# How do sports photographers obtain such incredible images in post processing?



## Student (May 13, 2011)

http://photos.modelmayhem.com/photos/090924/11/4abbbd9577902.jpg

http://photos.modelmayhem.com/photos/090924/10/4abbb25009e0b.jpg

http://photos.modelmayhem.com/photos/100115/12/4b50d1b2c5405.jpg

The Photographer is called Joel Grimes.


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## Light Guru (May 13, 2011)

First off o would not call that sports photography, that is portraiture. To me looks like HDR or possibly single image tone mapping.


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## Student (May 13, 2011)

Light Guru said:


> First off o would not call that sports photography, that is portraiture. To me looks like HDR or possibly single image tone mapping.


 
I know what HDR is but What is single image tone mapping and how is it done?


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## KmH (May 13, 2011)

TPF rules and regs prohibit us from posting photos we didn't make. Photography Forum & Digital Photography Forum FAQ



> * You agree to only post images and/or other material to which you have exclusive copyright, or permission from the copyright holder that you are able to present to TPF Staff.    Under no circumstances will any instance of copyright infringement be tolerated.


 
because of international copyright laws like the Berne Convention, and the general expectation of the copyright owner that people won't copy their work without their expressed written permission.

The US Copyright office notes that when it come to the issue of 'fair use': My emphasis.



> The distinction between fair use and infringement may be unclear and not easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. *Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission*.


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## Light Guru (May 13, 2011)

Student said:


> Light Guru said:
> 
> 
> > First off o would not call that sports photography, that is portraiture. To me looks like HDR or possibly single image tone mapping.
> ...


 
Just like you tone map a HDR image you can also tone map a single image.


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## Student (May 13, 2011)

KmH said:


> TPF rules and regs prohibit us from posting photos we didn't make. Photography Forum & Digital Photography Forum FAQ
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
The work was not copied, it is hosted on a MM account owned by the original creator, a link does not constitute a copy. Anyway I removed the images.


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## c.cloudwalker (May 13, 2011)

OP, put a link to the images. This thread is ridiculous without the photos.

Anyways, I still have not decided if I like this kind of PP work but I want to ask you why you think it is so great. Seriously interested.


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## HikinMike (May 13, 2011)

Student said:


> The work was not copied, it is hosted on a MM account owned by the original creator, a link does not constitute a copy. Anyway I removed the images.



Posting a link is fine. Posting somebody else's photos are not allowed.


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## c.cloudwalker (May 13, 2011)

KmH said:


> TPF rules and regs prohibit us from posting photos we didn't make. Photography Forum & Digital Photography Forum FAQ
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
:lmao:


KmH, relax. We do have moderators here. You don't need to be the TPF police force.

Are you:
1/ Elvis
2/ A frustrated cop
3/ A frustrated lawyer
4/ A real cop
?

Darn, if I wasn't so worried about some members taking this idea seriously, I would make a survey thread out of this


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## ghache (May 13, 2011)

HikinMike said:


> Student said:
> 
> 
> > The work was not copied, it is hosted on a MM account owned by the original creator, a link does not constitute a copy. Anyway I removed the images.
> ...


 
depend on how you post the picture. the incert image of this forum use THE LINK. im sick of you whining users who complains all the time. he didnt claim it was his picture! and originaly posted the picture using the link! !ààasdfasdgasdgaefghadf sdªR@\#$WERFRSDGF


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## Student (May 13, 2011)

HikinMike said:


> Student said:
> 
> 
> > The work was not copied, it is hosted on a MM account owned by the original creator, a link does not constitute a copy. Anyway I removed the images.
> ...


 
Haha, okay then, here are the links:

http://photos.modelmayhem.com/photos/090924/11/4abbbd9577902.jpg

http://photos.modelmayhem.com/photos/090924/10/4abbb25009e0b.jpg

http://photos.modelmayhem.com/photos/100115/12/4b50d1b2c5405.jpg

The Photographer is called Joel Grimes and is a Photography god lol.

Now why do I think it's beautiful? Because it's modern, beautiful and otherworldly!


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## c.cloudwalker (May 13, 2011)

Student said:


> Because it's modern, beautiful and otherworldly!


 
Ok


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## gsgary (May 13, 2011)

Light Guru said:


> First off o would not call that sports photography, that is portraiture. To me looks like HDR or possibly single image tone mapping.



It is a single image


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## Student (May 13, 2011)

gsgary said:


> Light Guru said:
> 
> 
> > First off o would not call that sports photography, that is portraiture. To me looks like HDR or possibly single image tone mapping.
> ...


 
What do you think was done to this single image to achieve such amazing results?


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## Ginu (May 16, 2011)

I have never tried single tone mapping but I've seen quite a few photographers using similar methods to achieve such dramatic shots.

To be honest I'm not even sure that's the method used but I would sure like to know.


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## christian.rudman (May 16, 2011)

i think those images have less to do with post production and more to do with the constructed shot. he puts alot of work into making his photos as gorgeous as they are. it's not a point and shoot and photoshop setup.

to me it looks like single image done with the crispness of a quality lense and plenty of toying with desaturating the images. he loves his earth tones.

but im no pro, this is just my opinion. but im pretty damn sure the majority of his quality comes before the shutter is even released, thats why he gets the big bucks.


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## dupek (May 17, 2011)

If someone have to post process the photo, then is is something wrong with the way the person is taking the photo, unless the client request some fancy editing. Then, there is art of photography, where photos are edited to "test" of photographer (vision). The presented photos will go to art category.


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## osirus (May 18, 2011)

volleyball one looks like its mostly done with the lighting .
1 flash to camera left creating the highlithgt on the models right arm and side,
another flash to front camera right, lighting the models back.
, and another softer light lighting her from the front filling in shadows.
they have also purposly underexposed the background to get the darker dramatic effect to the photo.
swimmer looks similar, with some raw file processng to get the desired effects


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## djacobox372 (May 20, 2011)

Good lighting, and use of photoshops "shadow/highlight" adjustment along with a lot of pixel poking and blurring.


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## imagemaker46 (May 20, 2011)

First off, Joel Grimes is not a sports photographer, he is a studio photographer that creates amazing images using athletes and a lot of post process, does he do all the post process I have no idea, chances are he has a crew of people working with him.  Regardless, the photos are designed for advertising.

I would be surprised that he could shoot an entire sports event and walk away with amazing images. Sports is not setup, his images are.


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## AnthonyRyanPhoto (May 21, 2011)

That photo has amazing PP done to it.  That is a combination of both the in shot set up and the lighting.  It does have an HDR type effect, however I doubt it is an HDR image.


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## iolair (May 23, 2011)

Does the photographer have contact details on there?  Why don't you just send him a message saying you admire his work and asking if he'd share with you some tips on how to achieve similar results?

Oh, and DEFINITELY portraiture and not sports photography!


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## carldelain (Jun 2, 2011)

I have gotten results most similar to those with PP in Light Room.

With these settings (depends on the image for the most part)
Recovery = 100
Fill Light = 100 (this would be one of the main things you have to worry about. If there are a lot of shadows in your picture it tends to make them very noisy and pixelated. So, A nice studio set up is always ideal for these kind of shots, In my opinion) 
Blacks = Between 17 and 28
Contrast = 100
Clarity = 100
Vibrance = 100
Saturation = Around -81 
Then move back to your exposure and adjust to your likings.

Hope This helps!


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## ann (Jun 2, 2011)

goggle Dave Hill, or Lucis Art.


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## Village Idiot (Jun 2, 2011)

Joel Grimes uses a lot of light and HDR techniques. 



			
				Joel Grimes said:
			
		

> For the most part, everyday is different. I am still focused on the the sports series. One of my goals is to get more HDR backdrops to drop my subjects into. For some reason it seems to take more effort to get the backdrops than it does the subjects.


 
His site:
Joel Grimes - Sports One, Sports Two, Music, Portrait, Beauty/Fashion One, Beauty/Fashion Two, Polaroid Type 55/Portrait, Everyday Life, Desert Life


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## gsgary (Jun 2, 2011)

imagemaker46 said:


> First off, Joel Grimes is not a sports photographer, he is a studio photographer that creates amazing images using athletes and a lot of post process, does he do all the post process I have no idea, chances are he has a crew of people working with him.  Regardless, the photos are designed for advertising.
> 
> I would be surprised that he could shoot an entire sports event and walk away with amazing images. Sports is not setup, his images are.



Joel Grimes does all of his editing, i will dig out an article on him from about 3 months ago in Photo Pro (uk) most of the look is done with his trade mark cross lighting


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## gsgary (Jun 2, 2011)

What lights do you think he uses, they are cheap ?


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## gsgary (Jun 2, 2011)

He uses 3 lights, 2 back lights with same size modifier and keeping them the same distance from the subject and set at the same power, the other light is overhead and is always dead centre over the top of the camera he says the overhead is critical so he can drop the subject into another background the volley ball player was probably not shot on the beach


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## Village Idiot (Jun 2, 2011)

gsgary said:


> What lights do you think he uses, they are cheap ?


 
In an interview, he said he uses White Lightnings. The quote after that was, "light is light."


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## Village Idiot (Jun 2, 2011)

gsgary said:


> He uses 3 lights, 2 back lights with same size modifier and keeping them the same distance from the subject and set at the same power, the other light is overhead and is always dead centre over the top of the camera he says the overhead is critical so he can drop the subject into another background the volley ball player was probably not shot on the beach


 
I don't think he uses the same setup all the time. Some of the shots are obviously different.


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## The_Traveler (Jun 2, 2011)

dupek said:


> *If someone have to post process the photo, then is is something wrong with the way the person is taking the photo*, unless the client request some fancy editing. Then, there is art of photography, where photos are edited to "test" of photographer (vision). The presented photos will go to art category.



OMG, is this a for real comment?
Do you know anything about photography, I mean actual photography where the camera processes the signal from the sensor in a file using processing instructions given by the user?


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## ann (Jun 3, 2011)

How about all those prints from negatives? Darkroom techniques are a version of post processing.


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## Village Idiot (Jun 3, 2011)

The_Traveler said:


> dupek said:
> 
> 
> > *If someone have to post process the photo, then is is something wrong with the way the person is taking the photo*, unless the client request some fancy editing. Then, there is art of photography, where photos are edited to "test" of photographer (vision). The presented photos will go to art category.
> ...



Yeah, I ignored this one. I think I'll go back to it now.


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## Village Idiot (Jun 3, 2011)

dupek said:


> *If someone have to post process the photo, then is is something wrong with the way the person is taking the photo*, unless the client request some fancy editing. Then, there is art of photography, where photos are edited to "test" of photographer (vision). The presented photos will go to art category.



So based on your super experienced point of view as an amazing critic and professional photographer, there's something wrong with the way I'm taking photos? 

So I shouldn't have to process this photo:




To be able to get this photo as the end result?




Please O' wise one, teach me your ways. How can I have a camera float right next to a car with a long shutter speed so no editing what so ever wants to be done?


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## Glycerol Sound (Jun 3, 2011)

PS C5 now has a "single image HDR" setting, which makes it easier to do stuff like this, but theres also serious color grading here, and of course having a camera with a sensor that can capture all that (or maybe setting up manual lighting like that) really helps


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## LiquidGrace (Sep 20, 2011)

I realize this is an older topic. But I've seen those images before along with a tutorial. If I recall correctly these are two different images merged as one. Just to dispel the it's a single image rumor. 


Here's a video of how he did the swimmer one:





And his website 'tutorials'. 
behind the scenes

Hopefully this helps you understand how he was able to achieve these wonderful, emotive portraits.


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## dmtx (Sep 22, 2011)

Remember, you can shoot the model and then add the background.  This allows for creative effects.  

Google for green screen photography.


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## DiskoJoe (Sep 23, 2011)

dude go get photomatix and find out how to do an hdr from a single shot. You can do it with photoshop too but its not as easy to explain and not always the same given your photo.


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## RacePhoto (Sep 25, 2011)

dmtx said:


> Remember, you can shoot the model and then add the background.  This allows for creative effects.
> 
> Google for green screen photography.



Or in modern terms, Chroma Key.

Chroma key - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## K8-90 (Sep 26, 2011)

He has a behind the scenes site: behind the scenes


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