Editing photos

[BmDubb]

Sorry to litter the boards with my inferior knowledge

Im just trying to learn as much as I can ( My Nikon D80 and lenses will be here tomorrow!!! )

Does pretty much everyone use an editing software to touch up digital photos? Or do most of you leave them " Unmolested "? A friend of mine bought a copy of Photoshop CS4, and never even opened it, and I traded him some tattoo work for it. So Im about to install it on my PC ( I'd like to learn how to use it )

I'm a perfectionist. For the next ( However long it takes ). I will not put down the D80 untill I figure it out best you can ( Just the way I am ).

I want my photographs to look professional and very appealing, and was wondering if photo editing us widely used to achieve this " Standard ".

Thanks
Matt

 

[Big Mike]

Yes, photo editing is a big part of what most digital photographers do. Welcome to the Digital Darkroom.

Most people don't realize the 'editing' that went into their photos when they took their film to the drug store lab. Most of it was probably just some auto corrections, but the point is that many shots need a little tweak here and there.

Digital cameras have all sorts of settings and adjustments that you can set in-camera. And some people take advantage of that, so that they have little or no work to do afterward. However, most of us take the opposite approach and don't want the camera 'messing' with our images. We want to take total control over the process. To this end, we shoot with our cameras in RAW mode. This gives us image files with the most editing potential...even if they don't look as good, right out of the camera.

Now, you don't have to use Photoshop. Most cameras come with some sort of software that will allow you to do the basics...but photoshop is the ultimate image editing program. It can be daunting to dive into learning photoshop, but there are millions of resources to help you learn.

Here is a good one to start with Instant Photoshop Check out some of the other 'Understanding' articles on that site as well.

Of course, if you want to get serious about image editing...you will want to calibrate your monitor with something like THIS. That way, you know that what you see on the screen is reasonably accurate, so when you have prints made (or send file etc), they should look how you expect them to.

 

[KmH]

To learn how to use Photoshop CS4:

Amazon.com: The Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers (9780321580092): Scott Kelby: Books

Amazon.com: Photoshop CS4 Workflow: The Digital Photographer's Guide (9780470381281): Tim Grey, Christopher Robinson: Books

Amazon.com: Adobe Photoshop CS4 Classroom in a Book (9780321573797): Adobe Creative Team: Books

 

[IgsEMT]

Matt, for photos looking for professional they should be shot correctly, which is outside of scope of your question. As for editing, the answer is both YES and NO and this is the reason why. When back in film you gave-in your film for developing, if some kid working minimum wage loaded it into the printer and gave you prints, it is the same thing as you taking images out of the camera and printing them. Thus pro photographers (weddings, commercials, magazines) always payed MUCH more money for processing which included editing the image (at least color correction).
So the Q is what do you want to do with them...
My work-flow is as follows: If I'm shooting for a studio, then upon completion, I submit the job the lab and they do all of the editing and provide proofs to the studio. I rarely see the job again. When I'm shooting for my self, I do color correction myself and submit to lab for proof printing.

As for learning PS, it is SUCH an extensive program with so many options to use that one book or one tutorial isn't enough. Therefore, see if you can get a training video(s) from lynda.com, photoshop cafe, kelby training, and simple "google"

good luck

 

[abqstyle]

Sorry to litter the boards with my inferior knowledge

Im just trying to learn as much as I can ( My Nikon D80 and lenses will be here tomorrow!!! )

Does pretty much everyone use an editing software to touch up digital photos? Or do most of you leave them " Unmolested "? A friend of mine bought a copy of Photoshop CS4, and never even opened it, and I traded him some tattoo work for it. So Im about to install it on my PC ( I'd like to learn how to use it )

I'm a perfectionist. For the next ( However long it takes ). I will not put down the D80 untill I figure it out best you can ( Just the way I am ).

I want my photographs to look professional and very appealing, and was wondering if photo editing us widely used to achieve this " Standard ".

Thanks
Matt

Honestly, Adobe Photoshop is great for a wide range of graphic work but is not specialized for photo editing. That is why Adobe also sells Lightroom 2 which is specifically designed for photo editing. Your Nikon D80 will come with a program that allows you to do some basic editing. All images usually require some tweaking to get the best results. Try the program that comes with your camera and as your knowledge grows do research online about more powerful programs as your skills grow. My personal favorite is Bibble Light for editing images. It is priced under $100 and works very nicely with Nikon images.

 

[bengtb]

Even if 8 bits for now its moving toward 16 bits with Gegl...

Next version will be single windowed and gegl only...

It is cheaper than elements and much better for the amateur...that is on the web...

Raw therapee is for raw and free,,,

 

[bhphotography]

Photoshop is something that takes years to learn! CS4 has a million different tools and techniques to learn.

All of my photos are always edited, even if it's just a quick exposure / colour correction.

My biggest tip to learning photoshop, is patience! You will get frustrated, you will get pissed off. Best thing to do is just take it slow. Photography and photo editing takes a lifetime to master.

 

[BmDubb]

Thanks for all of the info guys. I appreciate the hell out of it! Everyone is different. But MYSELF, I learn best but just jumping in and screwing stuff up, and learning from my mistakes, ya dig?