Photo editing...

Miss Moo!!

Miss Moo!!

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Edit My Images
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Do you edit every photo you take?

I may be silly to think this but I thought that if you needed to edit a picture then it isn't a good picture... if you get what I mean.

:)
 
If you shoot in RAW then you will effectively need to edit every picture you take as a JPEG is an in-camera edit from a RAW based on the user preferences set.

I do get what you mean about getting as much right as possible in the camera but I think some people take this to the extreme and it's perfectly acceptible to PP images as this always used be done as part of the developing process back in the days before the wonders of digital photography ;)
 
in general i try to do as little as possible. a colour correction here and a spot removed there.

but the sometimes you have to do quite a bit to get a much more dramatic feature highlighted which you normally couldnt.
 
I used to shoot exclusively in JPEG and would only really edit if something needed cloning out.

Then I was introduced to lightroom and the benefits of using it in conjunction with shooting in RAW.

Very subtle changes can make a whole load of difference to your images, for instance fixing a slightly over/under exposed image with a wonky horizon can turn an average image into decent image.

Going to the other extreme, I've taken some images that were very poorly exposed but managed to salvage them using PP, OK they'll never win any prizes but when trying to capture say a family reunion in a crowded restaurant with mixed lighting and obstacles everywhere, it was better than no image at all :wink:

My personal view is that you should make a decent effort at getting the picture right in the camera and use PP to turn it into a good/strong image.
 
The better you first capture the image the less PP work to do. Quite often when viewing a picture there may well be an element in it not noticed when taking the shot, ie a lamp post or rubbish bin, something when removed does improve a picture. It all depends on what kind of editing your talking about, just cropping or item removal right through to image alteration.

Realspeed
 
Miss Moo!! said:
Hmmmm maybe its the norm then :)
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D5000
going out now - bit rushed
but look in the Camera menu - look for what the camera is setting for sharpness etc etc which is what it uses to convert the RAW to jpeg 'in' the camera

i found mine were set to zero

I always shoot jpeg Fine/ large image and find a bit of 'tweaking' usually improves the shot on the computer screen

especially WB as I have found the WB Auto sucks and I adjust for each shoot
 
Its mainly just contrast, crop and a few colour tweeks, not got as advanced as removing things yet.
 
Miss Moo!! said:
Hmmmm maybe its the norm then :)
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Of course it's the norm - every picture needs some work in post. Better to get it right in camera - but almost always a tweak to WB and/or exposure - cropping - sharpening - will improve the picture.
 
I edit most keepers and every one I post some where. That said this mostly amounts to a some contrast, maybe some vibrance, a straighten/crop if needed and then checking my sharpening and NR defaults are suitable for that image. Contrast is probably the single biggest change I make but it's very image dependant so I haven't changed the default yet.

It's rare I will do any creative edits.

I have found over the last few months I am doing far less editing, especially with regards to exposure now.
 
Miss Moo!! said:
Its mainly just contrast, crop and a few colour tweeks, not got as advanced as removing things yet.
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I've only just started stepping up my game on PP but only on faces yet. as good as my mouse is i think to achieve what i want to do i'll need a design tablet ultimately.

i've just done toning blemishes highlighting makeup etc. need to do pinching and slimming etc. its a big world

but its something thats now a part of photography and i dont think there would be any tog who wouldnt snip and shape his pics via post production on PS or LB
 
mani said:
but its something thats now a part of photography and i dont think there would be any tog who wouldnt snip and shape his pics via post production on PS or LB
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It's always been part of photography - just it used to be done in a darkroom!
 
Feeling slightly better now, as I haven't editied many of my pics before.... but I have just come back from New York and with all the lights and hazy weather, some of my pics need a iccle help. But I was gettng all down thinking that because of this my pics were pants. :lol:
 
awp said:
It's always been part of photography - just it used to be done in a darkroom!
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Exactly the point I was going to make. Those of us old enough to remember when digital was unheard of know that Post processing is not soimething that came along with digital, every photograph used to be Post processed it was just called darkroom developing. Even if you got your film processed in a lab then if you wanted better contrast /colour etc you had to get a good lab to do it.The variance in lab quality was immense. So your just doing yourself what good lab people did in the past.

90+ % of what I shoot is RAW anyway so PP is inevitable.
However as has been said you can at times over post-process and get a little carried away :bang:
 
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Gazamonk said:
However as has been said you can at times over post-process and get a little carried away :bang:
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I am sure i have said it before and i will say it again

Unicorns, dragons and crystal kingdoms for backgrounds of family portraits is not getting carried away :( *LOL*
 
LMAO Mani :lol: Mmm? :thinking: never thought of that, might give it a go. Now what did I do with that Middle Earth background cloth ?
 
Gazamonk said:
Exactly the point I was going to make. Those of us old enough to remember when digital was unheard of know that Post processing is not soimething that came along with digital, every photograph used to be Post processed it was just called darkroom developing. Even if you got your film processed in a lab then if you wanted better contrast /colour etc you had to get a good lab to do it.The variance in lab quality was immense. So your just doing yourself what good lab people did in the past.

90+ % of what I shoot is RAW anyway so PP is inevitable.
However as has been said you can at times over post-process and get a little carried away :bang:
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Spot on I too agree with this.
I crop and boost contrast on most with a little gamma and saturation tweak maybe.
 
It's your photograph, and it's entirely up to you. As others have said, PP used to be done in the darkroom, but digital technology has made it easier and you can be a lot more creative now.

I do tend to side with the "get it right when you shoot" school, but I think this has more to do with saving time in post and personal satisfaction than anything else. It's not a rule.

The only real exceptions I can think of are forensic photography, and where anything other than modest adjustments could be seen as significant or material alterations to the image that could impact it's veracity in a context where this is important. News photography and competitions (some have their own rules) spring to mind.
 
I don't edit every photo I take, only the ones that I am going to do something with, I don't see the point in editing an image for it just to sit on my hard drive.
 
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