Opinions Of Heavily Edited Photos

Like so many discussions on what is good/bad photography, Photoshop and other digital manipulation is a frequent discussion. I look at the degree of manipulation(or lack thereof) to be a photography style. When done will, it's beautiful art. I'm not much of an artist and it's not uncommon for me to not do well with heavy manipulation. I've learned to strive for getting the photo as close to how I seen it in my mind's eye as I can, then leave it at that. To much is always bad for me, a little is a huge improvement from straight out of the camera.

For those that hate the over-processed look, I find their comments to seem to stem from different core problems. Some say they hate it because they can't achieve professional results themselves. It's easy to point out some poorly done editing for them to attempt to prove their point that all heavy manipulation is bad. For others, they just prefer what they're used to seeing come out of a camera and anything else just doesn't look right to them. I'd say for either that they just haven't learned to appreciate the art form.

Heavily Photoshopped Photo Of A Tree In A Field

Ben Long, a favorite photographer and teacher of mine, sums it up nicely by pointing out that all photos are manipulated. From start to finish, photos are a manipulated frozen moment in time. If you don't like photo manipulation at all, you don't really like photography at all.

Another photographer I strongly admire, Ansel Adams, was very adamant that the darkroom was just as important as the camera. Here is a nice summation of a few of Ansel Adams lessons explaining how he approached the creative process. Mr. Adams would be a Photoshop master if given the technology that we have today.

I would agree that if you're trying for a standardized look, getting the image created to the best possible quality in-camera is something to strive for. Once mastered, great in-camera photography skills will give a portfolio a consistent quality look and feel. It is much easier to perfect this standard look by letting the camera's software do it's job. If you want to add a unique feel and further perfection to your photos, learn image manipulation.

Photography Gear Envy Websites

If a photographer wants a camera, the overwhelming majority of photography websites are geared towards helping you empty your wallet. They give you every single specification and opinion of "professional" photographers for every new camera available. I stay away from as many of these websites as possible. If the focus is equipment, forget the website.

Don't let the new, out-of-the-box, camera dream get in the way of your photography. 

If it's impossible to keep from the lure of lusting through these websites, here a few points to ponder.

• Why is a "professional" photographer taking more interest in showing you a shiny new camera than in showing their photos? 
• Read reviews of a camera from 5 years ago. For the exception of the specifications with lesser numbers, they make the old cameras seem just as appealing. These "reviews" are designed, either consciously or sub-consciously to make you want to purchase new cameras. 
• The websites earn money either when you click through an add or on a commission when you click through to a retailer and buy equipment. It's in their interest to make you just want to buy and a reason is not required. 
• You are wasting time that could be spent learning a skill. No great photo was ever made while researching specifications for a new camera. 
• I have never witnessed a photographer happy about vastly improved photos due to their new camera. In fact, their sample photos to show off their new camera are usually really pointless snapshots. 

The actual photography lessons on many of these gear websites are severely lacking. The website owners know that many readers are far more convinced that a new camera is the pathway to improved photos and articles leaning to that line of thought are far more lucrative. Limit your exposure to these sites and concentrate on more instructional photography websites.

Practice, Practice, And Practice More

Photography is not much different from any other art form in that practice makes perfect. In order to practice, you not only need to always have your camera on you, but you need to be using it. The more complex the camera, the more that it should be on your person if a photographer wishes to master their craft and their equipment.

The path to perfection in photography is practice.

It may seem crazy to have an expensive camera capable of great photos laying on the shelf at home, but even during those times when a cell phone camera is all that you own, you're still practicing. The mere practice of framing the shot is still useful in terms of training your mind to think about photos in the world around you and even how you act when taking photos.

I'm not a fan of the 365 photo projects as I rarely see great photographs come from them. These projects are where a photographer posts at least one photograph a day for a year. Very few of these turn out well. Consider that many pros fail to produce 1 great photo per day. With that in mind, an amateur probably isn't going to either. It is easy to become discouraged with the project and it's a setup for failure. In my opinion, changing the project to taking photos everyday, editing photos once a week, and posting 1 good photo a month out(or something to that effect) is a better way to get into the practice of always practicing.

Consider how other arts are perfected. It's common to take a class, practice with the exercises given, and work up accordingly. Photography can be learned in the same way. Start with some simple basics like learning the settings, then move to applying to them to compositions that follow the rules(or styles if you will), etc. Keep improving and adding skills as they are perfected. Small projects that work towards perfecting a skill are good too.

Pick a project that sounds like something that's not  a setup for failure. It should sound like more of a pleasure to do rather than a chore. Whatever it is, make sure it's a project that is good enough to hold your interest.

Let Photos Cook To Ease The Editing Process

I've heard the tip more than a few times that it's good to let photos cook a while. What this means is that it's good wait a while before downloading images to your computer and editing them. The reason for this is that when the photo was taken, the photographer was there and enjoying the moment. All of that sensory input from being there is fresh in the mind when the photo is soon viewed to soon. It's harder to judge a photo as poor with the pleasant memory of the photo adding to the judgement.

For family snapshots and things of this nature, the rule generally doesn't apply. Those photos are keepers just for the memory of the people involved. You'll be going back to those photos and deleting the poor versions anyhow. 

As I've talked about before in the editing process of photos, bad photos are a liability. Even deleting them detracts from the time you could be processing good photos. If you remove the emotional baggage that comes with having the scene fresh in your experience, deleting the photos is just a much quicker decision.

This street photo sat in my camera for a long time, but jumped out as one of about a hundred on the card that I liked. 

As an amateur, the luxury of taking your time for selecting the best of your photos is benefit. Professionals in many areas of photography are in a push for time and you'll find their opinion of this method to be that it's unacceptable. Professional photographers in artistic fields tend to prefer this method. Even street photographers that minimize all image editing, even cropping, like this method when they have the time for it. 

Large capacity memory cards help with letting the photos cook. Today's memory cards are so large that it allows for many shoots on one card. One card can be in the camera while another is in the computer with files awaiting download and editing. It's a simple system. 

Photography Can Be A Blend Of Art And Communication

To enjoy photography more, learning the many facets to it's utility as a powerful form of communication is a wise activity. At photography's most basic level, you're capturing light available bouncing off of subjects and placing it on a medium such as film or digital storage. That's all it is until a photographer puts their own personal touch to the capture.

As a photographer, you can edit the medium to suit your purposes. So what do you want to do with it? Professionals have to follow paths that generate income. They specialize and form images that will encourage others to buy their work. They've put effort into finding out what they can produce that people will buy. If they're to survive, it's their business first and their passion second. There are even some professional photographers that would enjoy nothing more than never seeing a camera again, but they have to make a living and it's their chosen profession. As an amateur, you're open to take that medium and create anything you'd like. 

As an amateur photographer, I choose no specialty whatsoever. I take photos of what I find interesting. Wherever my shoes take me, I look for shots of interest. I have my camera at the ready as much as possible. Here's one of my wildlife shots, a smiling deer. I wasn't stalking the deer as a professional would have. I was simply hiking and this deer appeared with a smile. Very humorous and it's something that only a camera could communicate. If I told someone, "A deer stopped to smile at me while I was hiking.", they'd think I was crazy, but here's the photo to prove that I'm not. 

Deer smiling in the woods.

As an amateur photographer, you define your work by what you choose, not a customer. Do you consider yourself an artist? You can limit your work to only that which is beautiful in the artistic sense of photography.

Tractor Silhouette In A Sunset

Street photographer?

Man Walking On The Sidewalk With An Umbrella In The Sun

Or maybe a landscape photographer?

Shoreline At Marblehead State Park In Ohio.

All of these photos are my attempt to do one thing and that's communicate, regardless of the genre that they fit in. It's a really cool world that we live in when you start looking at it with a photographer's eye and that's something worth communicating.

A great deal can be learned from studying the professionals. They've invested their lives into their work and simply studying their photos can inspire you and lead to better photos. That's not where the world is headed with photography for the most part though is it? We're posting photos to communicate to others about what we're doing, what we enjoy, where beautiful places are, cool things that we've found, what we love and enjoy, and even things that shock and horrify us. The better a person can do that, the better they can communicate, and that leads to a more fulfilling life. 

The Power Of Always Having Your Camera With You

The tired but true phrase, "The best camera is the one that you have with you.", is sage advise. The key to this though is having a camera with you. Try to always have a camera on you. As photographers we are selectively capturing moments in our lives as the happen. If you want to greatly increase the number of great photos, you'll need a camera on your person - obviously.

One Black, One White Chrysler Minivan

This photo of one black and one white Dodge minivan parked next to each other in back lot of an old downtown is interesting to me. Randomly, the yin yang thing happens with 2 common vehicles. I would have never thought to go find this photo. The scene just randomly happened. I was walking into work and because I had my camera on me, I captured the scene.

When I head out with intent of taking pictures, I probably find more photos in a short time span, but life happens non-stop. If you keep the camera on you at all times, your can remain in a state of mind that you are looking for the interesting things in life worth taking a photo of. For me, that's a great state of mind to be in. It keeps you "in the now" so to speak. 

There is never a dull moment when a camera is available. Bored? Practice using your camera. Need some exercise, go explore the area you're in for photos. 

I've perused some cell phone camera social websites and noticed the volume of great photos outnumbers social forums for the high dollar cameras. Cell phone cameras are out there doing the hard work while the expensive cameras sit on a shelf. Which is bringing more value to the world? Which is telling the stories of our lives and which is only brought out for the rare special occasion? 

I've noticed in many interviews with professional photographers, when asked about their equipment, the usual statement when they pull their camera up to show it off is, "It's a little beat up, but...". If your camera looks like new, you're not carrying it enough. You're wasting opportunities to improve your skills by letting your camera collect dust. Why pay money for a dust collector? Go ahead and grab that camera every chance that you can.

Some believe being a "serious amateur" means that you spent a serious amount of money on your equipment. It's not true. A serious photographer actually has their camera on them all of the time. They're serious enough that they want to take photos all of the time and they're ready for it. 

Choosing A Brand Of Camera

This is always a hot topic in the photo forums that is good time well wasted. What is the best brand of camera? What's the best model? I've found it freeing to just pick one and go with that brand.

To determine your favorite brand of camera, spend a lot of time at a dealer just goofing around with the camera. Do you like the way it looks and feels? It's more important that you would think. The more you like the aesthetics, the more you'll want to use the camera. Do you like the menu system? This is also key because more intuitive that you find the menu system, the more likely you are to explore the camera's capabilities and the easier it will be to remember where to change settings.

But isn't the quality of the photo the most important thing? It's important, but there's only a few manufacturers and it's not uncommon to find out that they use some of the same parts across brands. The differences in quality are marginal and I find that to be the least of my worries about the camera.

Of course, price is a factor. If you have to make payments, it's the wrong camera for you. Save your money for experiences and educational material rather than on equipment.

Once you've chosen a brand of camera, stick with it. It's beneficial because the general layout of the menu system doesn't change much and when it does, the company sticks with the general flow of operation. I learned to reap the benefits after buying a used Canon DSLR. I wanted a smaller point and shoot, so I purchased a Canon G15. Although many years had passed between the Canon 20D and the G15, there was still a familiar feel to how to get through the menus. There is a general feel to the photos they produce when I post-process too. After that, I bought a Canon SX50 super-zoom that has settings nearly identical to the G15 which made things very easy.

Before learning that GAS(Gear Acquisition Syndrome) is a expensive problem that kills creativity, I had a few cameras from Panasonic that shared many similar features. I could have went the same way with Panasonic, I just prefer everything about Canon out of personal preference, but both companies make fine cameras.

Another benefit to sticking with one brand is that there is far less to get excited about. If you watch photography websites and magazines pushing the latest gear, there is always something new and expensive to yearn for. When you buy it, you find out the whiz-bang technology wasn't nearly as big of a deal as advertised. If you're only following one brand, the updates are far less frequent. For example, Canon came out with the new G16. I was a little excited until I found out that it was basically the same camera with Wi-Fi added. That provides about 0 to my creative edge, so I could immediately discount that camera for consideration.

As an amateur, you're looking for small economical edges that push your craft further with minimal effort. Sticking with one brand of camera is one easy way of doing this.

My Case For A Used DSLR

I'm not a DSLR fan. They're heavy, bulky, and expensive. Many features on them are solutions to problems that just don't exist for many photographers. They're a status symbol of sorts that scream, "I'm a professional or at least real serious about photography.", and I just don't need that. I find the many options and setting to be more obtrusive than useful. Even with all of that negativity about them, they do have enough positives for me to own one.

The first positive thing about a DSLR is that owning one does make you want to explore it's vast capabilities. They are capable of any photography that you've seen, it's more of a matter of what you, the photographer, are capable of. They also perform on a much more consistent level when used by a skilled photographer.

Another positive is interchangeable lenses. The ability to change lenses opens up endless options. It's a double edged sword as it also opens up endless possibilities for spending. For the price of most lenses, you could buy another point and shoot.

The status is nice in some situations too. Just holding a big camera gives you unwarranted clout that can create opportunities mere cheap cameras don't. You can fool them with the cheapest DSLR though. Only other photographers will know the difference.

My DSLR puts me more into a photography state of mind when I take it. If I'm lugging it around, I'm out for the intended purpose of photography. There's something about it's large form factor and heavy weight that just draws more focus to what I'm doing.

The only consistent plus that caused me to keep my DSLR around is the cheapest lens that Canon offers, the nifty-fifty. It's 1.8 f-stop and high quality lens gives a look that I love. It's 50mm size sucks in general because it's really like an 80mm lens on my crop sense 20D, but I've learned to work with it. You can get this look from any DSLR with a quality brand prime lens.

Here is a sample of the look I'm referring to.

Motorcycle Gas Tank Taken With A 50mm Prime Lens

The background is blurred and the subject is sharp. There is very little distortion, vignetting, or chromatic aberration.  It's a professional look and  preferred style that places emphasis on the main subject. If that's the look you're after, DSLR or newer 4/3 cameras are what you need. If you want the fast and cheap track to professional technical quality photos, a used DSLR is the setup to get.

Here's the thing though. As professional as this looks, it's just one style of photography. You can get this look with many other zoom lenses, but it's damned expensive! Lesser cameras can still do this style of photography too, they just can't do it consistently with easily predictable results. To me, the trade-offs just aren't worth it to buy the latest DSLR with the plethora of lenses. If my $300 used gear can't make this happen, I'll pass. 

In my opinion you absolutely do not need a DSLR. It's just another nice gadget for many types of photography. So long as the price doesn't get in the way, a DSLR will take your photography to another level if you put in the time to learn how to get the most out of them. Don't consider one unless you've used a lesser camera to a point where you're consistently wanting a result that it's just incapable of delivering.

I still carry my convenient point and shoots even when I have the DSLR with me. If you're goal is sports or wildlife photography, be prepared to part with many thousands of dollars for high quality, high zoom lenses that cost as much as a decent used car. The point and shoots cover a range of lenses that most cannot afford so it's an affordable way to get that lens range and adding the 50mm lens/used DSLR combo provides the capabilities for very high quality photos.