Thoughts on Photoshop?

3bayjunkie · Jan 15, 2011

Photoshop is awesome! been using it for 10 years now. I love it =)
cool photos!

Fujito · Jan 17, 2011

Garbz said:
Your top three examples have nothing to do with photoshop. These arguments have existed long before photoshop. But what is critically important is not what other people think, it's what YOU think. It's your hobby and no one should be telling you how to do it.

This is an image published in a book in 1981. I don't know the history of the image itself. But the book predates Photoshop 1.0 by 6 years.

Exactly. I got very into a discussion like this on another forum where a purist was basically bashing everyone who edits.

The fact is photographers have been editing and manipulating their pictures forever. I did film photography before digital and in the darkroom you can burn, dodge, use toner, and do interesting things with the negatives to get a picture like quoted above. There are obviously a lot of pretentious snobs out there, so just do what pleases you (and your clients if you have any).

LDPhoto · Jan 17, 2011

I don't like photoshop. I think it takes away from the integrity of the original image! Besides basic editing I don't like using it for anything!

KmH · Jan 17, 2011

LDPhoto said:
I don't like photoshop. I think it takes away from the integrity of the original image! Besides basic editing I don't like using it for anything!

Forget about having a successsful photography business then.

The original image has no 'integrity'. It recorded a 3D scene in 2D, and didn't record the entire dynamic range.

Retail photography customers expect the photographer to make them look good, by Photoshoping out the gory details.

spacefuzz · Jan 18, 2011

I love photoshop, it lets me make my pictures look like how I saw the world....or how I want to see it. Without editing things just look flat.

PASM · Jan 18, 2011

A lot of people have something against Modern Art (circa 1870-1980). I ignore them!

KamesG said:
I know a lot of people have something against photoshop
Thoughts and opinions?

KmH · Jan 18, 2011

What has art been called since 1980?

Shiva_42 · Jan 18, 2011

I'm only put off when people start to treat either side of the argument as a religion, instead of as a hobby or a vocation.

I'm not GOOD enough to profoundly manipulate my pics, so I tend to do fairly simple edits and repairs with PS, but as my understanding and abilities grow, I promise I'll try more and greater things with it.

If you are a trying to strictly document a scene or an event, I can understand an argument for the most "unaltered" image possible. As for me, as much as I am able to claim, mine is "Art", and I treat it as such. Meaning, I'll do anything and everything to it to achieve the image I'm searching for, be it kosher or not!