Quick Tip: Great Photographs – Right Out of the Can?
At PhotoShop World a year ago, I overheard a conversation between two young photographers arguing over an image of David Ziser’s that was on display in his booth. It was a classic portrait of a bride and they were arguing over which PhotoShop tool he used to drop in the highlight on her hair! I barged into the conversation, knowing full well David’s incredible understanding of lighting and knowing the image was created in the camera, NOT in the computer. The image David created looked that good right out of the can!
Every minute you waste at the computer cleaning up your mistakes is a minute you could have been working on other aspects of your business, like your marketing efforts. How much time are you spending at your computer working on images that could have been captured better with the click of the shutter instead of the click of your mouse?
This post has 4 comments
August 3rd, 2009
This is such an excellent point Skip. It’s the same for us filmmakers. I can’t tell you how many extra hours I’ve spent in my short video career fixing mistakes, or trying to make it look “better.” One of the reasons I love shooting video with the 5DMII now is that it looks so freaking good out of the can, you don’t need to do anything to enhance it. Can’t wait to hang with you and the rest at Summer School. Just two weeks!
August 3rd, 2009
Photoshop is not just an error correction tool. As both a photographer (aspiring) and a graphic artist Photoshop is a tool to create beyond the camera such as HDR. I would love to spend all day in front of the computer creating with photoshop only I have to pay the bills.
August 3rd, 2009
I couldn’t agree more and it’s used by me and all of my closest friends, but sadly it’s also used by tons of new photographers who never took the time to learn about photography. Tony Corbell opened his workshop program at IUSA the convention before last with the statement, “You’re all producing crap!” He then went on to talk about the importance of taking the time to get it right in the camera first and then using Photoshop.
August 4th, 2009
Hi Skip. This is truly an important issue. In my 2009 WPPI platform program I admonished my audience (and perhaps alienated a few) by saying that Photoshop is not a Band-Aid for poor photographic capture, but rather an enhancement tool for good images. The up-and-coming artists who will carry our craft into the next generation would do well to stop looking for tricks and secrets and seek out, instead, the fundamentals that define good image making. They can start with Ken Sklute’s presentation at Summer School. Thanks for putting together a great educational platform. See you in Vegas.