Listing Stamps With Color-Enhanced And Sharpened Images

Surely you are joking, Mr. Taylor.

I wish we had larger images to compare. At first blush (admittedly NOT an expert on either stamp), the first images look oversaturated and the second (especially the 24c) is dim.

The former can be caused by trying to compensate for the latter, if you're not careful. Raising brightness can also raise color saturation.

I've got multi-step actions configured in photoshop that I use for various types of stamp and document scans and have built in dialing-back saturation when making an image brighter so that the end result does not visibly alter the color hues.

Purists (Hi Don!) will say that you should never alter raw scans by post-processing, and while that is true in a perfect world with a perfectly calibrated workflow end-to-end from scanner to viewer, in real-world applications that isn't realistic, and minor tweaks are usually made.

Purist or realist?

When you 'dial in' an image you are making it look better on your display but no one knows what it will look like on other monitors or displays.

If I detect manipulation of an image (for example the obvious over saturation in the original post) then I discount all the images in that listing or sale. If someone is diddling around with post-processing of the images then I assume that they are also capable of smoothing creases, substituting over tears, or Lord-Knows-What other graphic illusions. A red warning flag for me.

Obviously trying to determine 'intention' is a totally slippery slope which no one should try to navigate. And just as obviously there is a difference between polishing a car before you sell it and pouring saw dust in a manual transmission to quiet it down.

But the lack of transparency in image manipulation...and just how 'main stream' and acceptable it has become is not good for our hobby in my opinion.

Most of the 'color threads' in this community reflect a lack of information not only on ambient lighting conditions but also image post-processing. How can anyone form an accurate opinion without having this information in a stamp color thread? Howe can a person make a confident buying decision if they know that at least some image manipulation has occurred?

I think that accepting that most images have been manipulated serves to perpetuate the abuse (especially for professional sellers, dealers and auction houses). <shrugs>
Don

Well, fight the good fight if you must, but at what point does "no one should ever edit or process images under any circumstances" become tilting at windmills? It's tantamount to trying to put the sh*t back into the horse.

No fighting for me, it has always appeared to me that many folks do not care about accuracy. If folks cared about accuracy they would care about catalog values which are virtually useless, using correct terminology like 'color' instead of 'shade', or wanting non-manipulated images. I think that many people today think 'the only facts I care about are the ones which agree with what I believe'. <shrugs> The only thing that can be done is to offer information and let the chips fall where they may. (Hence the <shrug> above.)
Don

No! No! I want the stamp shown in the catalogue picture !
A yarn from "Meticulous Marie"
Australian Stamp Monthly / News circa 1980

One thing I've found is that scanner auto-exposure adjustment makes a big difference in the appearance of stamps. (I use an Epson Perfection V600). The default is on. If I turn it off stamps look under-exposed and dull. The actual stamps look brighter and better. If I leave it on the stamps look much better and generally closest to reality. Occasionally the images look a little too bright in this setting. Since it is only exposure and doesn't affect saturation or tint etc I feel the only way to go is to leave auto-exposure adjustment on. I just haven't found a setting that gives me the absolutely most realistic image possible. I switched to using a gray background instead of black because I found the black background caused the scanner to sap the colors from the stamps making them dull compared to actual. It is certainly no easy matter to get good images. I wonder if the newer images shown in this post are "manipulated" or just better due to improved scanner technology as others have suggested.

Samples are 1: auto-exposure off, 2: auto-exposure on, 3: black background





In this test the auto-exposureon gray is by far closest to what the stamps look like in real life - at least to me and on my display.