A lot of people, especially new DSLR owners and frequent smartphone camera users, get all curious and interested in how we get our beautiful shots.
Of course, we gladly share, after all the process isn't that much of a secret anyway. "We make sure our camera settings are right (occasionally we explain deeper into technicalities and composition and stuff) and then we edit the shots in the comput-"
"You EDIT the photos? That's what makes the photos so nice???"
"Well..." That's an awkward moment over here because admitting to post-processing photos vaguely implies that we are more of good photo editors than photo takers, and that instantly shatters the charm we exude when lugging 5-kilogram gear and firing our shutters. But humility takes over and, at least for me, I explain the wonders of post-processing - how it helps us bring out hidden details and colors in the photograph, and even how it helps to save a screwed up shot sometimes.
And at the end of it, "wow, that's really amazing" is usually the reply I'll get. Sure it is.
But days or weeks later I'll get an email or a WhatsApp message - with a photo attached - saying "Hey, I screwed up this shot; please help me fix it?" And when you take a look at the photo: blown-out highlights, out-of-focus subjects, unbearable noise. Basically a lot a lot of things gone wrong. (And not like it matters now but a geek sidenote: the photo is in JPEG, half the time because it was shot on a smartphone.)
No doubt post-processing is great; it does wonders. But after the whole episode above people forget that the first step to a good photo is getting the shot right - and that's also the most important step. Post-processing can make a good picture look better, a not-so-good picture look decent, but it cannot save a bad picture.
I will post next time on how post-processing works, why it's important, and how it's not a mighty photograph repairman, so to speak.
The fundamental theory is that post-processing deals with what is already captured by the camera. Therefore if the camera fails to capture certain things, post-processing cannot recreate these things (well, actually you can, but that's crossing the boundary to some heavy photoshop work).
If you still don't understand, here's an analogy: if you don't get some nice beef, you can't make good steak however you cook it. Simple?
So to photographers out there, make sure your friends know what you can do for them in post-processing with Photoshop / Lightroom / Aperture. And to the others who didn't know of this / once misunderstood this, try now instead to take good photographs right in the camera, be it on your Nikon or your iPhone, instead of telling yourself that you can fix things in the computer later - because you can't.
Plus, why go through the trouble, when it is possible to get good pleasing shots without any enhancement?
And at the end of it, "wow, that's really amazing" is usually the reply I'll get. Sure it is.
But days or weeks later I'll get an email or a WhatsApp message - with a photo attached - saying "Hey, I screwed up this shot; please help me fix it?" And when you take a look at the photo: blown-out highlights, out-of-focus subjects, unbearable noise. Basically a lot a lot of things gone wrong. (And not like it matters now but a geek sidenote: the photo is in JPEG, half the time because it was shot on a smartphone.)
No doubt post-processing is great; it does wonders. But after the whole episode above people forget that the first step to a good photo is getting the shot right - and that's also the most important step. Post-processing can make a good picture look better, a not-so-good picture look decent, but it cannot save a bad picture.
I will post next time on how post-processing works, why it's important, and how it's not a mighty photograph repairman, so to speak.
The fundamental theory is that post-processing deals with what is already captured by the camera. Therefore if the camera fails to capture certain things, post-processing cannot recreate these things (well, actually you can, but that's crossing the boundary to some heavy photoshop work).
If you still don't understand, here's an analogy: if you don't get some nice beef, you can't make good steak however you cook it. Simple?
So to photographers out there, make sure your friends know what you can do for them in post-processing with Photoshop / Lightroom / Aperture. And to the others who didn't know of this / once misunderstood this, try now instead to take good photographs right in the camera, be it on your Nikon or your iPhone, instead of telling yourself that you can fix things in the computer later - because you can't.
Plus, why go through the trouble, when it is possible to get good pleasing shots without any enhancement?
