professional photography question

[melfitz]

Do most professional photographers use some sort of software to edit their pictures somewhat? All the professional photos I've seen don't look like anything I've taken (granted I'm not a professional by a long shot). The colors always look richer, the images softer, less soft, etc. Do any pros use any unaltered photos? I don't exactly know how to describe it but it seems that there is something different about professional photos including studio portraits. Is it all about the software? Thanks! (Just trying to improve my skills and trying to figure out what I'm missing.)

[Nicole]

Pretty much. Editing your photos can make a huge difference. It generally won't make a bad shot good, but it can definitely take a good shot to great.

[dakwegmo]

Every professinonal photographer I've ever met has done some sort of post processing. These days the vast majority of photographers use Photoshop to do their post processing. However, that may or may not account for the differences you're seeing in your shots versue theirs. A real professional will take great care to get the shot right in camera (at least as close as possible). There are a lot of different skills involved in getting professional quality shots, even before you get to the darkroom. If you're not ready to dive in to post processing, I would consider mastering skills like getting a proper exposure, focusing, evaluating light, controlling depth of field, composition, etc. Lastly, make use of the critique sections here on DPS. You'll get a lot of input on what you can do to improve your work, getting constructive criticsim will go much further to improving your photography than trying to compare your work with that of pros.

[SusanH1970]

I 100% agree with the previous posters. I try to get my photographs focused/exposed/composed correctly in-camera, then use Photoshop to enhance them. Here's a sample (this was a snapshot I took of my daughter on a hayride):

SOOC:



Edited with Photoshop CS2:



If you don't have editing software, you can either download GIMP for free, or go to adobe.com and download a trial version of one of their programs. If you don't want to spend hundreds of $$ on CS4 (the latest version), Elements 8 is a pared-down version that's quite affordable (around $100 I think?), after the trial runs out.

[melfitz]

I do have photo editing software. I'm always editing my photos. I was thinking that maybe I'm not doing something right if I'm always editing.

[Car2n]

There's getting it right in the camera and there's editing software also but even more important is how the subject is lit. Professionals use lights, flash.

[dakwegmo]

Originally Posted by Car2n

Professionals use lights, flash.

Yes, lighting is important, but that doesn't necessarily mean flash. Plenty of portrait photographers work with available light, as do sports, concert, and landscape photographers, among many others.

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by dakwegmo

Yes, lighting is important, but that doesn't necessarily mean flash. Plenty of portrait photographers work with available light, as do sports, concert, and landscape photographers, among many others.

Exactly. There are quite a few pro photographers that utilize natural light only and do not use artificial lighting at all.

[equilution]

Originally Posted by Nicole

Pretty much. Editing your photos can make a huge difference. It generally won't make a bad shot good, but it can definitely take a good shot to great.

I agree with Nicole. SW will only do so much. But, in order to compete, PP has become necessary. I do PP with Lightroom, and have gotten fairly proficient with it, and don't usually prefer to get extreme with PS. I've entered a lot of photography contests, but seem to fall short of shots that are enhanced to the Nth degree with Photoshop. A lot of these contests are not photography contests...it's a contest of who's better with Photoshop than with a camera!

For what you're doing, and as Susan demonstrates, PP with sw can yield a very nice result, without LOOKING like you PP'd it.

[arsifferlen]

i use corel paint shop pro and it has the basic features and i love it. much less expensive than PS