Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Why Process?

           When looking over your digital files do you sometimes wonder why you took the shot in the first place? When sharing photos with others, it's not uncommon to hear the words: "You had to be there to really appreciate the scene" or "A photograph really doesn't do it justice." Have you ever said that? I know I have.
         Even though modern cameras have amazing capabilities and are improving at a rapid pace, they just can't match the abilities of the human eye/brain combination. When we go about looking at various aspects of a scene in front of us, our eyes and brain work flawlessly together and make lightning fast adjustments so that we are able to record a picture or memory that is perfectly exposed. Whatever we look at in the scene is in focus and has enough detail and color so that we can really appreciate the beauty and mood that is conveyed. Not so with a camera. Generally, the camera is trying to find a balance, a middle ground so to speak, to try and gain an even exposure. This can often result in over exposed highlights, under exposed shadows with little detail or just an overall image that lacks the drama that actually caused you to take the shot in the first place. Now there are ways to minimize these deficiencies when composing your photographs but one thing that can also help is to have a good post processing program and learn to use it well. It can save many an image as the examples below will show.
        This shot was taken with a good quality DSLR. It was at a beautiful time of day with great color and cloud formations in the sky reflecting in the river below. We were rushing to dinner and I didn't bring my tripod but I wanted the shot. Hopefully my camera would do a decent job at metering the scene and maybe I could fix the deficiencies later in my go to processing program, Lightroom. Let's see:


Actually, for a single shot, the camera did a pretty good job. The sky is not blown out and there is detail both in the highlights and in the shadows. But trust me, this is not even close to what I witnessed that evening. Mood, color, drama? There was more to this scene, wasn't there? Absolutely! Look below:


This is more like it! The mood, color, drama is all there. I took this shot in RAW format and in doing so I gave myself the best chance to capture what unfolded before my eyes and to bring it all back later in my processing program. These images really impress upon me the benefits of shooting in RAW, investing in good processing software and learning how to use it. Thanks for looking!

2 comments:

  1. Wow, amazing difference! A beautiful picture!

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  2. WOW! What a difference! Really a very good reason to shoot RAW! Thanks for the reminder to always shoot in RAW mode! Have a nice day! Ulina

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