Natural or Editor?

[AC016]

and then you spilled the can of worms all over the table!

This particular debate is age-old and has no nice, neat ending to it (at least in the 5,000 other threads I've read on the topic). Usually they end in declarations of war and eventually Armageddon.

It's been not too bad so far in this thread but just a pleasant reminder (based on extensive history) for everyone to keep playing nice.

Yep, i don't know why this question keeps coming up. To each their own and lets just leave it at that. The only people i have to impress in my life are my wife, my daughter and my boss on occasion. In my opinion, if you are NOT making a living out of taking photos, why crack your head over post processing?? Anyhow, enjoy your Nikon.

 

[westmill]

You really opened up a can of worms with this one. As a beginner/amateur, i am doing what i can to learn how to take the best photos i can with my camera. In regards to post processing, the most i will do is crop a photo. In my opinion, if all someone is going to do is snap a bunch of pictures and not care about the settings on their camera (aperture, ISO, etc.) because they know they can fix it all up in post processing, then they are not really a photographer. They become more of a professional software user. Many people go on about dark-rooms and how it is similar to what Photoshop is today. I beg to differ. Software today is far more capable of manipulating (editing) a photo than any dark-room was. Again, i am not against using software to edit photos, i just can not be bothered to do it to the extent that some people do. To say a photo is not a photo until it is post processed, is a bunch of BS. If you are an amateur like me, try and take the best photos you can the first time around - so you can "learn" the finer points of photography. If you find them a bit dark or to light afterwards, you can by all means fix them and learn from that as well. Further, if you are taking photos that no one else will see except your friends and family, i really don't think you need to crack your head over post processing. In this instance, what matters is that the photos are decent and that you can look at them and remember the times you had.

Photography for most unless you are a pro is there for enjoyment. There are no right and wrongs, simply preferances.
You can learn all of the facts, but what you do with them is down to the individual. You would be amazed at what was actualy possable in the darkroom. I would argue though about just how many photographers had both a darkroom and the skill set to apply the things we all take for granted with digital. Very few indeed ! Dont forget though.... even if you are shooting JPGs you are actualy doing a certin amount of edditing in camera already. You decide on your settings such as natural or vivid etc and any sharpening etc etc. So its not as clear cut as it appears.

Setting a goal of trying to create the perfect image in camera is a great idea. Others will shoot black and white only, while others may choose a single focal lengh of lens etc. Some get there kicks from the moment of capture while others get there kicks from the end result and some both.
The one and only thing that everyone shares totaly on Nikonites is a passion for photography. If we all did the same thing, shot the same thing, shot the same way, used the same equipment etc etc etc how awful and droll it would be