Wallen Loc: Middle Earth

I know the feeling of being overwhelmed by the software and the big expectation so back then, when i was teaching Photoshop, I would open the first day of class with "if PS can not improve it, that's godforsaken ugly".

That always breaks the ice and tension so students become more relaxed and be able to follow on.

Powerful Photoshop may be, I am a proponent of keeping an edit as few and invisible as possible, adhering to rule#1 "Always start with the best photo"

Hence, even as I plan ahead with the full intent of giving enough leeway for editing, I would always give my best to capture a good SOOC image.

That of course is not always possible, specially with anything of action like wildlife, sports & street photography. Those can be very dramatic and dynamic in every sense, occasions where the knowledge of PS and the willingness to put some effort on an image can be satisfying.

Sometimes, it is not about improving or saving a photo, but making the image in one's imagination tangible.
The time spent project images can be really long. Like a good movie or video game, time is irrelevant when someone goes "into the zone".

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

You don't?

TimHGuitar Loc: San Francisco, CA

I had mentioned (in an earlier comment) that when photographing a large family photo, I left space on the edge of the group and after making a few exposures, I then handed the camera to someone else and went into that space to include myself into the group photo. Afterwards I used Photoshop and looked closely at all the expressions and pasted in some heads where the eyes may have blinked and I placed myself into the space left empty. That was one example of how to use Photoshop. In this case, PS, was part of the planned photo shoot.

lyndacast

Absolutely agree! A lot of my friends take bad images, throw them in PS, and then do a lot of manipulation to get a graphic image. Not my style!

srt101fan

Is it not your style to "correct" with a photo-editing program? Or is it not your style to "create" with a photo-editing program? There is a difference.

tripsy76 Loc: Northshore, MA

If it makes you feel better, I only use Photoshop for image adjustments and basic editing (as well as more advanced compositing), and get just as lost trying to figure out Lightroom or why I would need to use it.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

You've heard the expression, lipstick on a pig, right?

There are no bad pictures, just stories about why you didn't need to delete it.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

You don’t “need” to use it but for basic photo editing it’s pretty robust and easier than PS and it’s a parametric editor so it never makes direct changes to the image file. But the main thing is the cataloging function. With keywords and collections it makes it easy to manage your photo library.

tripsy76 Loc: Northshore, MA

That’s good to know! Sounds like it’s one of those things where the platform you learn with is the one you go for.

For the keywords and collections, is that similar to Bridge?

Also, just saw you’re from Manassas, I used to live down the road in Warrenton.

vg Loc: Kansas City area

Try Matt klowkowski photoshop course. At $99. It is excellent. I am half way through it.