Is Post-Processing Necessary?

[ErikUngerPhotography]

People new to digital photography need to remember that the camera is doing some post processing to the image when you shoot jpeg. Some people like to shoot RAW and have the ability to process it how they want. When editing a RAW file, you get to make all the decisions the camera would have to.

When shooting RAW, you still need to get the best possible exposure (getting it right in the camera) but you then process to you specifications, not the specs of the in camera setting.

[NathanFranke]

Originally Posted by ErikUngerPhotography

It depends on a few things.

3) Post processing digital is todays darkroom! Darkroom work was processing an image. You chose how long to expose the paper, dodge and burning areas to do selective brightening, and then there are different chemicals for that can drastically give the photo a different look.

Seconding this. Post processing has always been a part of photography, it just happened behind closed doors, quite literally, as far as the non-professional public was concerned. In the film days, the amateur's input was entirely done with the camera--then they took the film canister to the drug store and got prints a few days later. With modern software, post-processing is democratized. Everyone has access to it now, and it takes the mystery out of photography.

Ultimately, post-processing is a necessary tool. In the film days, you wouldn't make a print without an enlarger. Adobe has just replaced the role of Besseler.