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I quit editing photos
101–110 of 160 posts
Re: I quit editing photos
#102I went one step farther and quit taking photos. And this is after many years of hobbiest photography in the film era, had a darkroom at home, SLR with several lenses. Early digital cameras were underwhelming, basically the equivalent of a 110 film snapshot camera. By the time they got good I had started to reflect on the fact that I almost never went back and looked at any of the photos I'd taken, so I just stopped.…
It really depends on the person. I do not take photos for the memories, I take photos for art and I do go back and look at them.
I'm in the same boat. My phone is used to record 'memories', but I rarely ever look at the shots I capture with it. I'd probably be better off dropping this habit.
My camera is for art, and in my mind this an entirely different thing than recording stuff with my phone. These are as different as using writing utensils to briefly write notes vs. using them to make a complex drawing.
Re: I quit editing photos
#103Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are plenty of people who sincerely enjoy the aspects that make older tech less convenient or practical. Maybe it's an appreciation for the engineering or "comprehensibility," often it's because older tech produces unique outputs that can't be adequately captured by newer technology. Reducing people's interest to "social signalling" comes off as dismissive.
Come on. This article isn't about the joys of doing things the hard way. To quote: "Then, at the start of 2022 I got my first analogue film camera: a Leica M6. (I know... I dived straight in the deep end.) This was my first introduction to how editing could be easier." It isn't easier. Film is pain. Pain can be good, but this is selling a mirage.
Hello, original author here. What I meant by “easier”:
Consumer film is designed to be developed and scanned/printed by your lab. You then get a finished image.
Most modern interchangeable-lens digital cameras are designed for you to shoot RAW and edit in software like Lightroom.
Because I first started photography around 2010, I was taught at school to take pictures, then edit them on a computer.
Shooting film for the first time was originally about trying something new in a hobby I enjoy. As stated, it removed the need to sit in front of a computer. “Easier”.
I wish I’d stopped shooting RAW sooner. Trying film led to that realisation.
(And I agree film can be a pain. I’ve ruined several rolls through both stupidity and cameras breaking. I still enjoy it.)
Re: I quit editing photos
#104The development I'm most excited about these days is AI restoration; I can denoise and upscale my pictures to my satisfaction. The next developments I'd like to see are refocusing (with depth maps) and retiming (with video) in post.
Re: I quit editing photos
#105Whatever floats the boat. Even back to film/analog era, taking a photo is just the 1st step. Then apply some darkroom work (dodge/burn/use some filters to adjust the highlight/shadow etc etc). Image editing softwares like Photoshop simplify the process. I mostly shoot in black & white (both film and digital). Since once of my biggest inspirations is Ansel Adams, then no I don't adhere to "SOOC" (straight out of camer…
Printmaking is a huge part of the art form. I think a lot of people miss this fact in the "shoot and scan" age of film photography. Not everyone cares, or even needs to care, but those who do really should read the Ansel Adams trilogy.
Yeah, its kinda telling those who treat everything after shooting film as some sort of binary process.
I feel a lot of them would benefit more from just processing all their photos through some basic profile that ends with running it through a film simulator.
Re: I quit editing photos
#106My version of this workflow is, i take digital photos, and don't edit them.
Turns out, it's fine! The photos aren't perfect, but no amount of editing could make them perfect anyway. They look like the thing they're a picture of. That does the job. And with the time i save by not doing any editing, i have time to take more photos! Or read a book! Or sleep!
Re: I quit editing photos
#107I don't want to dunk on people who are discovering the charms of retro tech, but as someone who started with film and spent a fair amount of time in the darkroom, I was delighted to discover the hassle-free simplicity and dependability of digital photography, so it is a bit mind-boggling that people want to go back to the old way of doing things for their everyday snaps. It reminds me of people buying vinyl, using VH…
Vinyl (IMO) isn't about it being retro or having "better" sound quality (whatever that means, it's mostly subjective), but about having a collectable, physical item. I think CDs were a step backwards, not because the sound quality was off but because the boxes were smaller and fragile; I've never owned any music CDs. Digital music is neat for listening to music, but it also feels like it lowers the value of it.
Like retro PC game collectors, they realpy just want that giant box! Most of their games are probably just ISOs on an SSD.
Re: I quit editing photos
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Most of them take mediocre to bad shots and then somehow manage to make them worse. Examples of this? What do you consider mediocre, but is still hugely popular?
It would be unkind to single anyone out so I am not going to. The thing is, I can for the life of me not think of a single photo influencer/youtuber who is also a popular _photographer_. They're popular influencers/youtubers. As for what I mean by mediocre: let's say you are looking at a portrait of someone you don't know. If you can't remember it 10-30 minutes later, it was probably mediocre or worse. Would you reco…
Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it.
Re: I quit editing photos
#109I don't want to dunk on people who are discovering the charms of retro tech, but as someone who started with film and spent a fair amount of time in the darkroom, I was delighted to discover the hassle-free simplicity and dependability of digital photography, so it is a bit mind-boggling that people want to go back to the old way of doing things for their everyday snaps. It reminds me of people buying vinyl, using VH…
I started on 35mm and dark rooms then went to digital. 35mm is more fun and more rewarding.
Re: I quit editing photos
#110Original author here! Thank you speckx for sharing.
I’m not a professional photographer, I just wanted to write about where I’m at with a hobby I’ve had for ~15 years.
I love using a camera, I don’t love editing at a computer. So now I’m choosing digital cameras that have decent editing options in-camera. It’s comparable to choosing the roll in your film camera.
If there are any questions, I may get around to answering them. (No promises.)