Making the Most of Overcast Conditions in Landscape Photography - Capture to Processing

[@dominey]

Dolomites look incredible in winter. Awesome.

[@AndyMumford]

Cheers Todd. They are indeed amazing in the snow

[@mtollin2002]

Yes, useful and interesting. But also joyful to watch. Wonderful work and wonderful to get insights into your process. Thanks!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much, glad you found it useful

[@johnscratchley3288]

Some really useful tips in this video.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks. Glad you found it interesting

[@AndyNoblePhotography]

Excellent video Andy, really like your calm approach & personality. Beautiful image too

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much 🙏

[@marksteeples7768]

Another really helpful workflow video Andy. As always, clear and concise explanations for people like me who need all the help they can get with Lightroom!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much, glad you found it useful

[@marksteeples7768]

@@AndyMumford Hi, yes really helpful. I should have asked, what's your work flow following on? Do you make a tiff file, sharpen according to output, size accordingly and thus save for print, Web etc or is/are there other options preferred? Thanks for your patience.

[@borromine]

Very succinct and helpful. Great to hear what you are doing as you do it. Perhaps others explain as they work as well but it think by making your intentions clear to technique is easier to understand. So thanks!

[@borromine]

....but I think... ...and clear as to technique ...

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much Joseph, glad you liked the video and found it useful

[@slimjim340]

So much liked your processing.I find that the radial filter helps to define a smaller area.Tks for the luminosity tip.

[@AndyMumford]

Cheers, glad you found it useful

[@spikethebike66]

Love the review and the combination of processing .. very helpful Thank you

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much, glad to you found it useful

[@petertym422]

Lovely image and very informative LR workflow, thank you Andy.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for watching

[@Adam-pm1cy]

Excellent video Andy, very useful!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it

[@jre617]

Great explanation. Very interesting; I learned a lot. Thank you. The 'after' image is so much more interesting.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks, glad you found it useful

[@jshetley2]

Beautiful image Andy!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks

[@nickshepherd8377]

Thank you Andy..Clear, concise and informative 👍👏👏👏

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for watching

[@miguelferrer1336]

Wonderful !!

[@AndyMumford]

Cheers

[@abhinav1860]

thanks a lot for this amazing video, sir!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for watching

[@abhinav1860]

@@AndyMumford it's always a pleasure

[@alannorthdevonuk763]

Great. Thank you - specially decreasing saturation as I tend to go the other way, increasing bit by bit then too much.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much, glad you found it useful

[@stans6582]

Thanks, Andy, really like the drone work.............

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much. Some of the drone footage (the shots of the peaks and us working) was shot by my friend Andrea Livieri. The road footage at the end was mine

[@Johnmell100]

Really enjoyable video Andy, I don't use lightroom myself but it was very interesting watching how you processed the image to end up with a very nice shot.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks,glad you found it interesting

[@NotFinancialAdvice]

As someone who is planning a move to Alaska... This is what I needed to see! Thanks!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for the comment, glad you liked the video

[@perjensen6396]

Great video and picture, and thanks for the information how to work with the picture, it was very useful.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it.

[@1spitfirepilot]

Interesting and useful, as ever.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for the support

[@asimeshpal]

Loved the way you explained the thought process.. Wonderful !

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks, glad you found it useful

[@markpursglovephotography]

Brilliant video Andy, some great editing tips, thanks. 😊 📷

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks, glad you found it interesting.

[@andychattaway5620]

Great video, great image and helpful post processing tutorial.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks, glad you found it interesting

[@christelleberthon]

Hello Andy, I usually don't comment that much on KZbin (even if I've got 30 million views on my music videos) but I need to tell you a couple of things: 1) THANK YOU SO MUCH for putting online all your videos, for me you're my favorite reviewer period. Your constant care of what a device will bring to your artistry is the best way to deal with gear stuff, you're a professional not a geek.2) For years i've been shooting with a point and shoot camera the Lumix FZ300 and now I've outgrown it, it's not enough anymore. I'm poor (being a musician) and your videos (I've watched all of them at least 3 or 4 times) have helped me a LOT to make my choice for a new camera (X-T3). I so look forward to your new videos, you're the best.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much for the comment Christelle, it's very kind. I'm really glad you enjoy the videos.

[@annamalairaju4017]

great picture and editing

[@AndyMumford]

Thankyou

[@Noealz]

Now that is lovely :)

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks

[@wadegibbons8064]

Thank you for showing us your editing process for this photo. I always find it very informative to see how photographers approach their editing. I would also be very interested to know your workflow when editing your X-T3 images. Do you use both Capture One and Lightroom? If so, what is your approach/workflow using both programs?

[@AndyMumford]

Glad you enjoyed it. As for Capture One and the XT3, I did a video, Mountain Photography from Capture to Editing a few months ago and it has my Capture One workflow with an XT3 image.

[@ryans_life]

Wonderful image and video Andy. Really learnt a lot from your workflow and thought process. Cheers

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it

[@ryans_life]

@@AndyMumford Very much so. Many thanks and Happy Easter

[@gburleson321]

Excellent tutorial

[@gauthierf]

The image is really nice and I think the editing part of the video is very interesting and useful. However, what strikes me the most is the video quality of the xt-3 footage. I knew it was a good camera for video but oh my god it's amazing. Love your videos ^^

[@AndyMumford]

Yeah, the X-T3 really does produce some lovely video.

[@rerod7481]

I like your post-processing. Would have done it quite similar, maybe not that dark in the sky. Plus i learnt something new (using the luminosity for graduation and radiant filters). Thanks for that.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks, glad you found it useful

[@surrogatemarker]

Loving the Mavic 2 Pro video as well !!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.

[@TarrelScot]

Love the aerial footage at the end. Amazing dynamic range from those GFX files! I’m sure an X-trans file would have started to break down if you’d pushed the whites that high.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it. The GFX does have great dynamic range but I don’t think it needed it for this image and an xt3 would have handled it fine. I pushed the whites for the middle of the histogram about 2 stops over, which isn’t all that much.

[@Batteristafoto]

Hi Andy! I just discovered you somehow! Great video. I enjoyed watching your editing process. Funny because everything I was thinking in my head you did! haha. Right on! All the best.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed the video

[@thomasjcahill2798]

great video!

[@AndyMumford]

Cheers

[@PatriciaDavidsonPhotography]

Wonderful video Andy! Looks like you are shooting now with medium format 😉 Nice 👍

[@AndyMumford]

Glad you liked the video. Generally I’m not shooting medium format, i just borrowed the camera from Fuji for this video

[@FKnoph]

Perfect! I was just looking for something to watch on KZbin tonight! The timing couldn't be better! Looking forward to it! :)

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks, hope you enjoyed it

[@FKnoph]

@@AndyMumford I absolutely did! I really like these location & post production videos, so I hope you will treat us to more 😊

[@oldgrumpyjim5003]

Nice edit Andy and its interesting what you said about capture one and xtrans. Ive recently discovered that while I can get good results in Lightroom rendering of the RAF file comparable with Capture one with Iridient etc, when it comes to editing and recovering of detail, capture one does seem to do better. Reluctantly I've started to use Capture one for my landscape stuff only, and for that reason, and for the rest of my stuff stock etc Lightroom is fine. I think we just have to accept that until adobe sorts itself out with xtrans we have to incorporate Capture one into our workflow. Its not just the Raf conversion but the editing as well. Recovery of highlight and shadow detail in C1 is better, just now anyway! Smashing edit of that gfx file lovely image!!

[@AndyMumford]

Yeah, I’m still torn between Lightroom and Capture One. Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed the video.

[@stewartlogie]

Appreciate the combination of image capture and processing. I may have zoomed in even more as I feel the sky and foreground are overpowering the mountain that is the focus of the scene.

[@petzmoo5570]

Nicely Done. Even more of an impact would have the B/W Version at 17:10 without the red.

[@frankd4875]

Very interesting to hear and see how you post-process the mountain image here. It strikes me that the cloud arrangement just above the peak of the mountain resembles smoke coming out of a chimney (in this case, the mountain peak), with a low pressure system sort of holding the "smoke" down low. Curious if anyone else might have seen that effect. Very nice job you did in making the overcast conditions work for you when a lot of photographers might have just given up due to the weather conditions.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for the comment, glad you like the video. I did notice the shape of the cloud, it was part of what attracted me to the scene...no idea what caused it though

[@willsharber]

Another fantastic tutorial! Your explanations have been a huge help in my own photography. I do have a question. In some of your other videos about post processing you use Color Efex Pro and luminosity masks in Photoshop. You emphasized that you wanted this image to be quite desaturated so not using Color Efex Pro in this case makes sense, but have you found the luminance masks on the filters in Lightroom to achieve your desired results most of the time or do you still use those tools that I mentioned often?

[@AndyMumford]

Hi William, thanks for the comment. I only really tend to use a couple of filters in Color Efex Pro; the Pro Contrast to give the midtone contrast a boost and the Skylight filter to make colourful sunsets a little more intense. While I didn't need either on this image and the tools in Lightroom were fine, I do often use them on images with stronger colours.

[@duringthemeanwhilst]

very Ansell Adams :-) Thanks for more GFX content

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for watching

[@Bluesky35102]

Awesome vid man! What gloves are you using? The tactile screen works with them, I wish I had gloves like that :v

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much. The gloves are Rab Power Stretch

[@fabulosorichie]

Did he release the video of how to proper crop the images for web to be smooth and not lose quality that he commented at the end? I can´t find it

[@zacharypump5910]

When editing this image, did you consider changing it to a wide crop and cutting out some of the dark sky above the mountain? I realize it would change the medium format form factor to something closer to 35mm film, but it would move the focal point / mountain towards a rule of 3rds layout rather than perfectly centered and guessing the foreground is more important than all of the dark clouds above. I'm only asking because I'm curious to hear more about your aesthetic of having the mountain perfectly centered this way, not because I think my approach is better :) In my own photography I always get uncomfortable with too much negative space in places .. maybe a creative crutch of mine?

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for the comment. Honestly, no I didn't think that at all...I actually wanted the cloud as I like negative space a lot and felt it worked as a great framing device as well as creating the mood. I've always had a problem with the rule of thirds because I'm firmly in the "there are no rules" camp. For me composition is more about balance and harmony, and the weighting of elements within a frame. So yeah, I felt the sky was the strongest element for mood within the image and therefore added a lot whereas more foreground didn't actually enhance the image or mood in any way. But that's just my thinking.

[@EwanDunsmuirImages]

Hey Andy, Do you find the GFX renders on the cold side. Ive just been away with 645Z, GFX50R and S on a photoshoot for 2 days, and struggle with the kelvin on them a little. thoughts?

[@AndyMumford]

I couldn’t say as I always manually set my white balance and adjust in post. Basically it’s because I shoot a lot of pianos and video and white balance changes between piano frames or during a video clip are a pain to put right so I always have it fixed. I couldn’t say whether the 5000 kelvin on a GFX is cooler than another camera because I’ve never really compared.

[@EwanDunsmuirImages]

@@AndyMumford - Thanks Mate - panos is what is I shoot too and whilst being pursued by FUJIFILM to be an ambassador..... im not sure until i check out X1D or its replacement. Its the having to correct in post that i dont like! (Currently shoot 645Z and its render is nearly perfect). thansk for taking the time to reply Andy. Appreciated Great channel btw Regards Ewa

[@EwanDunsmuirImages]

Thanks @@AndyMumford . I shoot Panos too and its the setting of the Kelvin in post that i wondered about as that is just painful. I currently shoot with 645Z where the kelvin is accurate. I am currently being pursued by FUJIFILM to considr being an ambassador but will wait to see the x1Ds replacement. My video here shows both cameras set to the same kelvin and the result being dramatically different - the Z taking no 'post'. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5CmfJhuqpqfg5o Thanks for the reply mate. Great channel btw! Regards Ewan

[@suxxesphoto6419]

Where you start from in Lightroom, the image looks underexposed? is that how you shot it? why not have pushed your exposure a lot further to the right?

[@AndyMumford]

I shot it with an idea of how I wanted the final image to look. If you follow what I did and look at the before/after images you’ll see the exposure value of most of the image (the shadows in the clouds,the foreground and borders) remains pretty much the same as shot, and only the centre (the peaks and the ridge below) are much brighter. I brightened the image by a stop at the beginning and said that I was just doing that for the central peak. I then used gradient filters to put the top and bottom of the image to a similar tonal that it had out of the camera. Exposing to the right would have made the whole image brighter and would have just meant I went through a different process to reach the same outcome - I’d have had to darken the shadows and foreground to create the mood I wanted. Instead I chose to create as much of the mood in camera as possible knowing from the histogram that no data was being lost.

[@suxxesphoto6419]

@@AndyMumford Understood. From theory alone, I have always be lead to believe that if you can push to the right, then do so because more tones will be recorded. But in practice I guess you would need a powerful microscope to see any difference? Thanks, great tutorial, watched until the end and great photo. Goes to show half the skill is post processing as well

[@pavelperina7629]

It's subjective, but for me editing went to far, I would end somewhere at 8:55 . I like photos edited to a degree when editing is not obvious. Turning upper and lower part almost into black and white is too much. Converting whole photo into B&W with increased contast and some dramatic sky would be nice as well (try Nik Silver Efex)

[@AndyMumford]

Yeah, it is subjective (although I think it’s debatable that the lower part is turned almost black). I enjoy black and white images and have had the NIk plugins back since when they were made by NIk (is it DxO who has the license now?), but rarely use b&w in my own work for the reasons you don’t like this image - Landscapes are never black and white so for me it’s not natural. But I do appreciate that like you say it’s subjective

[@Thehipsterplantman]

Have you made the permanent switch now to the GFX?

[@AndyMumford]

No, I still mostly use the XT3 as the GFX doesn’t really perform when it comes to video and carrying two systems is usually a bit excessive.

[@jameslane3846]

Andy, nice composition but this is one of the biggest peeves I have with digital. It makes photographers lazy. If I had been there with my Mamiya RB67, I would have made sure I spot metered off the lit mountain to either +1.3 or up to +2 in order to keep it bright compared to the shadowed parts and not lose information to get the image you wanted the final image to be. Probably used grads to control the exposure of the foreground and sky to help make that mountain stand out more. Second of all, digital auto white balance or even forgetting to change presets because you feel that you can simply change it later makes photographers no longer in tune with colour so you ended up unhappy that it ended up too blue once it was on screen. I would have stuck on a warming filter because I would have seen straight away that it was a too blue scene and would know how much warm I would need to counter it on the field. I have only photographed for 2.5 years yet I have learnt discipline even when I use my digital camera for the rare days when I believe that the scene would be more appropriate for that medium.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for the comment, it actually provoked an interesting discussion with my friend and fellow photographer today. There’s actually a lot to say in reply but I’m traveling in the Faroes at the moment and don’t have a lot of time. I’ll certainly reply when I get back home though, and in the meantime thanks for stimulating the interesting conversation I had here.

[@jameslane3846]

@@AndyMumford enjoy the Faroes! And you are a great landscape photographer hence why I follow you :) would like to continue this discussion when you're more free. I'm going on a trip to Skye myself with a challenge to only use Ektachrome E100 and Pan F 50 to hone my exposure and WB evaluative skills :)

[@midiplaybox3453]

I prefer the image before editing.