A quote:

“I would strongly urge people to see simply, and edit simply. Your photographs are your asset, much more so than your Photoshop skills. Those image-editing skills may well be critical to your craft, but they are secondary to your photographic vision. “Fix it in Photoshop” is a prescriptive attitude that often leads to making images not worth investing time trying to salvage through image editing.”

Amen to that. I resisted digital photography for quite along time, only really shooting digital seriously starting in 2007 with the arrival of my Leica M8. I stuck with film mostly because the prints I could get in Black & White were better with the analog process. I have a darkroom and used it extensively for years, but the last year has seen it become a storage room (like many others I suspect) because the technology (camera ergonomics, printers and paper) improved. While there was always manipulations in the darkroom - dodging, burning, flashing, and cropping, the image generally had to stand on its own merits in that rectangle on the easel. Things have certainly changed, and often not for the better. We all get fascinated with a certain look, style or feel and sometimes its post-processing that gives us what we are looking for, but its always secondary to vision. That frame still has to have it before a pixel is tweaked. I’m really grateful I spent years working with film before I went digital because it taught me to see and to edit. These two skills mean more than anything else, and they take years to learn.

As one who works on Lightroom and has contributed to other Adobe software related to digital photography, it always strikes me as odd when a great photographer comments on his “lack of photoshop skill” as if to appologize for his work when we talk. These are tools. They help you acheive your vision, but they are no subsitute for it. A crappy photograph is still crappy after 10 actions in Photoshop and some layer magic. I really like Scott’s cajones for publishing this article - as one could easily point out his culpability in the “tips and tricks” arms race.

Another quote:

“Solid image editing is far less about secrets, trickery, hidden features and shortcuts, than it is about starting with a strong photograph, knowing your goals, and methodically working toward them. Craft is not tricky; it is most often plain hard work and care.”

To the point, this past week I was in the field with a friend shooting a story for the National Geographic. We spent a lot of time focusing on getting it right - there were long days (and nights) working with a bag of techniques to make sure that it was perfect. After a few hours of shooting a particular object, we decided that something wasn’t quite right and we’d need do something a bit different. More shooting and more work lay ahead. Of course, the knee-jerk was that we could “just fix it in photoshop” but Alex pointed out that was the easy way out. His comment (and I’m paraphrasing - I was holding a big silk scrim in windy conditions) was fitting:

“This is the National Geographic - we get it right in camera because it matters.”

Preach on, brother...

Tags:Photography, Photoshop