Do I edit my photos? 

9:18 "My post-edits consist more of fine-tuning than fully editing. I tweak the exposure and contrast to my liking. But I'm not really changing anything. I'm just using the data in the raw files to bring the image back to what I originally saw in the viewfinder." A masterclass in post-processing in 4 sentences.

Great video, with interesting points. For me, what's important in the long run is not the clarity, saturation or contrast in an image, it's a sense of place and emotion, for which there are no sliders in Lightroom. I find I've been shooting jpegs without an accompanying raw file more and more often over the past few years and the results are, maybe surprisingly, no less satisfying than all those processed raw shots I have from years past.

I stated with film in the 70's shooting, developing and printing B&W. Shoot 90% jpeg and do minimal editing. Never used or owned LR. I do use an editor for color correction and spot removal if needed but general only bump exposure and adjust shadow. So yeah, getting it right in camera is how I learned and continue to photograph. Thanks for bringing this up!

At last ! I have never understood why people buy other peoples pre-sets. Its good to hear a pro say so. Make your own edits, that's all part of it, surely... ?

There are a lot of Photo Labs around today. Probably more than ever. A quick google search will show results on nearly all major cities, even towns and all have websites for online service. In most cases, they can turn around quickly (in a matter of days) and instead of receiving your scans on a CD, you’ll have them delivered, to your email address, in the format of choice. Home development and scanning is also quite accessible now, if you want to go down the DIY route. Something quite popular, with the advancements of mirrorless cameras.

Totally agreed! As somebody who actually likes editing your advice stands true to people like as well. Keep it simple, get it right in camera - bingo

I'm of the same view in that I hate post work. Don't own PS or LR and have no inclination to learn how to use it. I shoot jpeg and try to get as best I can in camera and rely on the fuji color/ sim options. Maximum 2 minutes edit for any straightening or slight crop of a distracting edge I missed. Other than that I simply cannot be arsed. Rather mooch about seeing what i see, sometimes hunting, usually fishing. Post is a chore tbh.

Brilliant advice, thank you!

Another aspect of doing post-processing: that extra joy of matching or even exceeding of what the camera produced!

Wise words of advise from a seasoned photographer. 👍👍

That's why I still love my OM-D E-M1, because in M mode I can exactly see what I get (except at night) and adjust until the photo is about what I want it to be.

I like what you were saying at 2. 25 in, and it goes with a quote from the great Georgia O'Keeffe. "I had to create an equivalent for what I felt about what I was looking at-not copy it."

Everyone has their own idea of how much editing is correct. When I'm preparing images for printing from an event that has mixed lighting types and trying to get skin tones to look natural I need to shoot raw. Yes, I edit and I enjoy it. I try to keep it to just fine-tuning. I feel anyone who develops their own film edits their photos. It's just done in a different way. It starts with film choice, developer choice, and even how much agitation is done all contribute to the look and feel of the final image. It's ok. It's all part of the creative process.

Hi Craig, I really liked the photos you took with the Velvia 50 film. A bit of editing is ok it's part of photography, but to much can ruin a good photo. As you said in previous videos Shadows are meant to be Shadows, and when you showed a picture of to much HDR editing it doesn't look good. You make so much sense it's great to hear. I hope we don't SUCCUMB to the world of AI. Thanks for sharing this video. 😃

Great advice!

Thanks for your insights.

You can fix Grey Day by adjusting in post.

Very sound advice.

After 3 years of digital photography and experimenting with LR, I started shooting b&w film, developing at home and scanning on my dslr and loading into LR. One day I will build my dark room. But there is so much to learn in shooting and developing I’ll wait a bit before I climb that mountain. I think that processing is part of the act of making images, over processing is bad practice but don’t under estimate the amount of processing that takes/took place in the dark room. I still shoot a bit of digital - mostly on my Ricoh gr3 that a you tuber recommended …

For me the post processing of my images is just as enjoyable as taking the image in the first place, I sometimes remove unwanted details but I NEVER add anything or replace the sky

Like you I try to get the most out of a picture while taking it and use post production for finetuning/tweaking. I don't even possess a working copy of Lightroom and Photoshop preferring open source alternatives that are more than adeguate for my needs as an amateur. Trying to get everything right on the spot helps us think more about what we are trying to do, instead of spraying and praying to just fix it in post. It's true, sometimes you go home with no photo, but your growth will be much more deep and meaningful.

I love taking photographs and hate computer work. I do as little editing as possible. I NEVER watch RU-vid clips about Lightroom etc!

So true I've found the best images I've taken needed the least post processing. And to be honest I hate sitting in front of the computer processing images. I tend to find I edit an image and copy the edits to the other images more than I use presets. Unless I'm shooting the same type of subjects in the same kind of light I don't see how presets work for people. I've downloaded and tried tons of free presets by different RU-vid photographers and while they are great at the one type of image they produce nothing ever works across the board for all types of images. I don't feel there is one general overall preset.

So I am doing it right!! Watching this video made me feel so much better about my processing technique. I shoot in raw/jpeg and process the raw files so that the photo matches what I saw on the day which is what I want.

Love your comment at 5:35!!!! “I WISH I knew THIS Lightroom TRICK” etc

For the over 15 years of digital photography I felt the best way to get the best final image, post processing is part of the process regardless of shooting raw or jpeg, my jpeg settings are as nuteral as the camera will allow, I use Pentax cameras and the out of camera files are rather flat, their is less processing with jpeg files but compared to the time I used film, I did not have a dark room so their was no post processing for me with film. So I don't do as much post processing as raw but I pay more attention to camera settings and do basic processing, I have sold prints and photographed events and print much of my own work.

Excellent. Common sense advice from a photographer who really knows photography. Also Excellent taste in music.

I guess perhaps that shooting Jpeg has it's editing as well, although for some, in camera. There are a good number of Fuji shooters who use "recipes" to tweak in camera color profiles. I have seen images so over processed they become pshychedelic . .but we all pick our own brush and canvas. I still try to get them "just so" in camera and enjoy when I do.

I am like you here. I want to get it as right as possible when shooting the picture as that is a skill in and of itself, and quite an accomplishment. Anything I do in Camera RAW, I like to be very minimal most times. The less work I have to do in post, the better. However, I do enjoy being able to process my own images, and if for some reason I didn't get a shot just right, there is always a good possibility I can fix it in post. Obviously a RAW file guy too as I like to have as much control as possible. I do have my camera set to save both JPEG and RAW, but that is only to use the JPEG as a reference when editing the RAW.

Wonderful and thoughtful explanation of your process. Language can be slippery and leave impressions that are not in line with original intent. The phrase "get it right in camera" in the context of why a photographer does relatively less post processing than another, leaves the impression that the photographer that does a lot of processing (relatively, again) did NOT "get it right" in camera. This is, of course, far from the truth. Someone may want to tailor their shooting so they work within the restrictions (and capabilities) of what the camera can do in one image and maybe even without any filters. Another photographer tailors his shooting around the limitations (an capabilities) that he knows he can achieve with filters and/or software, etc. Both are "getting it right in camera" relative to what they intend to do - or not do- after pressing the shutter.

Yours is a good idea to avoid auto white balance, dont want the camera trying to make things mid grey - sunset for example!

❤

Hi Craig, I was wondering if you use the different photo modus setting of the camera when you are in the field. I like to use them and especially Olympus cameras have many options in that direction: changing the contrast, saturation, high lights, shadows and the EM1 can change the midtones as well. Unfortunatly I don't hear about those options on photographers RU-vid channels: it is either shoot raw and edit at home or shoot jpg.

Dankeschön 👍👍👍🇩🇪

I agree with the philosophy that if the edit is taking more than 5 minutes the picture should probably be binned.

I think that question "Do you edit your photos?" often stems from the vain perception that perhaps an image is good because it was edited, rather than the original image. Perhaps people think that if they started editing their photos, they would get more great images. But as you said, the original picture has to be right, has to be good when taken to be able to be elevated even more with some editing.

I think some well-known landscape photographers spend more than 5 minutes on their images, based on their final product. But, then again, maybe they bought each other's presets and e-books and that shortened their edit times.

I'm not glad about being the processor, as well as the photographer - I know some people get a real kick out of processing their pictures but I hate it (no exageration). As such, jpeg engines are my friend and I do all I can to get a few good jpeg profiles ready to go so that I can focus on the picture taking. Taking pictures is the reason I fell in love with photography as a kid and that hasn't changed. I do save a RAW file just in case but I very rarely touch them. Let's be honest, I should be brave and go jpeg only...Maybe next year ;-)

3:03 What brought you back into the fold? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4wS0rK4HCRI.html

I do agree with you, yet I find it ironic you named your channel after a processing technique. 😊

You pro, me amateur so I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to disagree with your philosophy and work methods. However, I'm retired and my time isn't money. Consequently around 50% of my enjoyment of my hobby is in the post processing. Sometimes it's just a tweak to the exposure or a clone out of an unavoidable distraction. But often it's to give the photo drama, crop to say, square or 16x9 format or to tone down garish colours. But the frustrated artist sometimes takes over and the various software programs allow me to take the image to another place. I do try to remember the things I've learned watching your videos and as Frank Spencer would say "Every day, in every way, my snapshots are getting better and better". Thanks and cheers from DownUnder 🦘

My pictures are real, I just fine tune my jpegs! do your own thing don't copy others.

Agreed-Presets...😝👎❌⚠️⛔