Photo Editing is No Substitute for Photography Technique

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MPSanSouci

Senior Member
I .. DO .. agree that everyone has their opinion and their right to use whatever tools and/or abilities that find necessary to get the pictures and composition that are striving for. I also highly appreciate everyone's comments!! :pride: I strive to shoot the best pictures I can with what I know and what I understand about all the variables with my D5200. With each picture I take, they seem to get better as I go.

What I do find very difficult to 'understand' is that this is only my .. SECOND .. post on this forum and why do they both bring up such controversy?

My initial aim is not to create a debate ( like this one ), but rather share my findings. I do read a lot of photography articles and posts to try and further my knowledge in photography to "try" and make myself better at what I love to do. Some people/members have taken me aside and given me their thoughts and shared their wisdom .. for that I am eternally grateful and take everything I have been told to make my shots that much better!

I apologize if I have, in any way, offended anyone as this post/thread was not meant to be that way. :crushed:

Michael
 
C

Carolina Photo Guy

Senior Member
MPSanSouci said:
I .. DO .. agree that everyone has their opinion and their right to use whatever tools and/or abilities that find necessary to get the pictures and composition that are striving for. I also highly appreciate everyone's comments!! :pride: I strive to shoot the best pictures I can with what I know and what I understand about all the variables with my D5200. With each picture I take, they seem to get better as I go.

What I do find very difficult to 'understand' is that this is only my .. SECOND .. post on this forum and why do they both bring up such controversy?

My initial aim is not to create a debate ( like this one ), but rather share my findings. I do read a lot of photography articles and posts to try and further my knowledge in photography to "try" and make myself better at what I love to do. Some people/members have taken me aside and given me their thoughts and shared their wisdom .. for that I am eternally grateful and take everything I have been told to make my shots that much better!

I apologize if I have, in any way, offended anyone as this post/thread was not meant to be that way. :crushed:

Michael
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I have always thought that "Three" is the loneliest number, but some would say "One" fits that bill.

It just goes to show that not everyone sees things that same way I do. Michael, your posts get people to thinking.

Is that really a bad thing? :topsy_turvy:

JMTCW

​Pete
 
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Geoffc

Senior Member
I hear people say things like:

"I only shoot in natural light"

"Post processing is wrong"

"I capture the image first time with the camera"

I take those to actually mean:

"I don't understand how to control flash"

"Learning photoshop is too hard for me because I won't invest the time learning"

"I have no vision to create something having captured the raw materials with the camera"

In reality people should do whatever they enjoy, rather than try to justify their limitations, self imposed or otherwise.
 
Michael J.

Michael J.

Senior Member
ohkphoto said:
I think it should be made into a sticky because it covers everything, including the one point that's missed when this is "debated." . . vision. A photographer and a "snapshooter" are very different. A photographer incorporates vision, a snapshooter records a memory. It doesn't mean there can't be an overlap. I do both.
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Oh yes here I agree cos I think that I will turn one time to a photographer. First I need to be a snapshooter it gives me the learning-curve to handle my gear, to sharpen my eyes seeing things that matters and bringing up my feelings of the subjects and scenes as well as respect to others and myself.
 
ohkphoto

ohkphoto

Snow White
MPSanSouci said:
What I do find very difficult to 'understand' is that this is only my .. SECOND .. post on this forum and why do they both bring up such controversy?

My initial aim is not to create a debate ( like this one ), but rather share my findings.. . . . . .

I apologize if I have, in any way, offended anyone as this post/thread was not meant to be that way. :crushed:

Michael
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Michael, there is no need to apologize. Posts like this are very educational, and it makes everybody think a little more about how they "do" photography.

Actually, the responses here were quite mellow compared to what we've had in the past. . . people actually using terms lite "purist" LOL

The more we discuss things like this, the better prepared we will be for changes coming down the road, and photography as a craft and a profession is one of the fastest changing "art forms."

​Thank you for posting the article.
 
P

piperbarb

Senior Member
MPSanSouci said:
I .. DO .. agree that everyone has their opinion and their right to use whatever tools and/or abilities that find necessary to get the pictures and composition that are striving for. I also highly appreciate everyone's comments!! :pride: I strive to shoot the best pictures I can with what I know and what I understand about all the variables with my D5200. With each picture I take, they seem to get better as I go.

What I do find very difficult to 'understand' is that this is only my .. SECOND .. post on this forum and why do they both bring up such controversy?

My initial aim is not to create a debate ( like this one ), but rather share my findings. I do read a lot of photography articles and posts to try and further my knowledge in photography to "try" and make myself better at what I love to do. Some people/members have taken me aside and given me their thoughts and shared their wisdom .. for that I am eternally grateful and take everything I have been told to make my shots that much better!

I apologize if I have, in any way, offended anyone as this post/thread was not meant to be that way. :crushed:

Michael
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Michael,

Your post did not offend me. In fact, I thought it was a good post. Some topics can be more thought provoking and also produce more visceral reactions than need be. I think that there are many people who think their way, whatever that way may be, is the only way, and anyone who does not agree with them or think their way is wrong. There is no single right or wrong way. This is one of those topics, along with which software/OS/computer/fill in the blank/ is better. There will be just about as many answers and opinions as there are people.

It was a good post. No need to apologize.
 
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ohkphoto

ohkphoto

Snow White
Whiskeyman said:
After I posted that i had purchased a D700, someone posted that I was now a "Purist", and I thought it was a compliment. Was I wrong?

WM
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LOL . . . I don't know. I guess it's really a relative term. The "purists" I was referring to are those who claim they do NO post processing (and they shoot jpeg) and condemn anybody else who does. . . it's meant in a facetious way :cool:.

I'm sure the way the term was directed at you, it was indeed meant to be a compliment and you should consider it as such :).
 
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480sparky

Senior Member
ohkphoto said:
LOL . . . I don't know. I guess it's really a relative term. The "purists" I was referring to are those who claim they do NO post processing (and they shoot jpeg) and condemn anybody else who does. . . it's meant in a facetious way :cool:.

I'm sure the way the term was directed at you, it was indeed meant to be a compliment and you should consider it as such :).
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What the 'purists who claim to not do post processing' cannot accept is the fact that they actually do. They either don't understand how cameras truly work, or conveniently ignore the truth.

Fact 1: Every camera sensor.... from the top-shelf bodies to a low-end cell phone, takes a raw photo in the beginning. Sensors ---do not--- record JPEGS. Only the in-camera processor (ooh, I just heard the purists cringe) does.

Fact 2: The cameras processor (another cringe!) converts the raw data, applies the settings chosen by the photographer, and saves the results on the memory card as a JPEG.

Fact 3: Since all this is done after the second curtain closes, it is, in effect...... post processing (a third cringe!!!). The images doesn't know whether the steps were done in the camera or on a computer. Fact is, there's no difference between the two.
 
S

Skytalker

Senior Member
While I agree Photo-editing does not substitute Photo-technique, I do believe Photo-technique includes Photo editing. You cannot be a complete and accomplished photographer without having good editing skills. I did understand that some of you don't want to... no problem with me. ;)

Of course I don't see this subject for the first time. In the past I came across an article, from a photographer I do not know, never met him, but I really liked it, and I put here a link to it so that you can read it: Purist “Photographers” vs Photoshop. I do hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Now as far as I am concerned in spite of the fact I said to myself " I will sit this out", I need to say I fully support Horoscope Fish's post, and hope it will be put sticky by the moderators.

In order to achieve what I want, I mean what I picture in my head, sometimes I work not hours on a photo, but DAYS. And that is the case whenever I do some "altered reality" photos like the ones below:
1) Disintegration
2) Freedom
3) Ambition

These ones cannot come out straight from the camera no matter how hard you try, so you will need to create them.
No offense meant.







 
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Angelos Ballao

Angelos Ballao

New member
I've been shooting photos in certain places for a while now. All the time, the lighting conditions in the places were too dim. I told my 'boss' that I won't be able to get sharp images due to the dim lighting, which causes slow shutter speeds. You know what my 'boss' replied to me? She said, "Oh, don't worry. We'll just photoshop it later on. Haha :)" Wow.
 
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PhotoAV8R

Senior Member
I believe Ansel Adams said, "You don't take a photograph, you make it."

It would be interesting to hear his take on photo editing.
 
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480sparky

Senior Member
PhotoAV8R said:
I believe Ansel Adams said, "You don't take a photograph, you make it."

It would be interesting to hear his take on photo editing.
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Just look at his images..... his process didn't end when the shutter clicked.
fiufiu.gif
 
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speadam

New member
Hi Skytalker,

I saw that you had linked to my article about purists and included it in this discussion. I'm glad you enjoyed the read, and thank you for sharing it with others. Hopefully it will help them to change their perspective about photo manipulation and will encourage them to reach new levels with their work.

Cheers,
Adam
 
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