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Ben03 · Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 12:29 pm Post subject: Photoshopped opinions.

I know there's a strong divide in opinions here. I like using photoshop in moderation when editing pics, but know it can be abused to create something you'd have never been able to take.

Where should the line be drawn in terms of PC editing?

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jab uk - South East Mountain Biking

Heffers · Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 2:06 pm Post subject:

i think it depends on what the image will be used for really.

When i'm making backgrounds i'll try to bring together multable images and end up using alot of effects on each of the parts to bring them together, but if its for a album or submission to a site then i think just some colour correction (mayybe greyscale if the photo calls for it) but as a general rule i try to keep the efeects down to a minimum in order to get the truest image.
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abruce · Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 1:52 pm Post subject:

ahhh now this is an arguement i love...
Being a "photographer" i'm weird cause i started photoshop before i started photographing.. so i'm probably biased...

but anyway, the way i see it; painters have expressed their feelings through their painting for ever and ever, e.g. i doubt Van Gogh's sunflowers looked so blotchy in real life...
Photography is an expression, its a kind of "art"... and thus any expression you can add to it is all good in my books... and the freedom of expression photoshop delivers is unparralelled...

Although i reckon most amateur photoshop tricks (e.g. mosiac's, vectors etc) will never look good...
Photoshop needs to be handled with care...

Taking into considoration that most digital compact cameras generally under/over expose by a ridiculous amount, then they need all the help they can get.... photoshop can save a shite image in seconds...

As for people who say that photoshop is killing the photographic industry; through enabling unskilled people to take amazing photos in comparison to the old photographers using film... thats shite, photoshop is much more complex to master than film...
and people have been "editing" their images for years... for example Trent Parke creates images as crazy as this: http://www.stillsgallery.com.au/artists/parke/img/minutes_22.jpg without a single bit of photoshop...

I've got one photo where everyone asks me if it has been edited, every time... and its funny cause its the one image in my portfolio which is completely untouched.
Personally i'll ussually spend atleast 1 hour editing an image, i'll edit it as much as i want, i couldn't be f***ed if its "true" or not...... but then again their are a lot of people who then can't tell if my images have been edited or not...

As for the use of photoshop in biking photography.. i don't think there is much scope for playing about (which is probably why it dousn't interest me much)... just a bit of dodging and burning...

Photoshop is the greatest thing ever in the hands of someone who knows how to use it...

ahh i'm getting a Macbook Pro with Photoshop CS3 in the next few days... gonna be great.
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A.BRUCE PHOTOGRAPHY

JAW · Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 12:05 pm Post subject:

My opinion is editing is fine when you're trying to get the best out of a picture; photoshop can be used as a digital darkroom, i.e it's not that different from what they did with films.

Also I think it's fine if you're trying to create a graphic piece of art or something.

But what i don't like is people who mahoosively change a pic; cutting and pasting and whatever else and then submitting it as a 'photo they took'. That's just wrong.
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abruce · Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 9:51 pm Post subject:

i'd challenge anyone to cut and paste their face onto steve peats body and submit it as a photo they took Cool

I regularly make multiple RAW exposures and cut and paste them together...
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A.BRUCE PHOTOGRAPHY

Ben03 · Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 2:24 pm Post subject:

abruce · Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 2:16 pm Post subject:

It seems a bit harsh to say serious cropping in a photo is wrong.... like, its generally easier to photograph sports photography with a more wide-angle lens then crop it rather than worry about loosing bit of your subject out the frame..

but definately less cropping is the sign of a good photographer...
for example one of the traits of the Magnum photo agency is that they're photographers don't ever crop their images.

ofcourse cropping isn't just to do with photoshop....
cropping is just as easy on film with an enlarger or even scissors...
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A.BRUCE PHOTOGRAPHY

OutlanderSE · Settled User Joined: 24 May 2007 Posts: 132

i think photoshop is acceptable aslong as its not changing the picture to something its not
if its an aid to getting the maximum quality from a snap i think its fine

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