Anyone's a photographer, if they can photoshop

[minicoop1985]

I discovered that my wife was into film photography. Big time. Before we got married, about 7 years ago. She said with the advent of digital cameras, and Photoshop, she lost all desire for it. The fact that images can be manipulated so easily now just ruins it for her. Period. I don't get it. At all. But that's how she feels.

My wife had a similar ideology. She doesn't like the way I take things to edit. She's SOOC or hit the highway. Used to shoot lots of film. I remember when she got her first digital camera (a Panasonic Lumix Superzoom that I recently converted to IR) probably 8 years ago. She felt guilty for about a week, until she saw her shots on a computer. She still doesn't like editing, but I keep telling her it's not THAT bad, so long as you still end up with what you saw in the end-it's just a different means of getting there.

For the record, photoshop makes a photographer like a Ferrari 360 Modena makes a race driver. They don't. Everyone knows it's the DSLR that makes the pro... Sheesh.

 

[TreeofLifeStairs]

I'm interested in seeing the results of your wager. When is his week up with your camera?

 

[AlanKlein]

What do you say when someone asks about your photo, "Did you Photoshop it?"

Do you tell the truth? Do you lie about some of the editing? Do you care at all?


Do you think he thinks less about your photo if your response is "Yes."

Does that bother you?

 

[vintagesnaps]

I don't know, I think there's something to this. I've seen photos where people show an original and the edited version and so often it looks like the exposure was off. I'm not sure if they don't even see that, or just think everything has to be post processed and that's how it's supposed to be, or that's what they learned, or what. It just seems like some people are doing so much editing and don't seem to realize that's not always necessary if you get a good photo in camera.

Obviously there's a process involved, you have to get images off your media card (unless all you want to do is look at them on the back of your camera!). You have to get film developed to even see what you shot. So there's a process involved in getting images into a viewable form. But I don't necessarily post process photos - not unless you consider that to be taking the media card out of the camera and putting it in the computer and looking at them. I'll usually do a print and if that looks good directly out of the camera, I'm done. Other times I might have to brighten or adjust contrast, that's about it. My darkroom process is similar in that once I get an exposure time determined, if the roll was shot in the same lighting conditions I might be able to crank out prints fairly efficiently, or I might need to do a little dodging or burning, or sometimes there may be a photo I spend more time working on depending on what needs to be done.

But I've done sports where you have to get it in camera (not that sports publications don't do some editing but these days there are photos online before the game's even done so you gotta get it in camera, there isn't necessarily going to be much time for editing). Of course there was always retouching doing portraits etc. even when portrait photographers were using film so I think it just depends on what you're doing.

But it to me isn't really practical either way to have to spend a lot of time post processing everything. I love doing darkroom work, but I couldn't spend all day in there (well, I could, but I can't). I mean everybody has jobs or kids and a life and I think you can only spend so much time on it. I think there are people who probably wouldn't be photographers if it was still the so-called film era but then there are people who would, because they'd keep working at it and developing their skills til they got good at it.

 

[Dikkie]

Back in the days...
I remember my parents and grand-parents shooting film too.
But they used to shoot a lot of positive film instead of negative film. Dia slides, to put in frames in a slide projector.
As you shoot these slides, you aren't going to do postprocessing (like negatives in a dark room), it's immediately your final product.

I used to shoot that way aswel before with film, trying to get my composition the right way, settings the right way, everything did have to be perfect before I pressed the release button.
Now, with digital, I have to be concentrated less, I can afford some errors because I know I can make corrections easily when postprocessing.

That really changes the way I feel when photographing. I remember that the intensity of photographing was higher before, more exciting too. That's aswel the main reason I pick up an old film camera now and then to shoot a roll. Although it's already more than a year ago that I shot a roll now... should do it again soon!

 

[The_Traveler]

But they used to shoot a lot of positive film instead of negative film. Dia slides, to put in frames in a slide projector.
As you shoot these slides, you aren't going to do postprocessing (like negatives in a dark room), it's immediately your final product.

I do some judging at local camera clubs and a few still have a slide section.
There is an enormous difference between the quality of the submitted slides and the digital images.
The average slide generally looks amateurish compared to the average digital image and even the winning slide is rarely an exceptional image.

 

[Raj_55555]

I'm interested in seeing the results of your wager. When is his week up with your camera?

I'm supposed to get it back next monday, I'll post the results, i.e. if he actually bothers to use the camera

 

[imagemaker46]

I get asked about photoshop all the time, I tell people that pretty much every single picture that they see in magazines and books has gone through photoshop. I use it every day, I try and get as much correct in camera before I shoot so that I'm not wasting time. If a person is good enough with a camera they should be able to shoot images that don't require photoshop. I've had images that I look at and skip using photoshop as they don't need any work, but 9 times out of 10, I make some kind of minor change, light/dark/crop.

Being good at photoshop is required these days if anyone is planning on working as a professional. It's just another element, but it shouldn't be a crutch.

 

[bribrius]

I have a new development on this. I met someone that already picked up lightroom masters collection (I think that cost like a grand?) and they don't even have a camera yet. Talk about preplanning...
Nothing against them either, im sure they will be great in photography I just thought it was kind of backwards..


edit: oh, friend of my wifes. Nice woman. suppose I was just surprised. she showed me the program already has it installed in her computer..

 

[photoguy99]

Printing has always involved post processing, if only a light edge burn. Any picture benefits from a little dodging and burning. The number of serious photographers who have eschewed dodging is really small. Getting the edge burn right in camera would be a bit tricky.

Also slides were NOT always the end product. There were a number of truly excellent direct positive printing processes. Plenty of people shot slide film specifically so they could print Cibas.

 

[minicoop1985]

What do you say when someone asks about your photo, "Did you Photoshop it?"

Do you tell the truth? Do you lie about some of the editing? Do you care at all?


Do you think he thinks less about your photo if your response is "Yes."

Does that bother you?

Taser to groin, then run.

 

[TheNevadanStig]

Here's a swallow in flight, SOOC. It's great I know. And believe it or not, I have many just as good as this one.
But, lets see if someone can Photoshop it to look like one of Danny's

 

[BillM]

Stop stealing my photo's Stig !!!!!!





:mrgreen:

 

[Vince.1551]

Taser to groin, then run.

Lol

 

[bribrius]

Here's a swallow in flight, SOOC. It's great I know. And believe it or not, I have many just as good as this one.
But, lets see if someone can Photoshop it to look like one of Danny's

look like someone took danny and pixel rabbit and compiled them.