The difference between saturation and oversaturation...or not?

[Abitconfused]

There is little doubt that this image is saturated. But is it oversaturated?



The same image with more modest application of saturation...



Which is best?

[Stagecoach]

Ed, I do not think there is a definitive answer as to which one is best. To me they both look acceptable but you are the one that was at the location and saw the scene in the lighting at that time.

Grahame

[IzzieK]

Saturation and oversaturation depends on how the object or shot you took really looked like when you were there. I agree with Grahame.

[Shadowman]

They look fine.

[Mike Buckley]

Both look fine to me but it's what you like that is most important.

I disagree that the question of how much saturation to use has to do with the scene that you witnessed. Instead, it has to do with how you want to make the photo, how you want it to appear.

[Colin Southern]

#2 has the more realistic saturation, but it's also a tad flat, which inturn also affects saturation.

This is image #2 with the shadows clipped correctly and a touch of sharpening added:

[DanK]

with the shadows clipped correctly

Am I right that by this you mean that you deliberately clipped the shadows, where there was extraneous detail, in order to increase the tonal range in the rest of the image?

[ajohnw]

I suspect Colin did that this way using levels rather than curves as it needs a minor adjustment. I also moved the mid tone slider to taste.



I would probably go a bit more up from 2 on the black end. The mid tone slider can be used to adjust the murky dark stains on the pipes. The writing on the white board on the vertical pipe is lost.

Saturation can be used as a sort of contrast adjustment. How far to go is up to the person that does it really within limits.

John
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[saea501]

Both look fine to me but it's what you like that is most important.

I disagree that the question of how much saturation to use has to do with the scene that you witnessed. Instead, it has to do with how you want to make the photo, how you want it to appear.

This.

Photography is very subjective. I depends greatly on the picture itself. I have worked some that lent themselves to great saturation or, to the contrary, bleeding out the color. Black and white as well....some images look fantastic with the levels pushed very far. Others simply won't take that kind of process. You shoot and process as your work dictates.

[Brev00]

One trick in deciding between saturation levels is to go too far. Your #1 is a bit strong in the orange but does not seem terribly over processed. Push the pedal down a little further and then compare that to a more normal rendition. Sometimes I like to push the saturation. Using a film analog filter can do the trick nicely. But, then I will want to desaturate another image (or another version of the same image). There is no right or wrong but saving to jpeg makes it so. Also, for me, I would just tone down the cement a bit. The brightness of some elements combined with the color is a bit harsh for me. I sometimes like to lower the brightness of some colors while raising the saturation levels. Having control of individual color channels can make a big difference.

[Colin Southern]

Am I right that by this you mean that you deliberately clipped the shadows, where there was extraneous detail, in order to increase the tonal range in the rest of the image?

I just raised the black clipping point slightly; the blacks were looking a little gray. Sorry, "clipped the shadows" wasn't quite the right phrase to use (although it would have deepened them a little).

Point I wanted to make is that clipping points and gamma need to be correct before any saturation adjustments because they have an effect on saturation (that's why the sky looks more saturated when you stop down an exposure) (or conversely, look more and more washed out the more you over-expose it).

[DanK]

Colin,

Thanks. That's what I thought.

Dan