Do you fix post prodution or retake?? This happens to me all the time. I'll take a series of photos and then later find that I missed some annoying detail. Once I did a whole series of...

DaughterAlice

This happens to me all the time. I'll take a series of photos and then later find that I missed some annoying detail. Once I did a whole series of photos of game pieces, thought they turned out GREAT, then later saw that a black dog hair was stuck to one of the pieces in all the photos. Somehow I didn't see it with my naked eye. On this one, I did a whole series of flag and guitar images, only to see that even though I attempted to wipe down the guitar, I missed some gross red goober stuck to the front of the guitar. Now I'm debating retouching, or retaking. There's no client involved, only my own satisfaction. I do submit images for stock photography from time to time, and many of my images are taken with the mind that I might submit it. Otherwise, I photograph objects just for the pure love of it.

So am I the only negligent photographer who captures hairs, spots, smudges and goobers? Do you tend to fix any of that later in Photoshop or do you prefer to retake (if that is even possible)?

Bushpilot Loc: Minnesota

If it's something that can be fixed easily in post I'll fix it in post, if it a lesser hassle to reshoot then reshoot.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

DaughterAlice wrote:

This happens to me all the time. I'll take a serie... (show quote)

Just like sensor spots, if it can be fixed easily in post, why clean and retake?

IMHO - getting it "right" in camera is only an old adage, with software post processing of digital files today, just get the shot, corrections can usually be done in post, and no one is the wiser :)

JennT Loc: South Central PA

Sometimes it is impossible to retake-- (insect has flown away--parade was yesterday.....) best to get it right in camera, but also to know how to fix!

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Very minor issues, such as the dog hair or goober you mentioned, I'll easily take care of in post. However, diligence in setting up a scene takes time. It's the setup time that can make or break a good composition and resulting photograph. Personally, I'm obsessively meticulous when setting up a still life for a photograph. I'm much the same way when doing a portrait. The up front time is well worth the possibility of messing things up even worse in post.
--Bob

DaughterAlice wrote:

This happens to me all the time. I'll take a serie... (show quote)

Kuzano

Some anal retentive viewer of the corrected pic always points out the artifacts that post processing leaves in the image. Reshoot. Getting it as right as possible in the camera will always yield an image that requires less work in the computer.

Catching those items during capture makes you a better photographer. Not catching those items at the time of capture eventually creates more work for you. It encourages you to be sloppier at capture.

Relying on excessive post processing does NOT make you a better photographer. It does make you a better Graphic Illustrator. Is that what you want?

DaughterAlice

This is EXACTLY the feedback I'm looking for! I really need to be more meticulous and better focused on detail from the beginning. I spent many years as a graphic artist, and I'm pretty good at touch-ups, but a really good job takes time. Better to get it right in the first place.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

"Better to get it right in the first place." <-- That's the spirit.

--Bob

DaughterAlice wrote:

This is EXACTLY the feedback I'm looking for! I really need to be more meticulous and better focused on detail from the beginning. I spent many years as a graphic artist, and I'm pretty good at touch-ups, but a really good job takes time. Better to get it right in the first place.

Tony.mustang

I personally would retake the picture to try improve your skills rather that making into something that is made up. Photographers are leaning more to correct there photos rather than improving there skills . I know I will receive strong negative responses but everyone has there own opinion.keep shooting.

TheDman Loc: USA

Kuzano wrote:

Some anal retentive viewer of the corrected pic always points out the artifacts that post processing leaves in the image.

Don't leave artifacts.

ggttc Loc: TN

We take mostly wildlife and birds in flight...if you have 60 seconds with a subject to compose, look for distractions etc that's a lot of time.

So consequently you sometimes end up with a twig that seems to be sticking out of the birds head...or an annoying branch etc. which are corrected in post to save an otherwise good shot...no shame in that.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Dngallagher wrote:

Just like sensor spots, if it can be fixed easily in post, why clean and retake?

Which is why Photoshop CC has the Edit/Fill/Content Aware tool.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

DaughterAlice wrote:

This is EXACTLY the feedback I'm looking for! I really need to be more meticulous and better focused on detail from the beginning. I spent many years as a graphic artist, and I'm pretty good at touch-ups, but a really good job takes time. Better to get it right in the first place.

Dirt fit. Do it right the first time.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

DaughterAlice wrote:

This happens to me all the time. I'll take a serie... (show quote)

Minor things such as in your guitar images are definitely a fix. If it requires much work a reshoot may be in order. It depends on which is more feasible.

Photographer Jim Loc: Rio Vista, CA

I think you may be a bit hard on yourself by referring to yourself as a negligent photographer because of a fairly insignificant detail. If upon viewing the image you were thinking "Gee, I should've used a different lighting set up on that", or "this image would be better if I change the angle just slightly", then sure reshoot it. But the flaw that you are concerned with is something that can be so easily fixed, probably in less than a minute, and fixed in such a way that the edit is totally unnoticeable, it seems to me reshooting would be a total time suck that would not necessarily produce an image that would be any better than what you have now, and which may have more problems than what you're concerned with at the moment. IMHO, there are times when attempts to be perfect become an exercise in diminishing returns. You may be happier spending that reshoot time on creating another nice image. Use your spot healing brush, and then without concern move on to exercising your creativity with your next project.