Exit Signs

[david_sparks2]

I just have to say it...these things are just pests. They've ruined otherwise

great shots, are there a lot for processional shots and really are just plain

annoying. Obvious exit ways that feature exit signs are like those coffee lids

that say "Caution: Liquid is HOT".

 

Who here also has some hate for these things? To keep the discussion relevant,

what do you do to avoid them/do you bother with any clone stamping?

[gpjoell3]

David, I usually try to compose my photo to avoid them or I will crop them out of my photos. If I can't then I clone them away. Nonetheless, I do not worry to much about exit signs because they are a small part of the total package.

[jimstrutz]

They are hard to ignore. For important shots I clone them out.

[fotografz]

Patch tool. Gone.

[brooke_moore]

Yup love the patch tool!

 

I also try to avoid them whenever I can but sometimes they stick the cake in some horrible spot with the EXIT sign smack in the only place that you can work. When I do a layout I try to put something else over top layering a detail of the cake or what ever works. Makes for more interest.

 

Huge plugs midway up walls are another irritation to say nothing of the plugs on the floor at a lot of churches.

 

When we all shot film we just cropped or lived with it digital raises the bar for perfection.

 

Brooke

[david_schilling___chicago_]

Once in a great while I'll patch them out but rarely bother. I'm generally aware that they are in the shot at time of capture so I don't find them that annoying. Making sure you're looking at the entire frame at time of capture is the way to prevent them.

[kari douma]

Me too... I try to aviod them, crop them or patch tool them out.

[matt_needham]

The patch tool easily removes exit signs, plug ins, thermostats, fire extinguishers, etc... from bare walls. If there is architectural details behind the exit sign that would confuse the patch tool I sometimes hit them with the red-eye tool. It doesn't get rid of them, but it gets rid of the red.

[stephen dohring]

I curse them every wedding. If you have a 10 plus wedding Party in the church, leaving the church, in the reception that is a ton of time in PS to clone out, forget it. I edit the best ones of the B&G or wait for album selection shots. A B&W conversion helps loose some impact of the sign also. When I can I crop tight and try to cut it out. Other than the down the isle shots with dad all the other "standard" shots are pointless. They are never used. I go right with the Bride and Groom now and don't take everyone comming back up the isles. No one ever wants those shots. Missing those initial moments of the B&G after the ceremony are to big to trade off.

[surfidaho]

Unless the bride makes a big fuss, I don't worry about them.

 

Later,

 

Paulsky

[jimstrutz]

"I curse them every wedding."

 

In Church?! How dreadful. Wouldn't that be more annoying than the sign?

 

:)

[kari douma]

I too only do it on ordered prints. I don't do it on the proofs. I too would rather capture the bride and groom emotion after the wedding, than the wedding party coming out of the church.

[rannbphoto]

Standing on a chair during the action will usually give you a better angle to work with. That may eliminated the problem altogether. Just a suggestion.

[picturesque]

Avoid if and when you can. Otherwise, clone/patch/whatever or do nothing. Nervy of those church and reception hall designers to not take event photography into account :^) Anyway, I did hear of a couple, long ago, that used exit signs in images as proof their wedding photographer wasn't a good photographer. They claimed that if the photographer was any good, he wouldn't have shot the image with the exit sign in the frame. This was during the processional, where the photographer had to stand in one spot per the church rules and the entry door happened to have an exit sign over it. In the film days, too, so removing the signs was a lot more difficult. They also complained the photographer shot too many pictures of the cake cutting.

[david_schilling___chicago_]

"Avoid if and when you can. Otherwise, clone/patch/whatever or do nothing."-Nadine

 

That's quite a position to take on the issue :-)

[santer36]

as cloning and patching is very easy. its also easy to use your ladder and unplug them. most of them have a plug right under them. it doesn't get rid of them completely but its a lot easier to blurr

[richard_beisigl]

In most states, exit signs are required to be visable and lit 24/7 in case of an emergency.

In other words, the exit signs are there for your and other peoples safety.

If there is one that annoys you, relocate and then shoot.

Richard B. Southern California

[ed_farmer]

I try to aviod them, but don't worry about it much. I just remove those that do make it in.

 

Ed