Better Photo Tips – To Tweak Or Not to Tweak?
It all started when a student of mine, emailed me with a question. She said that her cousin wanted a copy of her photo we had posted on my site. She (the student) had the original photo but noticed the one on my site looks brighter and richer than hers. She wrote how come there is a difference, and how can I make my picture look like that?
I wrote back in response, it looks different because it is different. I tweaked your original photo in Photoshop. Now before, people get upset and start arguing whether I should have tweaked her image or not before posting, that is NOT the point of this article. The point here is, in today’s world of digital images should anyone tweak their photos? Is it cheating, or is it part of the creative process?
To use this student’s work as an example, the original photo taken (in a horizontal format) was of a passion flower. The background was as bright as or even brighter than the main subject. There were stems and leaves that created leading lines away from the subject. What I did was;
A) I changed the format from horizontal to vertical and cropped slightly tighter.
B) Using the dodge tool, I darkened all around the main subject, eliminating all the distractions.
C) I increased the saturation level to bring out the vibrate colors in the original subject.
Many years ago I also taught in a darkroom. If one of my students had approached me with the same image, I would have done exactly the same things. With the exception of, instead of increasing saturation I would have increased contrast (with filters). In days gone by, no one would have thought anything of it. The darkroom was the second half of the equation. You take the picture then you print the picture. In both steps you do the best you can do.
When painters paint, do they deliberately add distracting lines in the background to make sure you look somewhere else? Do they add highlights or shadows that force your eyes to look away from the subject? No, they take control and paint the best image possible.
For those who wish to bring up the issue of “but is it honest?” let me say this:
A) I am not talking about news photography, I would never change the facts.
B) I am not talking about changing the subject itself.
C) I am not talking about making changes to claim the work as my own.
(In her case, I gave the student full credit and explained what I had done.)
If someone were to bring a painting into a gallery that they had just finished what would happen before it could be displayed? Depending on size, someone may mat the picture. They would definitely frame the picture. They would add some type of hanging device. A special location would be selected, and they may add special lighting. Most of the time, this would not be the original person who created the work. Why bother, why not just throw their art on a card table and say, “OK, there it is?”
The answer seems obvious, at least to me. Creation is only part of the process. Similar to writing; first you write, and then you rewrite (or perfect the original work.) To me Photoshop, or what ever graphic program you use is the same. It is not cheating; to make your own work look better. Artists do it, writers do it . . . why shouldn’t photographers do it? It’s the natural evolution of the creative process. We ALL want our work to look the best; go ahead . . . finish your work. Don’t feel guilty that you’re actually doing the best that you can do, that’s what people pay you for. Does a carpenter only use one tool to build a desk? No, he uses all the tools at his disposal. You should do the same.
Tags: saturation level