How often to Photoshop-

[hd883chopper]

Hello all,
New to the forum and new to photography. Quick background: I've been using an inexpensive Samsung point and shoot and have recently made the plunge to DSLR. Armed now with a Nikon d5100, I'm hoping to learn more about quality shots and have some fun!

Ok, so on to my question. How often does everyone Photoshop thier photo's? I ask this because it seems that regardless of which camera I use, I always seem to bring the Sharpness up, Contrast up a tad and color enhancer up a tad.

Am I just taking junky shot that require me to fix them after the fact or is photo altering just part of the game?

Thank you!
HD

[kcoppock]

I almost never post a photo that hasn't been processed in some way. Considering I shoot RAW, post-processing is more or less a requirement. Basically I do some curves and contrast adjustments, possibly noise reduction, cropping, vibrance, and finally sharpening. Nothing wrong with a little touchup.

[Rentham]

Originally Posted by hd883chopper

or is photo altering just part of the game?

To paraphrase Jeremy Cowart, "Sometimes Photoshop is part of the game, sometimes Photoshop IS the game."

In my opinion, post production is a fundamental part of being a serious photographer. I want as much control over the process as possible. That means shooting in RAW, making RAW adjustments to every image in Lightroom, and occasionally taking something into Photoshop for a more sophisticated edit.

[Izzy]

I can answer this in one word

ALWAYS

[Krusty79]

I always PP my decent shots to get the best out of them. Digital images are soft by nature and usually require sharpening at a minimum. If they're "junky," I just delete them. I can't PP a "junky" shot into a good one. It's better to spend your time trying to get the good shots instead of trying to salvage something out of a poor one.

[Tzetsin]

Originally Posted by Izzy

I can answer this in one word

ALWAYS

+1 x NINE THOUSAND!!111!!1! ;D

[Tito87]

Originally Posted by Tzetsin

+1 x NINE THOUSAND!!111!!1! ;D

+1 plus ten characters.

[Hill Country Hack]

Originally Posted by Krusty79

I always PP my decent shots to get the best out of them. Digital images are soft by nature and usually require sharpening at a minimum. If they're "junky," I just delete them. I can't PP a "junky" shot into a good one. It's better to spend your time trying to get the good shots instead of trying to salvage something out of a poor one.

I agree with Krusty. I shoot RAW and that requires some PP. I am no digital artist, but I do touch up all of the keepers. The sensor cannot pick up what the eye sees and to do justice of what we capture, some sort of PP must be done.

A quality shot with the proper exposure will need very little work unless one is doing some funky artistry. It is a personal choice.

[inkista]

I think of it this way: Shooting the photo and exposing correctly is like building the car and the engine. Post-processing is like doing the paint job and detailing. Paint job and detailing won't make a car run. But you're probably not presenting the car at its best without paint and a detail. Both are necessary and important. But post isn't about "fixing" an image, it's about polishing and refining it.

That said, I rarely Photoshop. I mostly Lightroom, and only Photoshop images where I have a specific kind of correction or effect I want to achieve that's outside of Lightroom's capabilities. But every image I shoot goes through editing and post-processing, regardless of whether it's from my 5Dii or my little Powershot S90.

Post-processing skills can have more impact on an image than what camera you use.


Canon Powershot G9. Shot RAW, processed in Lightroom.

[hd883chopper]

Originally Posted by kcoppock

I almost never post a photo that hasn't been processed in some way. Considering I shoot RAW, post-processing is more or less a requirement. Basically I do some curves and contrast adjustments, possibly noise reduction, cropping, vibrance, and finally sharpening. Nothing wrong with a little touchup.

Thanks Kevin. Just curious though, you mentioned that since you shoot RAW, post-processing is pretty much a requirement.

What about shooting in jpeg? Would there be less of a demand to touch up from a jpeg capture?

Thx,
HD