John and I got in a discussion this week over Photoshop. He hates it. He thinks it's cheating and that I (and all photographers) should be able to set up the perfect shot, utilize the camera settings and be able to take the image from the camera into a frame. "Ansel Adams did it," he argued. No doubt Ansel Adams was amazingly talented but I am sure
even he did some manipulating (not Photoshop, but the equivalent of the time) of his finished pictures to get the contrast just perfect... I don't know. It all started because I bought a $30 Photoshop Magazine from Costco. So his whole argument was that it's fake and not the way his eye saw it when looking through the lens. Valid point I guess. I, on the other hand like to get the most out of my pictures and because I am still learning about the camera, the pictures aren't always perfect. Photoshop can serve as what used to be a dark room, correcting exposure, contrast, etc and why not sharpen it up here and give a little tweak there. I don't see anything wrong with that. But the best part is when I asked him why he thinks I look beautiful wearing makeup. After all, my eye lids aren't really that smokey color that I paint up there, and with his other argument it's unnatural... His response- cricket... cricket. Chalk it up as a win for yours truly
(disclaimer: I don't really count wins/losses in our marriage)!!
With my little victory, I feel justified in putting my time to a little "Fix it Friday" action over at
Iheartfaces.com!
Here's the SOOC (
straight
out
of
camera) shot- pretty cute as is...
But what happens if we crop a little, clean it up (ie: take out the wispy hair in her face) add some sharpening and a little gausian blur for the skin.
I like that. Now let's warm it up a little with a warming photo filter. And let's be honest. That twig that looks like it's sticking out of her ear- it's gotta go!!
Ahh. Better. And this one is just playing with a sunlight effect. I love the lens flare I added. I think it's a neat effect. I can almost feel the warmth of the sun and smell that fresh summer's eve air. **BTW- This is so against my husband's taste
And just for fun, here are a couple with added textures.
This one has a linen texture. You might need to zoom in to see it.
And this one I used cracked paint.
Kinda fun!
So how do you feel about Photoshop? Just curious since my debate this week.
By the way- check out the other amazing edits over at I ♥ faces!
6 comments:
I love that you edit the photos AND tell us how you do it. I have absolutely no clue how to use Photoshop. It seems so complicated to me, but I love seeing the results.
Absolutely LOVE your sunflare effect! The others are pretty too though.
On the debate ~ you sound like my husband and I. I edit a picture ~ he always says he prefers the original "it's more natural!" ~ and I don't wear make-up hardly ever, so that argument can't wash either!
But I agree with you entirely ~ image manipulation has always taken place, even pre digital. And as far as "what I see through the viewfinder" being how the picture turns out - not always! Sometimes I have to make compensations for light that I KNOW I will adjust PP. My eyes are much more able to adjust to variable light conditions than my camera is, without adding nasty artefacts and grain, or blowing out the whites and reds! Sometimes I have to notch down the exposure just to avoid that, with full intention of sorting it out PP. My eyes never give me a blur (unless I leave my glasses off!) or slightly miss the focus even though they 'thought' they had it right. My eyes get it right every time! My lens ~ well it simply doesn't always interpret my eye as I wish it would!! And why would I throw away that lovely 'once in a moment' shot for the sake of a little fuzz, noise, blow-out? When I can simply and easily fix it!! :)
BTW ~ I don't actually think my camera really does 'see' things with as much clarity, sharpness and contrast as my natural eye does ~ and PP brings that back to how I saw it in the first place!
I'm a huge fan of Photoshop/Paint Shop Pro! I enjoy it's practical applications (removing a hair or correcting lighting or cropping) and it's more fun uses (putting someone in a setting they've never been in or using their special effects). Count me in as an avid photo shopper. :)
I see his point, but when getting pictures done, I want them perfect...well at least close to perfect as possible. Most of the time you are spending lots of money to have pictures taken. Also, with kids you never know what kind of shots you are going to get. Some of your perfect cute shots may have hair whisps or just something out of place. How sad that you would lose those shots if you didn't have photoshop. I love these examples that you gave. I love how the photoshopped ones turned out and I can't wait for you to take our pictures!!
I'm all for photoshop, that's because I'm not that great at creating good natural photos. I love your example of before-and-after photoshop. You're really good at editing.
Ansel Adams died in 1984 and I don't ever remember reading that he used a digital camera, only film(I may be wrong, but think digital photography started in the 1930's). He did manipulate his photos, dodging and burning, in the darkroom, but not sure PS existed. I love PS and don't have a problem at all improving my photos. I learned photography using slide film, and since it was so expensive, I tried to get the exposure and everything right to begin with. Old habits die hard, so I still try for a good photo, but if that doesn't happen then I PS it. I also love adding textures and other creative things to my photos. There is a lot of argument over using PS, and I honestly don't think either side will ever win. :)
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