Post Processing using NX2

I…

am a…

Nikon shooter!

There, it’s out in the open, oh! and I shoot

RAW.

This tutorial is not about the RAW v Jpeg debate but rather how I process my portrait images after the shoot.  By the end you’ll see that I don’t do a huge amount of heavy processing preferring to localise adjustments. And the plastic look to skin is again not something I strive to achieve.  Even with NX2 you can enhance tones, paint in dodge and burn techniques all the while not breaking pixels.  NX2 may not be as feature rich as say Photoshop and it’s definitely much slower, but for me, have I mentioned I shoot Nikon, NX2 honours all of my in camera settings and reduces my workflow time. Again for me, I love the files that stream out of NX2.

The video, sorry around 12mins worth, is a slowish walk-through from a recent business head-shot shoot.  I have chosen one of the out-take images and as I mention, the batteries in the SB900 started flagging and didn’t provide the correct amount of light.  Shooting RAW and applying an appropriate amount of tweaks, the image is very recoverable.

I hope you enjoy the video and as always, feel free to ask questions and suggest future processing topics.

Paul