How do you know you are doing the right thing?

[Cheex]

Photography isn't the simple point, shoot, print I thought it would be when I began shooting (Thanks Dunning-Kruger). The more time I spend learning photography, the tougher it gets. Every time I sit down to process a picture I start down paths filled with indecision. Every adjustment breeds dissonance. Every tweak ruptures my illusory superiority.

Who am I to qualify what makes one adjustment better than another? How do you know that what you're doing is in fact better?

I'm probably being a little melodramatic but I want to ask the hardened professionals in this board a serious question... How do you know what you're doing is right?

 

[enzodm]

Robert Benson's "Photographer's Life" Graph | maunet

(I'm in the same path, so no advice from me -except spending time in developing taste, by looking at masters not only in the photographic field).

 

[molested_cow]

No different from any other thing in life. If you don't think it's right, it isn't.

 

[Kbarredo]

On top of that, what if the right thing isnt what the customer likes.

 

[Noxire]

Try to pre-visualize the final image before editing, then every adjustment that brings the image closer to that desired result should be considered right.

Thats how I look at it, hope I made sense

 

[Overread]

I think what you are trying to ask is how do you know how to correctly edit a photo - and the answer is that there isn't really one set method to approaching editing. The key is that you end up with the best result which is as close to or actually is exactly the creative result you want.

Learning on your own you can read a lot of good sites such as the following two:
Ron Bigelow Photography Articles
Cambridge in Colour - Photography Tutorials & Learning Community

Which contain a lot of good articles to using specific processes in editing itself. To add to that however you have to consider the workflow through the editing itself (where there are many many options). A course can help give some structure and I'm sure there are a few books and websites that detail workflows for digital editing.
One resource you can watch is this youtub series:

That gives you one persons complete workflow of digital editing - 17 parts should link one after the other (links on the right side menu list)

 

[KenC]

There's always at least a little doubt associated with any decision, but if you have a strong feeling sometimes that you should have processed differently, then create another version and do it. One of the best ways to learn is to try different things so you can see what works for you. However, if you have this strong feeling of doubt about every single thing you do, you probably need to chill out and take up yoga, or something.

 

[cnutco]

Check the quote in my sig from Mike!

 

[D-B-J]

It's not a clear cut right-wrong type thing. It's art. It's subjective. What you may qualify as perfect, i may state as being excessively contrasty. It's not right or wrong, it's your own style.

 

[clanthar]

How do you know what you're doing is right?

Wow! That's a great question. Many long years of study and practice would be the short and not very helpful answer.

I'm working on exactly that with my students right now (class in Photoshop).

Step number one: Develop the language and ability to name what's wrong. You can't fix it if you don't know it's broke. Once you know it's broke you need to be able to explain specifically how it's broke. There's an implicit assumption here that you must embrace. Objective standards for broke and not broke exist and are applied by the professional community. To continue on this path assumes acceptance of those standards. Otherwise you can just say; looks great to me and that's all that matters and you're done.

Don't make this common mistake: If it's not broke......

Here's an example: This photo is a straight out of the camera JPEG. Can you put into words specifically what's wrong with it technically. That's step number one. Otherwise you're just blinding stabbing at it.

Step number two: Photography is a discipline mediated by high technology. That technology is increasingly complex and sophisticated. You have to master it in two ways. The most important way is to develop confidence in yourself so that you know you're right despite the technology. A Canon 5D mkII with an L series lens produced that JPEG above. That's over $3000.00 in hardware. The camera did a piss poor job and the photo sucks. I am fully confident that I am right.

Those first two steps don't come easy. It will take a lot of time and practice. It's really helpful early on to get support. I learned 40 years ago by latching on to a working professional and following him around. I gladly submitted to the humiliation of having him throw my photos into his waste basted one at a time after he told me what was wrong with them. I am forever grateful for his time.

Step number three is the other side of step two, mastering the technology. Help is available but it's especially difficult to get help in photography because there's so much bad help available -- even from sources that you wouldn't think to hold suspect -- like Adobe or Nikon or Canon, etc. The money in photography is in the consumer market and that consumer market skews the entire discipline. This problem surfaces for example in your camera that has an auto white balance setting. Auto white balance doesn't work (see photo above). It does work well enough for the consumer market and it's a required feature for that market. The camera manufacturers aren't going to admit that it doesn't work -- at least not publicly.

Adobe Photoshop has three one click options under the edit menu -- Auto Tone, Auto Contrast, and Auto Color. These options will never succeed in correcting a photo, but will frequently harm a photo severely. They're there because Adobe sells more copies of Photoshop to non-professionals. Adobe isn't going to warn you not to use them. If it looks too easy.....

So you need to do your homework and read and study and be suspicious of easy answers. There are folks here who can point you in right directions.

Step three B: Overread pointed you toward developing a good workflow. Really important. I'd flesh that out with this comment; The sequence in which you apply edits to a photo is critical. Don't try and color balance a photo that needs exposure correction. Don't sharpen a photo before you size it for output. You learn this from reading and asking for help and developing habitual practice.

Step three C: (Yeah, there's a lot to learn). Use the right tool for the job. For example if you have a photo that needs a Levels correction, and as a result appears too dark, you MUST NOT apply the Brightness/Contrast tool to the photo to lighten it. Applying the wrong tool can cause secondary complications. I see this all the time.

So full-circle then:

1. You have to be able to name the problem correctly: Photo needs a Levels correction.
2. You have to be confident that you're right.
3. You have to not get suckered into pushing the Auto Tone button.
4. You have to know what tool to use and how to use it.

Joe

P.S. First step then: What is technically wrong with the photo above?

 

[dakkon76]

Saying that you can tweak it until you like it is a bit misleading. There are plenty of wrong ways to go about processing a photo. A basic understanding of curves, white balance, hue/saturation and how to effectively manipulate them is key for anyone processing their own images. Without this foundation... you may end up being the 1:1,000,000 person that stumbles across some cool "Andy Warhol" type style, but that's unlikely. Just like learning anything- penmanship, writing, watercolor... First you need to learn to follow the rules, then you are well-equipped to manipulate them to suit your style.

So... find a style you like - either by searching these forums, or by going through flickr. Then you ask how it's done and you try to mimic it. Eventually you'll come up with a style that's your own - something I have yet to do, at least with photography - but the same applies here as it does elsewhere.

As Big Mike suggests, start with work flow so you can quickly learn which images to throw out. Then move on to some tutorials on processing. SLR Lounge is an amazing resource for everything related to digital photography.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

[h=2]How do you know you are doing the right thing?[/h]

You don't and you won't. Ever.

Don't worry about it, be happy

Seriously, you can spend your life trying to figure out what will make some people tick and buy your shots, or you can just go out and shoot and hope they sell.

But you will NEVER find your style/yourself as a photog until you say: the hell with it, I'm doing what makes me happy. Then, and only then , should you try and figure out how to sell it.

 

[gsgary]

You should know what you are going for before you take the shot and just tweek it in photoshop

 

[BJF]

You may post your photos and get C&C

 

[Cuzzy]

P.S. First step then: What is technically wrong with the photo above?

I guess I will take a stab at it.

1. Road in bottom and power line in upper right
2. Rule of thirds, horizon looks like it on the bottom 1/4
3. Way too much blank sky, grass. Needed to move closer to the subject, leading to...
4. What is the subject? The silos, building on top of them, vegetation growing on them?

Just what I see with my limited knowledge.