[Jocko]

Here is an image of a city street, once again, Edinburgh, where I hope I have learned the lessons from your previous critiques of my cityscapes.
This image is a more recent one, shot in raw format (for which I had an original to work from) and I have tried to incorporate the advice you knowledgeable chaps have imparted. Thank you for your good advice.

   
Nikon D80, 1/250 sec, f8, ISO 100, 27mm lens equivalent.

[EdMak]

Big improvements show John, slight crit, pic taken July, great weather, warm it up a bit? Cheers. Ed.

[MrB]

Nice image, and I agree with Ed's suggestion (but please note, "a bit"!).

Cheers.
Philip

[Jocko]

I see what you are both saying, but I set the colour balance on the sunny side of the street for a neutral white. If I warm it up then that colour balance will be wrong. I am not saying the colour balance should be as I set it, just explaining the reason it is like that. I'll go back and play with the original.

[Jocko]

Here are some alternatives.
The first is as shot - 4650K
   

The second is my original, with the white set from the top of the surgery front - 5000K
   

Taking a reading of white from above the door on the right - 7400K - is too warm for my liking.
   

The best setting to my eyes, probably what you guys thought when you saw the original, is Lightroom's Daylight setting - 5500K
   

Do you agree?

[MrB]

I do, John (but lift the shadows, as you did for Post #1).

Cheers.
Philip

[EdMak]

And straighten up the middle. good finnish.

If you use Levels, the Gray pen, and click on the lamppost, same effect. Ed.

[Jocko]

All I did with these ones is take the original raw file and mess with the colour balance. No straightening, cropping, sharpening, or any other corrections. If I was producing a finished image then everything I did to the first attempt I would include. Regarding the Gray Pen. If I have an image with no white I will use it, but if there is a measureable white, I prefer to use that. There are so many grays out there (blue grays, greeny grays, etc), you have to be very careful. I did use the pen all the time, but now I do most of my work in Lightroom, which doesn't have the pen.

[EdMak]

My effort. Ed.

[MrB]

That looks very realistic - good work, Ed.

Cheers.
Philip

[Jocko]

That's a good one, Ed. White balance looks around 5500K and with the shadows lifted. Excellent.

[EdMak]

Ta both.
John I sampled the front door as gray, this is the result.

Cheers. Ed.

[Jocko]

Thanks, Ed. Yes, the ideal neutral gray is white in shade. The gray eyedropper always sets the R, G and B to the same values, which is how I did it when I was using Photoshop as my primary software. I tend now to only use Photoshop for image manipulation, such as correcting converging verticals, spot healing, cloning, masking and the like. All the tricky stuff.

[Jocko]

Grasshopper returns with enlightenment. I went back to the original raw file, and with the knowledge and advice imparted, I have produced this finished image.

   

[EdMak]

Definately cooking by gas John. Cheers. Ed.

[Jeffbridge]

Fantastic shot!!! Really nice!

[Jocko]

Fantastic shot!!! Really nice!

Thank you. We got there in the end.