Saturation

[Pitotshock]

Anyone else getting annoyed with the trend of super over saturated photos? I am seeing so many photos being spread around now that look like someone took a picture of the sunset or whatever and just cranked the vibrance and saturation and post it. Obviously, people like to look at photos like that as they are generally well received/liked/shared etc. Is it just me?

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

That is why I don't show my students hue/saturation in PS... or most things to do with colour. Most of the projects I assign have to be grayscaled. No bells and whistles in my class!

 

[guangong]

That is why I don't show my students hue/saturation in PS... or most things to do with colour. Most of the projects I assign have to be grayscaled. No bells and whistles in my class!

A wise move! Garishness can cover many faults.

 

[GLS]

Is it just me?

No. I agree that the vast majority of photos you see have been grossly over processed to the point of cartoonish hyper reality. Most people simply don't know when to stop.

 

[runswithsizzers]

It is difficult to manage color, so a certain amount of "bad" color is to be expected, due to lack of skill. For those who do it on purpose, we can only hope that they will outgrow it. In the words of Bill Blake: "You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough." And also, "The fool who persists in his folly will become wise."

Actually, I am more annoyed by the opposite - the trend to shoot digital, and then desaturate to b&w for no good reason. Yes, there is some percentage of digital images which will work better in b&w. But there are many more images that gain nothing, and loose something, when desaturated. Maybe it's a good idea to teach students the basics of composition and lighting in monochrome(?), I don't know. But to me, digital monochrome seems like an anachronism. If you want the old-time film look, why not shoot film?

Maybe the two trends are related, each one a reaction to the other?

 

[Sirius Glass]

Yes, very over done.

 

[wiltw]

Velvia started the saturated color fad in 1990. It was reflected when the film makers started making emulsions with HC vs NC...High Contast or High Color Saturation vs. Normal Contrast/Color Saturation. Cibachrome was popular at the same time for printing transparencies with high saturation, too, but at the same time it was recognized as being WRONG for things like Portraits. But film companies made portrait films in HC version nevertheless. At the same time, though, there wre films known for their faithful color rendition,like VPNAll of that predated digital. And faithful color rendition films like VPN ceased to exist.

I agree when the photo looks especially cartoonish, not good.

 

[DonJ]

It is difficult to manage color, so a certain amount of "bad" color is to be expected, due to lack of skill. For those who do it on purpose, we can only hope that they will outgrow it. In the words of Bill Blake: "You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough." And also, "The fool who persists in his folly will become wise."

Actually, I am more annoyed by the opposite - the trend to shoot digital, and then desaturate to b&w for no good reason. Yes, there is some percentage of digital images which will work better in b&w. But there are many more images that gain nothing, and loose something, when desaturated. Maybe it's a good idea to teach students the basics of composition and lighting in monochrome(?), I don't know. But to me, digital monochrome seems like an anachronism. If you want the old-time film look, why not shoot film?

Maybe the two trends are related, each one a reaction to the other?

Maybe they’re not trying for the “old-time” film look. Monochrome art didn’t start with film, and the works of the great photographers who work/worked in monochrome certainly don’t look “old-time”. Sometimes color is irrelevant or even a distraction.

 

[guangong]

Maybe they’re not trying for the “old-time” film look. Monochrome art didn’t start with film, and the works of the great photographers who work/worked in monochrome certainly don’t look “old-time”. Sometimes color is irrelevant or even a distraction.

Ditto. Goya, Whistler, Rembrandt...the list could go on of artists who worked in BW. I can even see shooting digital capture in color with the intention of a BW picture.
As for myself, digital cameras are just too bulky to lug around. Most of them made a Hasselblad look like a miniature camera.