----------



## YYZ Skinhead (Jun 15, 2013)

You definitely have my eye.  I wish Photoshop weren't so damned pricey.


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Jun 15, 2013)

I refuse to pay the price asked for software. As do many others on this planet.. so we do something about it. :aok: 

Lightroom is what you want for photo manipulation, Photoshop is used for after effecting of various types. :aok:


----------



## JustAnotherAntMarching (Jun 15, 2013)

50mm is not what ya want...   100mm is where its at... but big $$$  your current lense is prob a 18-55mm so why would a 50 be any better?



			
				EllisD said:
			
		

> I'll gladly give any and all info I know along the way.. you all just need to fund my 50mm Macro lens.... send paypal payments to _________
> 
> 
> lol


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Jun 15, 2013)

50mm Prime Macro is better than my kit 18-55mm lens by leaps and bounds. 

And I said 50mm instead of 100mm specifically for price reasons  But you're right.. overall I'd want that. :aok:


----------



## Locked (Jun 15, 2013)

YYZ Skinhead said:
			
		

> You definitely have my eye.  I wish Photoshop weren't so damned pricey.



*Adobe Photoshop CS6 13.0.1*
You can get it for nothing here>>>http://kickass.to/adobe-photoshop-cs6-13-0-1-extended-final-multilanguage-cracked-dll-chingliu-t6620117.html

Once again you need a bittorrent program like Utorrent.


----------



## Locked (Jun 15, 2013)

EllisD said:
			
		

> I refuse to pay the price asked for software. As do many others on this planet.. so we do something about it. :aok:




I must have over a thousand dollars worth of VST pluggins for my DAW. Thanks to Kickasstorrents it cost me.....ZERO. 

I just got Rosetta Stone, French 1-5 and Spanish. Total cost...ZERO. 
Gotta love Bittorrent.


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Jun 15, 2013)

Yeah I have a lot of VST's, got Ableton live 8.3 and now 9.. loads of other things. With a smile on my face. I'd gladly pay for it if there weren't some IGNORANT prices out there!! 

(Oh HL, change your link from http :aok: )


----------



## Locked (Jun 15, 2013)

EllisD said:
			
		

> Yeah I have a lot of VST's, got Ableton live 8.3 and now 9.. loads of other things. With a smile on my face. I'd gladly pay for it if there weren't some IGNORANT prices out there!!
> 
> (Oh HL, change your link from http :aok: )




It's all good Ellis. I unchecked Automatically parse links so it is not a live link. 

I tried Ableton live but it wasn't for me. I use Cocko's Reaper. I love it, and you can use it for free for as long as you like. Fully functional and the only thing you have to deal with is a splash screen on start up for 5 seconds. If you buy the license the splash screen goes away. It only costs like 70 bucks US if you buy the license. I actually found a crack for it last night on Kickasstoreents.


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Jun 15, 2013)

Yeah, I've seen videos of Reaper. Not for me, but glad you're enjoying. 
:aok: 

And sorry about link confusion.. I'm still the n00b around here, hah


----------



## Time4Plan-B (Jun 15, 2013)

Great work Ellis  i too have lightroom downloaded and tbh its just too complicated so i got me an 18% kodak gray card took a piccy in flower room and now i have this setting stored on my Nikon D7000 now the only problem with this saved setting is i cannot use the A,S,P or M settings as they all show a blue hue in normal conditions.
I use Faststone for resizing etc very simple a little like me i suposse.
So if you care to give us a short post on how to use lightroom i along with lots more would be very grateful.
T4


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Jun 15, 2013)

That'll entail a few days of chopping images together etc... I need to find out how to link an image here: 



And then continue my speech. I know how to do it on all other forums, this one is just very limited. :confused2: 

I'll gladly give some descriptions .. it's not hard to be "alright" with lightroom in a general sense. It's just knowing where certain things are and what they do that's the issue. I can help :aok:


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Jun 18, 2013)

Here's a couple more comparison photos :aok:


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Jun 20, 2013)

Anyone had a look at that last set of before/afters? Also, anyone has any other thoughts or comments? :confused2: :aok:


----------



## sunakard2000 (Oct 21, 2013)

aah so its not just your camera you post edit too... and wow i wasnt expecting a 450 buck camera lol thats a tad outta my price range at the moment lol thats like 2 full room grows of nutes and soil, ouch but im sure its worth it in the end... nice job by the way


----------



## key2life (Oct 22, 2013)

I'd try to pull the highlights down, esp. in the first pic.  You can also burn in all that reflection with Photoshop, but I don't think you can in LR.  I might also try and pump a little more green into it, if you can - it's pretty washed out down at the bottom.  Nice work, though!


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Oct 22, 2013)

Thanks you two.. and @Key2life: I've come a bit further with LR and Photoshop since this so yeah, I 100% agree with you, granted I disagree about the vibrance /saturation.  

Also, I don't edit these like I'd edit something else... and by that I mean, I'm just posting multiple pics of these on a forum, so I put slightly less "care" into these, if you know what I mean. If you're familiar with LR /PS, you understand how I say this.. I care surely, but I could spend 15-30 minutes EASY on each and every pic, and that's just not needed for this situation. 

I'm happy to have someone else that knows the deal, cheers Key2life. :aok:


----------



## key2life (Oct 22, 2013)

Roger that, Dr.  I'm taking a class this semester that's teaching both LR and PS, and I'm amazed at just how much one can do with LR.  You can actually burn and dodge in LR I learned today.  Just grab the application brush and there it is!  You can also make presets and do batch edits to save time.  A great program, for sure!


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Oct 22, 2013)

Nice, yeah I absolutely love both the applications. 

Here's a new sample... this one, I can see a DOG hair!!! I need to go get that right now... I know just what bud that is! :hairpull:


----------



## nouvellechef (Oct 22, 2013)

This is info overload. Hell man, I just do "auto" mode and start shooing away and pick the best one. No editing.


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Oct 23, 2013)

Hah, you're either "into it" or not Nouvellechef.  Shooting in auto with no editing is SURELY just fine.

But this thread is for those that want to go many steps beyond that, or at least want to peak inside the madness. :aok: Thanks for stopping in!


----------



## bwanabud (Oct 25, 2013)

This is exactly what I need, the white balance isn't adjustable in the Auto mode. I can adjust it in Manual...but then can't get the pics I want(zoom length).

I'll check it out...Thanks Dr. GF


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Oct 25, 2013)

If there's any questions what so ever, please everyone feel free to ask. If I don't know it, I can find it out and relay a proper answer rather quickly... also, it seems we have a few other photog's here so maybe they would chime in. 

This is what this thread is designed for. A description of how to get quality images, if that's what you're into, and to even get them in HPS lighting and how to effectively edit it out.


----------



## bwanabud (Oct 25, 2013)

I've got some killer bud shots....but all frigging yellow from the HPS lites. I tried to adjust, just wouldn't do it....or I don't know how ? 

I'm running a Nikon P100 with a 26x digital W/A zoom....thinking of switching back to my Fuji SLR...I've got a slew of expensive lenses for it, but film development is a problem.

EDITo you have to buy Lightroom ?, it looks like it's a sister program to Photoshop ?


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Oct 25, 2013)

Well... you can purchase it yes. Or you can... find .. it. 

I've purchased it myself  Yep... very expensive, so I purchased it, I did.

To adjust the yellow out of the HPS lighting, you need to adjust your color temp more to the blue spectrum, and out of the yellow. Just don't go too blue, or actual BLUE photos can occur hah  I can explain how to do this in Lightroom, so if you end up snagging it, I'll help you out. I think you can do it in other editors as well. "Color Temp"  -  out of yellow spectrum, towards the blue, and it will get natural again. Then you do a lot more, like reduce highlights, and whites... clarity, sharpening .. lots more.


----------



## bwanabud (Oct 25, 2013)

Great info...I'll try the programs I have...get back to ya.


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Oct 25, 2013)

:aok:


----------



## lovbnstoned (Oct 26, 2013)

those plants look awesome Fang


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Oct 27, 2013)

Thanks Lov! :aok:


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Oct 30, 2013)

Bringing this thread back up for those that may not have seen it and perhaps are interested. :aok:


----------



## ziggyross (Nov 2, 2013)

I received a  a canon T3i last Christmas. What I would like to learn is how to take good pictures of trich's. I have tried a cheap macro lens with poor results. Any suggestions that do not involve buying a expensive lens would be great.


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Nov 2, 2013)

I'm sorry, but I have 0 recommendations besides purchasing the correct lens :aok: 

There's loads of ghetto / cheap ways to mimic Macro, but nothing is more true then a proper lens. Having a good camera (body) is one thing, but it will never stop there. You need lens' for portraits, for wide angle shots, for zooming, for super close up.. etc etc. It only begins at the camera (body) but it will continue until you acquire all the lens for your applications.  Personally, I'm looking to get a 50mm Prime lens, a 300mm lens and a Macro lens asap.


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Nov 29, 2013)

Bumping up the thread for anyone else


----------



## WeedHopper (Nov 29, 2013)

Yeah,,ill save money by not given a crap about pics and buy more beans,,or beer.


----------



## 4u2sm0ke (Dec 5, 2013)

WeedHopper said:
			
		

> Yeah,,ill save money by not given a crap about pics and buy more beans,,or beer.





What...you dont want take pics of the Grand Baby? 


Nice thread *Dr.G*...:aok:


:48:


----------



## WeedHopper (Dec 5, 2013)

Man Bro we got so many Pics and Videos. This girl will never have to guess what she was doing for the first 3 years of her life. LOL


----------



## 7thG (Dec 5, 2013)

Great thread Dr. G! I'm going to save this to look back on for when I get a new camera. I also have wanted to get an entry level "real" camera. It's funny because I didn't know you were into photography. I just knew your pictures were exquisite! Kinda makes me appreciate the pictures you post a little more considering all the skill and effort that goes into them. Keep em coming Dr. G! If there is anything I like more than budporn, it's HD budporn hahaha


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Sep 1, 2014)

WeedHopper said:


> Yeah,,ill save money by not given a crap about pics and buy more beans,,or beer.



Hah, indeed Weedhopper  



4u2sm0ke said:


> Nice thread *Dr.G*...:aok:
> 
> 
> :48:



Thanks 4u



WeedHopper said:


> Man Bro we got so many Pics and Videos. This girl will never have to guess what she was doing for the first 3 years of her life. LOL



Yeah, same here with my daughter. She'll be 4 in two weeks now, and we have a mass chronicling of her life!  



7thG said:


> Great thread Dr. G! I'm going to save this to look back on for when I get a new camera. I also have wanted to get an entry level "real" camera. It's funny because I didn't know you were into photography. I just knew your pictures were exquisite! Kinda makes me appreciate the pictures you post a little more considering all the skill and effort that goes into them. Keep em coming Dr. G! If there is anything I like more than budporn, it's HD budporn hahaha



 Awesome 7th! Thanks for the appreciation! 

I'll have to update this with another before / after


----------



## Dr. Green Fang (Feb 26, 2015)

It's been awhile since I contributed a before and after. 

This one isn't so amazing, but either way.. here you go  

View attachment PicWithout (1 of 1).JPG


View attachment PicWith (1 of 1).JPG


----------

