Image editing or not - how far should we go as photographers?
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- Опубліковано 15 тра 2021
- Image editing or not?
In this video I reveal an image edit that I posted on instagram lately and asked you guys and girls if you can spot the error. Nobody did and so I asked myself: how far should we go as photographers in regard to image editing. How much is OK, and what would be considered as too much. Particularly with wildlife, that is quite an important question.
---- Wolf Amri on social media ----
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www.photo1x1.com
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My editing ends when the photograph is changed to a point where a viewer can not see or recognize the actual/natural scene.... If the photo is changed beyond that it is commercial art.... Both are ok but one is a photo and the other is "picture" be it photo paper, watercolor, oil paint or offset printer.
Thanks for your comment. I agree. I even don’t think photography itself is art. To me it’s a craft.
I'm always impressed with the production quality of your videos. 👍
Thank you 🙏🙏 To be very honest, I wasn’t all that happy with this video, because there wasn’t enough video content. So it’s great to hear that!
@@wolfamri Aww!!! So humble 🙂👍
Could you please guide with which software you were able to make you standing and talking like this with background changes like these...
Any help from anyone is greatly appreciated 🙂
The technique is called green screen and can be done with various software. I use premiere pro. Key is an evenly lit green background (unless you are an alien and have green skin, then it needs to be blue 😂) and good lighting of the subject. Ideally also a rim light to avoid green spill from the background.
I am a stock photographer, and I have recently seen an analysis of travel photos by another stock photographer basically saying that the photos with most aggressive, kind of hdr edits, sell the most... so I concluded that I inevitably have to go that way if I want to make some sales.
Interesting. I wouldn't have expected that 🤔
Been appreciating your videos. I have my first paid session later and I'm nervous about not giving the clients the best work possible. It's been calming going over the basics, you're a natural teacher.
Thanks so much! Good luck with the shoot. Communication is everything, so keep talking, even if it’s rubbish things 😂.
Last year I preordered/purchased Luminar AI to avoid paying the Lightroom subscription. When the software released, I found most of the tutorials were about replacing the sky or making people thinner etc. It put me off so much, and I still subscribe to Adobe. (where you can do the same). For a professional that has to produce a certain image for a client I think it is OK to use the possibilities, but I would never replace the sky on my personal photos, add objects that weren't there or make my family look different, except for a particular fun shot. It is just my feeling.
I totally agree, replacing the sky is something I found really odd. Making people a bit thinner though does have its use. It‘s a weird phenomenon that some people just look different on images than they do in real life. Some better, others worse. I like to modify the images to make them look the way I saw them.
Agree! I hate that replace sky crap. For me that is not photography, is purely imaging manipulation.
I enjoy your videos. Please keep up the good work! My own preference is to avoid manipulating the subject because it changes the story. I tend to limit modifications to contrast, saturation etc.
Thank you! I usually don't spend all that much time editing because in recent years "real" is quite a trend.
I see people “Ooing” and “Ahhing” over edited images that don’t look real in any way. I’m new but I like to see freckles, sun spots on older people and crows feet in a portrait. I can’t get into these heavily manipulated photos that are all the rage.
@@annakoon5563 absolutely. Some just overdo it with mainly prebuilt software like portrait pro. For my professional work I always try to edit the images to make them look like I saw the people. Images in general are unforgiving, so a little editing is more natural than the full truth. But more is not always better.
@@wolfamri Yes!! I’ve read that if it’s something temporary like acne or a fever blister, feel free to edit it out. If it’s something permanent, leave it!
Agreed. Plus: if it’s something that a photographer with a trained eye didn’t realize much on location, but is kinda prominent in the image: reduce the prominence, but don’t remove it. But if you are shooting for clients you sometimes have to please their wishes anyway 😂.
I think when you enhance a photo to better represent the shoot you took and how it communicates, that's photography. When you start modifying the image structure to add, alter, rotate, flip, airbrush, composite etc, you are moving into "Visual Art" using photographic sources, rather than pure photography. Just my opinion maybe. Maybe I'm just skewing the definitions of Documentary photography and photographic art. We all know those lines blur a lot in modern media.
I agree, Paul. thanks for your feedback!
Another excellent video Wolf. I really do look forward to seeing the work you do with photography and with these videos. They’re fantastic all around!!!
You say storks like to feast on frogs? ... 🐸 Frogs you say!!! Frogs? 😆 😂 They should pick on something their own size. 😂 😆 Save a frog - eat a sunfish, or some other destructive fish. 🐟 🐟
😂 Did I say frogs, Mrs President? I meant grass seeds and algae 😬😂. Thanks for your continued support, Jo. Much appreciated 🙏🙏
@@wolfamri 😊 Smile 😊
I think it depends on your end goal. If Nat Geo is paying for animal behavior, or a parent wants you to capture their child's birthday party, we should go for realism.
If you are shooting for yourself, for fun, or for no specific reasons, I don't see a reason not to do what interests you. Besides, it's one thing to create a Frankenstein in real life and another to create a Frankenstein via media editing. Good info as always, Wolf.
Thank you. I'm in the same boat. I once had GEO asking me to purchase a license for a thunderstorm shot. I told them that it was a merge of 2 images because I would have a bad feeling selling them something that wasn't 100% real.
you are amazing Wolf
thank you
Thank YOU 🙏🤗
When I saw in instagram, I thought the error was in wrong parts merged etc. But, lighting is more surprising.
Wonderful video sir.
Thank you, Ravi!
Great video!! 👏 I would love more videos like this one!
Thank you, Jorge. Wish noted 😉
Another great video👏👌, your channel is one of few channel that I accept notification (bell-all)! Since you asked, I'm always enjoying your tutorial videos, specifically lightroom tutorial. However, I know it may absorb less views than normal (as we talked before). Keep rock
Thanks Nabi! I really appreciate that 🙏🙏
Really neat work.
Thank you 🙏🙏🙏
Great!
Thanks, Ihab!
Good Story telling! ;)
Thanks, Jens. More telling than story 😂
Great videp
Thanks, Phil!
I'm REALLY missing your videos.
I understand if you're busy.
🙏 🤗! There‘s a lot more to come, promised 😉
@@wolfamri Okay :)
Great subject, light and shadow direction errors are one if not the most common errors with editing.
Thank you, David 🙏
I'm just waiting for your photoshop tutorial series.
Thank you, but I‘m afraid that might take a while. Photoshop is not what people usually expect from me 😉
How far? To the Outer Limits. Stop only when the imagination fails.
💪👌
Go as far as you wish, with one caveat. Always detail any editing when entering a competition: and certainly abide by the rules of a competition with respect to editing. Video editing has been accepted in wildlife documentaries for many years, with studio footage deliberately made to appear natural. If it's good enough for David Attenborough, then why should there be any controversy when editing is used by photographers? I would certainly be interested in a video detailing how you achieved the final image.
Good input, thanks! Video is a totally different beast. Too many documentaries basically faking everything to save time and money.
Sir plz make video on editing of those birds..
Thanks!! I hope there is a little more interest.
Sir we want a detailed video series for photoshop editing
Please
Thanks, Shanumukha! Noted ;)
Hello, did you use Manual mode? And if yes, do you always use Manual mode for wildlife photography? And why? Is it to be able to lower the ISO? Thanks!
Yes, I did use manual mode, which I mostly do for everything. Reason being is that when I changed to digital, I felt the cameras didn't do an all that great job in regard to metering. And I got so used to it, that I still do it like that, even though cameras these days do a much better job. Plus: with mirrorless you get what you see anyway, so it has become much easier too shoot manual.
But would I recommend it? Not really. I usually like to shoot wide open apertures and with the min shutter speed that I have in mind. My camera would let me set Auto ISO with min shutter speed, so Aperture priority with that would definitely be the better method. I need to do that more.
@@wolfamri Thank you for your answer! But if you are in Aperture mode, with ISO Auto, you won't be able to lower the ISO. I have understood in the video that you don't mind having a darker image because you can brighten it up on Lightroom. I thought that it was the reason why you used Manual Mode.
You can always use exposure compensation for that.
Let me explain:
- I set A mode and the aperture to the lowest possible number
- I set Auto ISO and in my camera settings I can choose a min shutter speed for Auto ISO and set it to 1/2000sec
Then the camera will choose a higher ISO, whenever it would have to reduce the shutter speed below 1/2000sec
If I feel the ISO gets too high and I want to lower that (which is a rather rare case, because I need the brightness anyway), I can dial in a negative exposure compensation. I hope that makes sense.
@@wolfamri Thank you, I understand. But I just had a look at my camera, a Canon Powershot G5X and I don't have the possibility to set a min shutter speed for Auto ISO. So I am not able to do what you do with my camera. The most important thing though, is that I have understood your explanation :-).
Oh yes 🤗. Don’t worry, almost every auto setting of a camera can be done manually if you understand what you are doing 😉
Depends if you're selling truth or art 🤔
That probably sums it up ;)
I'm getting convinced most folks don't want photos anymore.... everyone wants art.
When is the "geese" vlog coming up?
I'm not really sure, if we gathered enough material to do it 😬. We have lots of photos, but not all that much videos because it was extremely windy on our two visits to the area. The weather has been really bad and cold this spring 😥😭
photography should be freezing, captruring a moment... although one can pick photos from several sources and creat an image. As long as one is true and fair, photo is a photo and an image is something else, prettier as it maybe.
Thank you
Thank you for your feedback, Pedro!
@@wolfamri no, thank you for all your great work
🤗🤗
Fake? I guess that depends on what your doing with the image. Net Geo would call if fake, a wildlife contest would call it fake. But.
What about an artist?
As a wildlife artist I tend to be more forgiving about editing. For me all good photography is edited and very good photography is normally edited much more.
Its actually, imo impossible to capture any image, even with film, that does not have processing involved.
SOOC in the digital are is impossible because the camera itself will by design be altering the captured light to produce a JPEG .
Good job on Stork legs. I bet you could correct the "mistake" in PS.
Bill
Thanks, Bill 😉. Totally agree on editing in general.
It’s not really fake to show three fighters. Just a liiiiiittle bit fake. After all a few minutes before there were 3 of them fighting 😇
You know how to put my mind at ease, dad 😂