Tidy result as always mate 
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Question inspired by a recent post by @nube related to the practice of editing pictures which sparked the thought in my mind.
I definitely share the viewpoint that over-editing images can degrade them in the same way too much makeup makes people look clownish. On my monitor the adjustments Iām making seem to improve the clarity of the image and remove a yellowish grainy film. Interested in any feedback or opinions. Whether for, against, as well as any suggestions all welcome perspectives and will not offend.
Example of an edited image with a strip of the original unedited raw->JPG image going through it (lighter section) :
Here are the settings that Iām editing and they tend to be very small adjustments made (adjust black on levels until the background is black on my monitor, without intensifying shadows too much)
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I think thatās the key thing there. I mean, on my monitor (I dunno what kind it is, but my girl bought it for work and she doesnāt skimp on anything ever, soā¦ itās gigantic and we have two of them haha, no idea why), all of my pics look pretty great. And I donāt do anything to them, just snap pics on the Rebel, upload them and post. But once they get compressed or whatever and posted on OG, they definitely look different than they do on the monitor.
I mean, I dunno shit about what yāall are talking about. I think back to my dad with his darkroom and everything, developing his own pictures and shit. I know about that. But I know nothing about the computer shit.
What I do know is that the last few rounds of pics you, @syzygy, have posted have looked exceptionally dark haha. But Iām just looking at them on OG; Iām sure on your monitor, they look amazing. And the pics of the flowers themselves look great, but it just looks too fucking dark. Like a gawddamn mortuary or something haha. Theyāre living plants! Make them look alive! Haha.
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Yeah Iām gonna try to mess around with some white background stuff and maybe some tent shots more next round if there are photogenic flowers worth taking pictures of again. Just using a flash in the tent feels tricky with the reflectivity but Iāll see if I can figure something out. Thanks for the feedback!
Some BlackTriangle and Devilās Hashplant seeded w/ Goji OG test shots
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Your monitor may look perfect as mentioned. They are pretty dark on my phone view. Have you looked from another device. I like that last bokeh effect. I only use my phone for OG. All my phone images get auto corrected. All your photos look great just a bit dark.
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It is tricky to use the flash in a tent I feel like. I think if your buds are really frosty the flash can make the buds look to shiny or shimmery. Iām just using the built-in on my camera, but thinking of upgrading to an external, as you can have more control that way, and I think your photos show that. Most of the guys on instagram I see doing professional shots, are using some sort of light box for the bud shots, to control the reflectivity of the flash Iām guessing. I think your darker photos look as good as the oneās in the tent, the darker ones looks pretty good on my MacBook, just a bit more moody. Thereās a fine balance that Iām trying to find between too much light/exposure and too little. Itās cool to experiment, thanks for posting up your experiences.
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Appreciate the feedback everyone, thanks!
Yeah this is the problem Iām attempting to address as well. Iām trying to avoid that artificial frost look that comes with the territory of using flash, and it feels like you have to skirt the line of using it just enough to display the calyxes at their true color without making the flowers look frostier than they are due to that shimmery reflecting effect. Too strong and the flowers look overexposed or a āfakeā frosty to me. The angled light does seems to be helping a bit with that. Iāve noticed when I use the flash in the hot-shoe is when I run into this problem the most.
Iāll probably have to start using the histogram and learn how to use it properly because blown highlights seem to be a reoccurring problem for me with brighter settings. Probably the key to doing the wider aperture shots Iām guessing.
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For sure. Iād be interested to hear/read what you need to do to make āwhite background picsā look good. Iām sure youāve seen mine, plants up against a white wall or closet doors, full-on shadows everywhere. Itās never my intention to go for the late-90ās/early-2000ās Vice Magazine/Terry Richardson-style shots haha, but thatās what I always end up with.
Maybe it is my intention. A little bitā¦ haha!
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Another 2017 Goji OG that didnāt show any signs of intersex (as far as I could tell at least) giving me another opportunity to take a few pictures.
Notes : Low odor, maybe slightly floral and berry. Loose, elongated foxtailing flowers. Adequate trichome coverage but feels more powdery than sticky.
More disappointment from the 2017 Gojis. Will probably try it at some point but is probably more worthwhile as compost material judging by the smell (the mother in those F2s smelled like this as well and had bland effects).
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Pictures posted w/ permission from @bytheKasiz , thanks for testing these out!
Another 2021 Goji F2 coming along nicely, looks similar structure to the sharpie smelling pheno I have (only one that needed staking)
Some SSDD (BubbaShine pheno) x Goji OG
Interested to see how these turn out!
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Surely thatās Darktable that youāre using right?
Best to do color grading/adjusting in a dark room or at night Iāve found.
Pics look great!
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Yeah, doing the adjustments in Darktable and then it shifts it to GIMP where I can export as JPG. Not too much in the way of resources for it compared to Lightroom but Iām not willing to do a cloud-based image editing program or pay a monthly subscription either haha.
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What language is that @syzygy 
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I find Darktable just as if not more powerful than LR and best of all itās free just a bit of a learning curve thatās all.
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a whole lot of gibberish 
Yeah one of these days Iām going to go through some of the tutorials that are on YT. There are a couple of hour long videos that seem interesting, like " Why do darktable colours look like sh*t ? (And other colour appearance matters)". Good to hear that Iām not losing much if anything by using DT rather than Lightroom once the learning curve is passed!
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I donāt think you will find a more comprehensive tutorial channel than this one. Heās a LR convert too!
https://www.youtube.com/user/audio2u/videos
Start with these two
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhnrrn4Mv-w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhnrrn4Mv-w
Another decent channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/s7habo/videos
I think this guy is one of the developers good channel too!
https://www.youtube.com/c/Aur%C3%A9lienPIERREPhoto/videos
Should be more than enough to help you out.
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Well it seems I was wrong about DT lacking resources. Looks like a ton of useful videos to check out. Thanks for posting it here too, this way others can benefit as well!
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First channel will have you covered with more videos than youāll most likely ever need. The other two are complimentaryā¦
First guy is a pro photographer and he uses it for all his post work. Iām sure once you watch the first couple of videos I posted you will really see how deep you can go with DT
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Quick update :
During trim I have not seen any signs of intersex in the usual locations such as emerging from mature calyxes, under flowers, or anywhere else for that matter. There are immature seeds in some but thatās to be expected when pollen is flying around. Didnāt have enough time to take as many pictures as Iād like or do anything other than crop them. Here are 2 different phenos. Everything is on the sticky side and still has a good strength aroma.
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Damn, dude, that first pic is looking impressive as a motherfucker. Very crystal-y. Howās she smoke?
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