Post Editing a Photo

[crystle]

Sometimes I feel like I rely way to much on post editing my pictures. What are everyone's thought on editing photos? Does it make you more lazy? How much is too much? What are some of your biggest no no's while editing and what are some of your goto techniques? And do you ever find yourself trying to save a not so great picture with edits? Penny for your thoughts.

 

[runnah]

Well certain things yes and certain things no. Things that no editing can fix are focus, composition and blown highlights. Other things like WB and exposure can be tweaked if you aren't miles off so I tend to worry less about those and more about composition.

 

[frommrstomommy]

I shoot for correct exposure and keeping everything I want in the frame.. in the frame! lol

 

[12sndsgood]

Since I have opened the business doors I look at processing as one of my biggest costs, time is money so if its something that takes me more then a couple minutes to fix I will trash it.

 

[runnah]

takes me more then a couple minutes to fix I will trash it.

Good advice. As my photography skills grow I've found my editing time has dropped greatly. I used to spend ages on a headshot now with lots of trail and error I hardly have to touch the photos in post. Maybe a quick sharper and WB adjust and it's good to go.

 

[crystle]

I am still at the point to where I spend hours editing. I find myself being obsessive compulsive when I sit down to do it. However, I will constantly be an work in progress.

 

[SCraig]

I'll spend as much time as I want, no more and no less. What others do is entirely up to them.

 

[The_Traveler]

The amount of time I spend is directly proportional to how far the image sooc is from the end I want to get to.

 

[runnah]

I am still at the point to where I spend hours editing. I find myself being obsessive compulsive when I sit down to do it. However, I will constantly be an work in progress.

Are you doing this on stuff for fun or for business?

 

[Gavjenks]

Crystle, I agreed (though didn't post so) in your other thread with the people who thought that your strengths were more so in the genuine emotion and posing of subjects, etc. than post processing. And specifically in the sense of the post processing coming across as a little overbearing. I'd suggest just doing less stuff in post for you in particular. Not necessarily fewer steps / effects, but whenever you get a slider where you think you like it, dial it back a little bit from there, save it and don't look back. So in other words, less strong filters and make a conscious effort not to second guess them. At least as an exercise for a little while. I think that would capitalize on your primary strengths of natural, carefree looking composition and expressions and posing by having a more natural looking post process style to match, and would also cause you to spend less time on the computer to boot.

Since you describe it as "obsessive compulsive" I assume you aren't having a lot of fun in the process, or you would use a different word choice =P so less time on the computer would probably be good whether it's a business or not, yes?

I'm not entirely singling you out. I think that anybody who goes and fiddles with the same setting more than once or twice usually ends up with less natural looking results, simply because the whole photo begins to drift slowly away from realism in little steps the more tweaks are added. And also many people, myself included, have an instinct to add mroe vignetting or more saturation than is perhaps ideal, so consciously dialing it back 30% routinely can really help.

 

[grafxman]

Sometimes I feel like I rely way to much on post editing my pictures. What are everyone's thought on editing photos? Does it make you more lazy? How much is too much? What are some of your biggest no no's while editing and what are some of your goto techniques? And do you ever find yourself trying to save a not so great picture with edits? Penny for your thoughts.

I edit as little as possible. When I take a photo I fill the frame with the image I want using a zoom lens. Since I take as many as a thousand photos or more each photo expedition it's my intention to get the best, properly exposed in focus photo possible when I press the shutter release. I have a variety of photo editing software and at one time or another I've spent hours using them. That was years ago though. It eventually proved to be a waste of my time. Now I just use Canon's DPP software. I brighten/darken, sharpen, adjust contrast and if necessary reduce noise. That's pretty much it.

My suggestion to you is this. Take a few extra seconds, if possible, to get the best photo possible. Then your time spent on editing shouldn't be much at all. If you find yourself spending a lot of time editing then you were probably doing something wrong when you snapped the photo or else you're trying to achieve some sort of artsy effect.

 

[The_Traveler]

If you find yourself spending a lot of time editing then you were probably doing something wrong when you snapped the photo or else you're trying to achieve some sort of artsy effect.

There is, of course, the huge segment of the photographic world that doesn't think that creativity stops when one presses the shutter button.

 

[grafxman]

If you find yourself spending a lot of time editing then you were probably doing something wrong when you snapped the photo or else you're trying to achieve some sort of artsy effect.

There is, of course, the huge segment of the photographic world that doesn't think that creativity stops when one presses the shutter button.

I've heard of people like that and more power to them. That stuff is not for me though. I expend my creative juices trying to take photographs in conditions that are usually adverse to a greater or lesser degree such taking photos in a very dimly lit corridor as I did in the Henry Plant Museum set, taking photos and videos of wildlife at great distances as I've done in many wildlife management areas, taking photos in museums that are full of children such as the Museum of Science and History (MOSH) in Jacksonville FL, dealing with reflections from museum display cases, dealing with fencing and thick Plexiglas in zoos, etc. That exercises all my problem solving creative energies sufficiently enough for me. Sitting in a chair, staring at the same photo on a computer screen and endlessly manipulating it would result in nothing attractive if I was doing it.

 

[The_Traveler]

If you find yourself spending a lot of time editing then you were probably doing something wrong when you snapped the photo or else you're trying to achieve some sort of artsy effect.

There is, of course, the huge segment of the photographic world that doesn't think that creativity stops when one presses the shutter button.

I've heard of people like that and more power to them. That stuff is not for me though. I expend my creative juices trying to take photographs in conditions that are usually adverse to a greater or lesser degree such taking photos in a very dimly lit corridor as I did in the Henry Plant Museum set, taking photos and videos of wildlife at great distances as I've done in many wildlife management areas, taking photos in museums that are full of children such as the Museum of Science and History (MOSH) in Jacksonville FL, dealing with reflections from museum display cases, dealing with fencing and thick Plexiglas in zoos, etc. That exercises all my problem solving creative energies sufficiently enough for me. Sitting in a chair, staring at the same photo on a computer screen and endlessly manipulating it would result in nothing attractive if I was doing it.

Have you considered trying to take pictures while on stilts - or perhaps swallowing a small camera and then shooting while bending over?

Or perhaps you could just not demean what you don't want to do and I won't either.

 

[grafxman]

The lady asked for "What are everyone's thought on editing photos?" and I provided mine. My thoughts were not meant to be demeaning to her or to anyone else here in any way whatsoever. She also asked " What are some of your biggest no no's while editing and what are some of your goto techniques?" and I again provided mine. I stand by everything I wrote in an effort to answer her questions including this suggestion:

"My suggestion to you is this. Take a few extra seconds, if possible, to get the best photo possible. Then your time spent on editing shouldn't be much at all. If you find yourself spending a lot of time editing then you were probably doing something wrong when you snapped the photo or else you're trying to achieve some sort of artsy effect."

As for your inappropriate anal photography comment, I leave that to the more skilled photographers such as yourself. In any event the only person I see here demeaning anyone is you attempting to demean me.