Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

Just read an article from Mike Moats on this subject https://tinylanscapes.wordpress.com/2017/02/21/its-your-art-do-what-you-like-with-it/

catchlight.. Loc: Wisconsin USA- Halden Norway

Photoshop is a tool...you can improve, enhance or artistically express what the camera is incapable of. Most expect that the basic corrections with software to some degree. Criticism is natural if the obvious short comings draw attention. Lack of effort is not an excuse unless an example is displayed without processing for a specific reason.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

We are photographers but digital demands in the majority of the cases some editing. If I am going to show a picture straight out of camera my file would always be a JPEG, RAW files require editing to bring the best in them.
I guess you could say we are into the Photoshop era.

NikonCharlie Loc: Kansas USA

Agree

Doug RC Loc: Western Massachusetts

Both (nowadays)
It 'seems to me' .. that there was a time when the best photos were created by arranging lighting, backdrops ... using filters of all sorts, etc etc to 'effect' the desired appearance .. as opposed to "seeing the possible" taking the shot (with only 'in camera' controls adjusted) then (if that isn't enough) to crop, perhaps change white balance a bit .. and so on. no?

Smudgey Loc: Ohio, Calif, Now Arizona

It is always a choice, maybe the question is, Is acceptable good enough ????

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

We are both. If you choose to enter a competition, you are subject to the eyes of the judge. If you are not open to his/her criticism, then one of your options is not to enter. I think you make a good point, but if the best final artistic and photographic content of an image is the desired result (the winners), you may have to accept post processing as part of the "gig". It's the "darkroom" for the digital image.
Mark

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

In today's world, one should realize that even cameras are photoshoppers.
For example, on all my Canon cameras (XSi, T2i, T6s), I can change the in-camera settings.
I push the Menu button, scroll to Picture Style, choose it, and then I can choose Auto, Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, User Def. 1, User Def. 2, and User Def. 3.
For each of those choices, I can then set the Sharpness (0 to 7), Contrast (-4 to +4), Saturation (-4 to +4), and Color tone (-4 to +4).
Other settings on the camera allow me to modify exposure compensation, white balance, ISO, shutter speed, aperture, or even add creative filters (Grainy B/W, Soft focus, Fish-eye effect, Art bold effect, Water painting effect, Toy camera effect, Miniature effect), crop the picture, and change the brightness.

One of the best reasons for joining a photography club is to see what cameras other people are using and what their cameras can do. One of the little ol' ladies in my camera club, 77 years old, uses no post-camera processing software. However, she has a Canon 70D. You should see her "post process" in her camera, both before and after she takes the picture, looking at and changing the histogram, the noise, the brightness.......... I pointed out to her one day that "post processing" really meant "after you take the picture," not after the picture leaves the camera, and I showed her using her own camera. She now understands, and since she has higher power connections in the camera club, the president asked me to do a "post processing" seminar for the camera club. We had around 200 people that morning; very few of them had ever explored their camera settings, preferring to think that they were expert photographers because they knew what P, A, ISO, Av, Tv, and M meant.

One guy loves sunrise and sunset pictures, but he doesn't like getting up before noon, and by the time sunset arrives, he's too busy with the wine & women. I showed him how to use the settings on his camera to get a sunrise/sunset picture at 2:00 p.m. any day of the year using his in-camera settings. Now he's the happiest guy on Earth.

What one also should realize is that the little computers that power our cameras are more powerful than the 1960s computers that sent man to the moon and brought him back safely. Why not use that power?

Realize, though, that computers require software to make them run. Just like I prefer Photoshop over Photo-Paint and PaintShop Pro, I prefer the Canon software engineers' programming over the programming from the engineers at Nikon, Sony, and the others. It's not always about price.

I also enjoy post processing on my computer using Photoshop since I have a big computer screen, a fast computer, music to listen to, a dog by my side and a cat in my lap, and a margarita sitting on the desk. Trying to do post processing on a little 3" LCD screen with little buttons, out in the wild, is not my idea of fun.

So I don't have much respect for someone who spouts out that their pictures are straight out of the camera. All that tells me is that they haven't explore all that their cameras can do.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Critique is healthy. We get another person's perspective. We can take it or leave it, use it or lose it. If we can't take criticism, don't submit. When our club critiques, we are supposed to do positive first because some member's have sensitive feelings. That sets the bar pretty low.

Ralloh Loc: Ohio

I know there are some who will go ballistic over this statement, but, I really don't care. Every single photo can benefit from post processing. Every one. The amount of pp depends on the photo and the photographer.

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

The consensus seems to be post processing is another photographic tool in your arsenal - use it!.

I'm going to adopt the argument of the climate change scientists (all 97% of them). It's settled science (or art).

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

Call if whatever you want to, but if your images do not stack up to the others do not expect to be judged well. If you don't like the criticism, then get out of the kitchen so to speak.

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

I don't remember Ansel Adams bragging that he prints straight from his negs.

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

I don't remember Ansel Adams bragging that he prints straight from his negs.