Be warned this is rather long piece of writing, so spare yourself half an hour or so to read.
Here is my second attempt to get my point across on this topic.
Because..
Every time I post new photographs I always get questions like
Did you use photoshop?
How did you make a colour like that?
How did you make the photo look like that?
Your camera must be so good…
Did you add contrast in photoshop?
Now, I do understand everyone’s curiosity regarding my photos. It’s not your usual photograph, and are outside your comfort zone, are incapable of reproducing with any camera you have used (without the aid of retouching software).
I am reluctant to answer because most of the time I do. They tend to reply
“Oh so you use photoshop, sigh”
Now, if you were me, how would you feel?
So I try hard to think what these questions and expression try to imply and here is what I can deduct.
1. Without the aid of photoshop I cannot make such photos shown in my gallery.
2. Therefore I cannot take/make good photo.
3. Hence, I am suck as a photographer
Now I will prove you very very wrong.
As far as I can understand, there is this one myth that appears to haunt the general population regarding photography. And that is photography documents reality. How does this realated to me using photoshop?
Here, is a word from Thom Hogan, one of the ‘real photograher’ I’ve come to known and dearly admire. He said it best, clean and concise so much that I cannot express it in such a way. So I will quote him.
Do read slowly and carefully
Photography Documents Reality
I’m constantly amused when discussions break out about the validity of using Photoshop to tweak colors or to retouch a small imperfection. “People expect photos to document the real world, and you should print images as you took them” goes one argument. Poppycock. The mere act of taking a picture destroys the ability to “capture” reality.
You choose which lens and camera to use. You choose where to focus. You choose the exposure. You choose the composition. You choose a direction to point the camera. You choose what time of day and what season to take a picture. You choose the exact moment to preserve (and may distort that moment by using an extremely long or short shutter speed). You choose the type of film used (or the digital camera’s color settings). And the list goes on. Meanwhile, reality also includes the moments before and after the shot, the area outside the frame, and much, much more. In short, you as photographer are making choices for the eventual viewer of your photo. The viewer only sees what you want them to, period.
Ain’t that amazing landscape? Yes, that was photoshopped by the world most famous photographer.
On my living room wall is a large Ansel Adams print (Wonder Lake and Mt. Denali). It’s a powerful image that captures the same spirit I felt standing in that same spot years later. But Adams shot in black and white. And he clearly manipulated the contrast in the final print. Even more interesting is that over the many years that Adams produced prints of that image, it appears that his burning and dodging techniques changed–later versions seem more contrasty and brooding than earlier ones. The exposure appears to be taken in very early morning on an unusually clear day (you can sit on that same spot for 20 days running and sometimes not see the full mountain). Did he document reality? I’d say no. He created an image that conveyed what he saw and how he felt in the presence of this immense mountain and Alaska’s ever-changing light. And if you think he did document reality, try this exercise: take a large format camera and some black and white film to that same spot and try to duplicate the image. I’m betting that you’ll find that very difficult to do, and only possible if you spend some time manipulating the final print. (My very different interpretation of the same subject is used at the top of this page.)
So one of the first lessons I try to teach in photography classes is to break the mental constraint that you, as photographer, are merely “recording” something. No. You’re carefully manipulating the scene using all the tools and tricks available to you, all in order to produce an image that conveys what you saw and felt.
Extracted from Thom Hogan,”The Top Photography Myths”
There goes answer to your curiosity.
But in case you are not clear. I shall try to go further in the explanation.
In the world of photography there are two things you need to master in order to be a great photographer, or to feed your stomach if you are professional, full time photographer.
1. How to take good photo with your gears (Camera/ Lens/ accessories)
2. Retouching
Hmm is this a good photo? I say so-so.
Same image, photoshopped. I prefer this one, a lot. It’s sharper, better color and tone, with much more detail than the first
This statement stands true ever since the day human innovate the very first camera on planet earth. Somehow people think film camera users produce stunning image just because they don’t use photoshop. That’s bullshit. One thing you never know about film photography is that you need to produce your image in the dark room and that involves a lot of mixing chemical to dodge/ burn, boosting/reducing colour or contrast or whatever. Essentially darkroom is the equivalent to photoshop in modern day digital photography. If there is nothing wrong with using darkroom to tweak your image, then what’s so wrong with using photoshop? It’s the same. You distort reality yet again with how you process your photo in darkroom/ photoshop. And every photographers that I know do do that.
In fact, every legend photographs you have seen are most likely being tweaked to dead. Don’t believe me? go back and read Thom Hogan’s quote. That’s one legendary photographer just did that for you.
In addition, I do not know the way which with will make your clear but I will use our daily example.
Now remember these facts
1. Every fashion magazines do retouch their photos.
Think your favourite idols are as stunning and jaw-dropping and glamour-posh-chick as they look on Seventeenth/ แพรว/FHM/ Mars/ Vouge/ cover? Think again. ( of course they are naturally beautiful otherwise they would not be your idol and model in the first place ). However their images are and always been retouched. Why? to hide their wrinkle, elephant head acne and dark baggy area under their eyeballs on the most unfortunate days of assignment. Because no one can look so perfect and beautiful 24/7 and magazines WANT TO SELL. They want to create good impression and want people to buy If the models look like someone who just got up from an all nighter, will anybody buy it? No way. If FHM shoot a model that got massive acne on the face despite their overlarge boobs, will any men buy it? I would think otherwise, and hard.
Retouching in fashion photography is a must, any pro don’t know how to retouch suck and will die very quickly because he is incompetent. That’s your business as usual.
So แพนเค้ก always looks this bright and shiny? come on people…
2. Every photo lab you print your photo DO and WILL manipulate your photo
So why do you think your photo you shoot last night at the party looks so good when print from XXX lab? Because they retouch. To make your face bright and shine and pretty. Why? because you would come back and print with them again and again if you look pretty. They may not over do it like I did with my photo but they do retouch, boost contrast and color to make your dull family photos some how alive. Heck it’s so funny to me that nobody ever complain about their รับปริญญา photos that look obviously have been retouched to death. In fact, everybody love it and wants to look good? Isn’t that double standard?
Do you think this is photoshopped? An obvious blatant lie if I say no. Does it look good? Very yes. Do you want to have your image of graduation like this? I bet million bucks.
3. Photoshop is not a magic wand from god
Photoshop cannot fix bad composition, bad lighting, bad angle. If you cannot make good photo in the first place, photoshop will not help you at all. And it does require a hefty amount of time to learn and master the program like you must learn checmicals in dark room and how to use them.
Take my last trip to Scotland for example. I took almost 1100 images. You saw only 50 or so in my album. Why? because the rest 1050 images suck badly. It was badly composed, out of focus, too dark or too bright and the list goes on. At the end of the day Photoshop cannot fix those. They are suck because me not because they were not retouched.
Also, it did took me a good few years and some hundreds or may be thousands of hours to learn, try, research, study, tweak, hack and slash and trying to understand how to operate my camera and photoshop. So it’s not a matter of open a photo in photoshop, tweak it for 5 minutes, resize and post. Some photos I spent more than 2 days editing them. And may be an hour or two to take that photo in the first place. (Some people wait for days and years just to shoot that one photo.)
An example of bad photograph I took, wrong white balance, bad composition, there is no need to fix it with photoshop.
Anywho want to be good with digital photography and don’t learn, despise the use of photoshop is taking photography very very lightly.
Somehow people think anyone can pick up a camera and make good photographs. True, good but not great. Photography is art and any body can do however they like it. And it’s considerably more accessible than other fine art. It does not require much natural talent. You can be a great photographer if you learn hard, try hard and think different. But it’s harder to be like Vincent Van Goh in painting. That, requires considerably amount of talent and practice will only get you so far.
4. Camera is not everything, it’s the guy behind it
For most of the time, people ask me what camera do I use? Again I’m reluctant to answer because the cost of my camera is way cheaper than the cost of my trip to exotic places. And the cost and models of my gears do little to contribute to my photos.
Often times I see rich people buy 300,000 bath equipment or more thinking that they will make instant stunning photograph. Wrong. a 12 years old kid with point and shoot camera can and will make better images.
You think you press shutter on that thing you get super impressive pictures? I think we need to figure out for a few hours how to use it first….
Why? because those with high-end equipments don’t have a clue how to use the pro camera. It’s too complicated for them. They buy it because they want it, not need it. Pro camera are made for pros, because pros need such extensive features. These camera requires good amount of time to understand and operate. It’s hard and take times. Amateur are better off with simple camera for it won’t get in their way of making photos.
Next time you see people carrying sophisicated gears and think they can make fantastic photos, are professional, think twice. Carrying big black cameras and lens don’t certify you as full time professional and doesn’t mean such people can make good photos.
And for your record not many people want to be pro, because you can get much more money doing some other easier jobs. Pro photographer is a tough life and demands extreme passion. Unless you don’t know what to do but taking photograph then go pro by all means.
Do I like expensive camera? Yes, Will I buy it? No, so should everyone. It’s too heavy, complicated and beyond our needs unless we are full time pro. Money better spent on exotic trips. But if you have cash to burn, there is not much I can say.
Did Van Goh draw his painting with gold-made paint brush and canvas? No. Were his painting good? Legendary
In conclusion
Do I use photoshop to retouch my photos?
Yes, I do.
Why?
Because I want to convey my feeling and emotion to the viewer by any means at my disposal, be it pro camera, mobile phone camera or retouching software. And most of all because I don’t like un-photoshopped photos. They are plain and boring. After all, what’s the point of taking photograph if you don’t like it? That’s a big waste of time.
Does that make me a cheater and lier because I distorted reality and aided by computer software to make my photo beautiful?
Go read everything above paragraph, hard and twice. If that wasn’t clear enough make it quadruple.
Obviously not everybody will like my photos some despise it. I am well aware and appreciate because it’s an art and art is in the eye of beholder. Likewise, it’s not that I like every Magnum or National Geographic photos. So, it’s all up to you. I am still a long way from being good photographer and I’m not important by any means but I do want to get my point across that photoshop is not my only magic and it never matter.
My photographs are intended to be viewed as I post, not as what it look like when I took, or before I photoshop them. Just take them as they are because that’s all my feeling in their. Photoshop or not, it never matter in the first place.
End of my rant.
Happy shooting.
