Beginner aviation photographer. How am I doing? | TheaterFire

Beginner aviation photographer. How am I doing?

Posted by ItsMeSashaYT@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 135 comments

Just grabbed my old D5200 and 18 105 lens, nowhere near what I thought was enough but turned out great.

Popped it into Photoshop, and did my thing, I have photography experience with my Pixel 7 and others, but never DSLRs.

Feedback is appreciated!

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dancanman@reddit

Fantastic shots, love the first one! What camera and lense are you shooting with, and how do you like it for plane photos?

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

I am shooting with a Nikon D5200, a pretty old crop sensor camera, and (I think) the stock kit lens, a Nikkor 18-105 that is somehow super useful everywhere I go. I love both for what photos and sharpness it takes for being 12 years old already, but I'm only using this until I get my 55-250 IS STM for my other camera, around the same year and specs, the Canon T5.

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dancanman@reddit

Very cool! Thanks for the info!

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egguw@reddit

YYZ?

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

yeah

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Honest-Country-3151@reddit

Amazing 🍀

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thegreeneworks@reddit

Good points made by other commenters but to provide a counter opinion to the others saying these feel over-edited; some do have that feeling but to me it feels like they’re pushing into slick, highly produced, corporate marketing material territory. Some could be dialed back a bit, but if that’s the style you are going for I think they’re great. I’m a graphic designer and these feel like photos I’d be provided to use when designing marketing materials.

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Yeah, I was aiming a bit too high when editing, but the corporate feel is pretty nice to me (probably the only one.) Thanks!

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WOOPAYE@reddit

how high were you for the first shot? can't wrap my head around how you done this hahah. Beautiful;

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Actually not high at all. I was on the ledge on the right, giving me a slight advantage but not by much.

More BTS photos

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letsoverclock@reddit

Anyone that says the op 's image is ai generated or from msfs2020, I can guarantee you it is not because that star alliance a330 fin948 C-GXZD is unique because of the previous rudder actuator hydraulic leak that damaged the livery on the rudder.

You can also see the semi erased placard for 948 on the nosegear.

The peeling erosion tape on vertical stab was fixed tonight

The thrust reverser cowls are still dirty.

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

THANK YOU! Finally, someone with actual proof that these are real, because I have no way of proving anything since EXIF data can be edited to display something different. Thanks again!

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1-800-THREE@reddit

I mean this criticism constructively.

I don't know what effect you're using, but these all have an artificial, unnatural feel that I don't really like. It's worst in the first one and the Air Canada one. Like the lighting on the jets doesn't match the sun angle, or you lifted the shadow exposure too much on the planes. But they look pasted on to a separate background somehow

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completelyderivative@reddit

Agreed they do have a kind of corporate(?)/edited feel, but I like the style! To each their own. Not trying to argue just offering other datapoints :)

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Yesthisisme50@reddit

It’s because they’re from Microsoft Flight Sim.

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Dude. I took these. You cannot be serious. I am actually in shock that people can be fooled this easily. The dirt and grime was removed by guess who? me. As someone who went to the airport, used a camera, and took the photo, I can tell you I took the photo.

So, maybe you aren't as professional as you think, and I'm sorry if this is coming across as arrogant, but I'm purely just annoyed that my photos are getting passed off as fake. Want metadata/exif?

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completelyderivative@reddit

Hahahahaha

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Thanks for the feedback! When I edit, I learned to duplicate layer, then mask the aircraft on the top one to have Nord control on the aircraft separately. For the sky, I burn the top and bottom, providing more subject effectiveness. I also use a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and remove the horrible yellow reflection of dead grass from the ground, and I set saturation to zero and lightness to max. That may be the effect you are getting, of the lighting being everywhere.

Thanks again for the feedback!

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Every-Progress-1117@reddit

A couple of things to try....sorry, don't know what camera you are using (I have an old Canon 500D and a Sigma 50-500 for my aviation stuff)

if you can modify the f-value and get something in the background you could try to get bokeh (burred background, foreground focus). Takes practice.

Experiment with the composition of the picture - plenty of guides on the web for this. Seriously, even a cursory attempt will seriously improve your pictures!

If the pictures are in JPG then some quality will be lost; if the camera can take RAW then you'll get everything. I use Canon and they have some good editing tools for curves etc.

I tend to do very little editing...but basically something like this:

JPG or RAW -> edit Canon tools -> Modify curves, maybe experiment with B/W over colour (for RAW) -> save -> edit in Gimp -> Unsharp Mask -> Crop -> Save final as PNG

Do everything in moderation, eg: I tend to make the curves a kind of s-shape, maybe emphasise the blue of the sky, or darkening to give more contrast to clouds. Unsharp mask to sharpen the image - use sparingly and also as the *last* thing you do before saving the final.

Otherwise, nice photos - I liked them.

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Is there anything wrong with taking JPG/JPEG? I used to take both raw and jpg, just because I didn't want to deal with not being able to share raws due to oversized file. I have a canon 1200D, and this was taken on a Nikon D5200, about the same between the two.

I get really confused with curves, and I have tried them. I use hue saturation masks, burn and dodge, and mask a different layer, and the occasional LUT in my personal photography (never in aviation.) I know it's just a stretched out bar graph that you can adjust all at once, but I will watch some videos about that and composition.

I don't have a canon for aviation yet, but since you're already in that world, I ordered the 55-250 IS STM. It is long enough, since these were taken by a 105 lens, and should be quick enough.

Anyways, this is hella advice and I appreciate all of it. Thanks!

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Every-Progress-1117@reddit

Nothing wrong really, just that JPG uses lossy compression. If these are for fun, then JPG is fine.

For books and professional stuff then PNG, TIFF etc which means BIG files and all the data is there. RAW is just the sensor data and needs a bit special handling - both Canon and Nikon supply the drivers for native handling by Windows.

I went to a few photography courses when I got my camera - things like portraiture etc. No ambition of doing any of this even remotely professionally, but was fun to learn how to get the best out of the camera and post-processing. Strongly recommend!

The best way to learn about curves was to take some pictures of clouds and sky, then just play with the overall curve (no need to adjust separate colour channels).

The 55-250 is a nice lens - perfect for this. If you can find the Sigma telephoto lenses cheap on eBay (check camera compatibility!) then pick one of those up - they made some fine pieces of kit for half or even a third of the price of the Canon equivalents.

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Thanks for the recommendation. I will start shooting in PNG, and I should export in this format too, correct? About the Nikon drivers, already had them.

About the lens, possibly a sigma might be better for me. I want to start doing airshow photography, that is, with the Canon, and the IS STM is a bit short. People do say that it gets a bit soft in the 400 to 500 area, and other suggest the 150 600 or 100 400. I might look into those, but for such a long lens, seems well worth the money.

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9999AWC@reddit

Always go RAW (heh)! And yeah I can vouch for Sigma! Sine your camera is a crop sensor 400mm should be enough (it'll give you 600mm reach) so you can save a fair bit of money. But if you can shell the money for 600mm, then might as well: more reach means less cropping and more detail.

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ticklemythigh@reddit

I’d recommend shooting RAW 100% of the time.

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9999AWC@reddit

JPEG is much harder to edit because it loses quality much faster. I used to spot with a Coolpix P510 and still post shots from it so I make it work, but you have to be very careful and moderate. RAW is just much easier to edit and deal with because it contains all the data and is uncompressed. I now spot with a D600 and either Nikkor 400mm or Sigma 600mm.

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United-Bet-6469@reddit

It's probably personal preference, but yeah, I don't like the AI/CGI effect too much either.

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Ineviatble-shirt462@reddit

how the fuck are these so good. Jetphotos time

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Yesthisisme50@reddit

They’re flight sim pics.

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Ineviatble-shirt462@reddit

are they? He says he used PhotoShop so maybe the editing makes them look like that? Idk with MSFS's graphics, it's hard to tell the difference.

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

This is not even funny now. I have shared the original pics many times in the comments, you can look through and find them. I have had over 10 people tell me straight up this is MSFS : /

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jakerepp15@reddit

No. Not jetphotos time. They have the potential, but they are too overedited and need to be cropped and centered.

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

I don't know. Also first time taking photos, but have been interested and invested to do so for a very long time.

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Ineviatble-shirt462@reddit

they're absolutely great, thanks for sharing

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giosalecrypto@reddit

Amazing shots well done 👍 To make them more interesting try shooting the aircraft right from bottom

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VladAkimov@reddit

From a photographer to a photographer: great shots!

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Thanks so much! Would you suggest a 55-250 is stm for my Canon T5 if you know anything about that area of photography?

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jakerepp15@reddit

That lens is solid especially for the price.

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VladAkimov@reddit

I'm a Fujifilm user, sorry, won't be able to advice on that :)

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Hennerz15@reddit

Thought these were from MSFS🤣

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

So many did. I've never even played the game (yes I know it's a crime here)

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Hennerz15@reddit

Take it as a credit to your photography!! I think it’s because of the clouds just behind the planes

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ticklemythigh@reddit

These are great. First one has a dreamy quality to it that I love. I would say you’ve got some sliders pushed a bit too far, but overall I like the edits. You seem to have a good grasp on exposure, I’d start working on composition a bit more. Perhaps get a background other than just the sky.

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Dini_the_Dino@reddit

Better than me fr 😭🙏

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DeeeepSpace@reddit

Bro, you are doing fantastic photos, keep it going!

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Eatagiantbagofdicks@reddit

C-

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Ok

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Eatagiantbagofdicks@reddit

Just teasing you - they look very good.

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verbal1diarrhea@reddit

Excellent work!

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thetedderbear@reddit

Perhaps a bit unnatural but I personally enjoy the way they pop. Gives it a glossy magazine quality. To each their own I suppose!

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Hellfire257@reddit

My first question is what are you trying to achieve with your shot? They way these have been edited makes the images feel very clinical. These are excellent photos for studying the aircraft as the lighting has been edited to show absolutely everything, but this is also what makes them feel unnatural and why people are confusing them for MSFS images. This is where it comes down to your personal preference as the photographer, and what you're trying to achieve. There is no wrong answer here.

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cktokm99@reddit

I thought they were ai generated. They look too perfect. You obviously have talent so perhaps just dial down the post shot editing ?

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Fast_Estimate_4999@reddit

Wonderful!

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Vertrynn@reddit

It looks too good to be true, by that I mean literally.

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Liamnacuac@reddit

I feel for photographers whose industry is and will be corrupted by AI. People can already "hand fix" authentic pictures with programs like Adobe's Photoshop, but that still requires a lot of work and skill. Music is in the same pickle. All things change, I suppose. You don't find a lot of wheel wright's or habadashers (or aircraft fabric dopers) anymore. But it's already difficult for a lot of people to detect a generated picture from a real picture. Video is getting difficult as well.

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

So many people are super confused but these are all irl photos that I edited. I guess I took MSFSs style?

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TopCatGoad@reddit

Rad work!!

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12-7@reddit

The first shot could be on the Alaska app already. Nice work!

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ChrisAplin@reddit

Except the green is gone from the plane lol

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

That can be reinstated if they do decide to contact me, but I like how it blends a bit more.

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SelectPath7268@reddit

nah those pictures clearer than my future

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

And this is under reddit compression 😳

On the actual shot you can see the reg and type if you don't know.

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mach219@reddit

This is perfect and original

Planes look less like typical pictures but more like actual physical things, that why it looks "fake"

You should continue doing shots and edit like that

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Yes, I love the surrealistic look, and I am always wondering how to make the bottom of the plane super shiny, but still dark and no yellow reflection from ground, because I want to make a shiny flying metal thing.

Thank you!

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whatasaveeeee@reddit

Better than most of the photos here

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

And I'm only getting started. So much good feedback from this community, I might post second group of photos later. Thanks for the thought!

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Belzbubb@reddit

How did you fly up so high to get shots this close?

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

I didn't lol. If you check the original, you see light poles in the way. I can remove them, but all were taken on landing except the E175 that just decided for windshear and then somehow revved the tiny little engines to decibels louder than a330 on landing.

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Mr_John_gamer@reddit

I think you might live in Canada ngl

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

I think that would be correct ngl

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

If anyone is looking for the original shots, take a look here.

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reyam1105@reddit

Hey man, those originals look super good as they are. IMHO, you just need to remove the distractions (light poles, leaves, etc.) which you did, and then do some super minor adjustments. I think the perfectly blue sky with those beautiful clouds make the background look so good that it makes the images look more unnatural/photoshopped even on the originals. So definitely don't do any heavy post processing on these. They look great!!

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Thanks, for the photos I think might land on socials/jp I will re-edit for a bit more of a natural look.

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TheEpicGold@reddit

Nice photos but I thought this was MSFS

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

I'll take that as a compliment. Thanks!

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ItsJustSimpleFacts@reddit

The processing is subjective to the individual. Your Alaska shot looks like it's ready to be dropped in a magazine for an ad, which isn't a bad thing at all.

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Yeah, it was the last shot I edited out of over 900 photos I took that day, because I kept missing it when scrolling through. I knew it looked perfect, but I don't think jetphotos will like the framing.

Eh, who cares, jp is overly picky with what they want.

Thanks for the kind words!

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lovehedonism@reddit

Nice shots.

One comment - action in an image to the western mind is often best perceived as left to right. Try some with tail left cockpit right and see it that makes a difference.

(google left to right rule photography).

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

I will try out other angles when time permits. The locations I have with this (shorter than usual) lens are abnormally restricted. Same goes for just the location, because I take transit to the airport and back. (I don't really want to walk 3.5km to get to the other side of the runway.

current location

what I need to try

YYZ kind of hates people taking photos, there is no viewing deck like schipol.

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this_underscore@reddit

This has to be in a flight sim 😡

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

2 other people so far have said that, and if this isn't /s then check the original shots. Either way that sounds like a compliment to me, so thanks!

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A1DAN28@reddit

Yup those are planes. Checks out

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Yeah that's what I was wondering. I really just needed a second opinion. Thanks!

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jimmybilly100@reddit

Nailed it

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Spino2425@reddit

Is this yyz?

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dheerajravi92@reddit

H..how? It's literally just blue skies

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Spino2425@reddit

All these airlines fly to YYZ and Air Canada has the most pictures which could be because YYZ has an Air Canada hub

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Yes, Renforth Drive and Silver Dart Drive.

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applyaloetotheburn@reddit

Amazingly Well! That first shot is 👌

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Key_Limerance_Pie@reddit

Is Air Canada Jazz finally phasing out the Dash-8? 🤞🤞🤞

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

I hope not. Yeah, I know the Q doesn't really work with the intended "Quiet" but I love how they look in the sky. Great birds to fly too, word of mouth from Porter pilots.

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Key_Limerance_Pie@reddit

Oh if I could sit up front I'd have a whole different attitude about them.

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cross_hyparu@reddit

These are really good, keep it up!

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worldrallyblu@reddit

colors are gorgeous. whatever you’re doing in lightroom, keep doing it. sharpness is spot on, good framing, you’re killing it bro!

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TheVoicesSpeakToMe@reddit

Focus on the color. The blue sky is really hard to make look too authentic. Personally, I usually try to darken it but keep close to the original saturation. It tones down its “brilliance”.

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Jedrich728@reddit

Star Alliance ⭐️

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magnumfan89@reddit

Better then me!

I just sit on the front porch and take photos of the cessnus that fly over, and the occasional md87 or b25

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Wiping off such rare aircraft as occasional is a crime up here in Toronto, that's incredible to have such cool aircraft flying. Best we get is the occasional rare livery and the an124 that has been rusting away on tarmac at YYZ.

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magnumfan89@reddit

I live by an air museum and kallata and USA jet hub. So we get 747, 767,727, md87, c47, b17, b25, trimotor, and some black hawks every know and then. There's also an airshow in July that brings the blue angles or thunderbirds, part of the CAF and tons of private warbirda

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Wow. Sounds like an aviation fever dream. We just had our airshow, sadly my 55-250 IS STM wasn't delivered in time and still somehow isn't for my other camera. Obviously, an 18 105 is not going to get the job done.

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magnumfan89@reddit

Well, if you visit michigan come over to willow run.

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zethuz@reddit

Very nice!

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screamin_j@reddit

Beautiful shots but it looks like flight simulator, take out the editing to make it look “unrealistic” and too “perfect” and they will be great and real

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Thanks for the feedback!

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MekanikMark@reddit

B-LXB looking mighty fine.

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Really clean shot, actually came to the airport for it and the Italian bluebird.

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5thaxis@reddit

I like these. I love lots of colour in my airplane photos. A little too smooth for what I would do. But you're not me and that's alright! (I'm also too lazy to photoshop out light polls lol)

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Photoshopping light poles is the easiest part about it. I use Spot Healing tool, but it won't work well if you have objects such as trees in the way.

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proscriptus@reddit

Goddamn

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riinkratt@reddit

Apparently you’re destined for aviation marketing dept. 😂

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

In my mind, destined for pilots' seat, but one man can only dream so much. Thanks!

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Hermit_Bottle@reddit

Fantastic shots!

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oojiflip@reddit

Something about the first shot just works

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

I love it too, by far my favorite. Just how the clouds fit in with the Alaska livery, and the whole photo's palette is mesmerizing. If it was any different plane, it would never look this good.

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oojiflip@reddit

I noticed you mentioned the lack of green in another comment. One way to restore the green stripe while not bringing back the grassy reflection is to use a color range mask and refine it until it covers most of the band, then either add saturation, or manually color fill it with the approximate shade

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Yeah, the green doesn't even matter, it was the yellow hue actually, but I scrolled accidentally and it moved from yellow to greens and I wondered why it reset but never paid enough attention. Still looks cool and thanks for the idea, specifically works for liveries with yellow in them.

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Mrs_Hersheys@reddit

may i steal these for my desktop slideshow?

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nothingcool17@reddit

It's good for flight sim

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

These photos are irl.

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nothingcool17@reddit

Nope

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

What? I'm the photographer. Check the original files for location and time. These are real shots.

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SnooLobsters5644@reddit

Alaska and Star Alliance pictures are great!

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Thanks!

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KG_advantage@reddit

They are nice shots but agree with some comments about they are processed to look somewhat fake. Maybe a little less smoothing and such. Great job!!

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tr3d3c1m@reddit

Very good. Keep it up!

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nfiase@reddit

i agree with others saying these look unnatural. could you post the unedited photographs for comparison?

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Here they are.

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joesperrazza@reddit

I think they are terrific.

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jithization@reddit

Maybe a bit too bright but I like it

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Borkdadork@reddit

Looks great. A little editing and they’ll be perfect!

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

These are the edited and finished product.

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Borkdadork@reddit

Oh.

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

I also don't see anyone noticing that Alaska's livery has no green. Accidentally tuned that one out in editing.

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Tortex_88@reddit

The Air Canada (Star alliance) shot is... 👌👌👌

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ItsMeSashaYT@reddit (OP)

Thanks!

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Historical-War1256@reddit

Really Great