View Single Post
  #9 (permalink)  
Old 04-28-2008, 03:11 AM
dakwegmo's Avatar
dakwegmo dakwegmo is online now
I shoot people
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 1,983
Default

The question of whether you need to photoshop your photos in order to create good images is a somewhat personal decision.

I, for example, feel I do need to photoshop my photos in order for them to be good. I shoot RAW, so without processing my photos through Photoshop, Nikon Capture, or some other photo manipulation program my photos "out of camera" aren't worth looking at. They're incomplete. If you're happy with the JPGs your camera creates then you don't need to photoshop them.

When I first started shooting I was pretty happy with the way the JPGs looked out of the camera, but I eventually got the point where I wanted more control over the final image than was available through my camera's menu. I stopped letting the camera make all the decisions about white balance, contrast, and saturation. There's an analogy here between shooting Manual vs. Auto and shooting RAW vs. JPG. In manual and RAW you make the decisions. In Auto and JPG the camera makes the decisions.

As far as non-RAW adjustments, then I still think that's a personal choice. I've found that with photoshop I can rescue a lot of images that might have otherwise been scrapped. I can also get much closer to my creative vision by applying some post processing techniques, rather than relying on camera technique alone.

Lastly, I don't think there's anything wrong with using photoshop, any more than it would be for photographers to apply post processing effects in a wet darkroom. I also very gladly tell people that all of my photos are Photoshopped.

Do what works for you, and don't worry too much about what others think about your techniques.
__________________
[¯Ô¯] marcus
photoblog | Facebook | flickr | 5∞ px | G+
Reply With Quote