OldEarl Loc: Northeast Kansas

The problem with film is that the manipulation of the print is done in a highly toxic environment. After twelve years of spending inordinate amounts of time in the lab you start to notice the effects. After thirty years you have the negatives or transparencies and you cannot work them yourself anyway.

The discipline--metering and visualizing--is largely the same although it is harder with digital to think in B&W. I discovered that in a number of chromes I shot that I was still thinking Black and White.

I think that those of us my age would prefer silver for the discipline. If you like shooting a thousand frames for five to ten finals, go ahead--digital media can be reused.

BigWahoo Loc: Kentucky

All of your photos are being processed by/in your camera; unless you are shooting in raw.

Sometimes my shots are fine Straight Out of the Camera and sometimes they need a little help.

alby Loc: very eastern pa.

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Lynn L Loc: Northern IL

I appreciate what you're saying; ben there, done that. You just do what pleases you, with the results you require. If you shoot jpegs you won't need much processing. I remember walking all over the county with a 4x5 view over my shoulder, exposing for the shadows & developing for the highlights. I also remember the need for precise control of both the exposure and development. I also remember a whole big bunch of dodge here-burn there, etc,etc.; POST PROCESSING! I did it, you did it, we all did it. And now we can still do it, if we shoot in raw. I shoot raw all the time and it always needs PP because it's my digital negative. PP is what made Adams photos so great, at lease most of them. And we can still do it to get the image we saw in our mind when we made the exposure. And we can do it with tripping in the dark, inhaling dilute acetic acid, and working all night to maybe get what we wanted. I don't really think it makes any diff. how we do it, as long as we are faithful to our vision. Hope this gives you a thought or insight. ENJOY YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY--IT'S WONDERFUL!

mutrock

To do post work or not and film vs digital are not necessarily linked. Film photographers (Ansel Adams being one of the best known) can spend hours or days doing post work on one image. Adams' time was in the dark room, and not behind a computer. You can shoot digital or film and decide to do or to skip the post work. In digital you set the parameters you want in the camera and shoot in JPEG instead of RAW. No post required. You can also apply pre-set editing when you download your images to a program like Lightroom. Almost no post-work required. The bigger decision is whether you like the artistic medium of film or digital. Kind of like water colors vs oil.

photo169 Loc: Chicago,ILL

Taking photos is about capturing the moment as is, not by doctoring up the photo on a computer to make it look artificial.

pecohen Loc: Central Maine

There may be an element of aptitude but as with photography generally I think most of us are capable of editing photos but there is a learning curve.

Learning how to do post-processing, just like snapping pictures, can be fun but that depends more on your attitude towards it than on your aptitude for it. I think of it as a life-long learning experience, not something anyone can pick up in a few days and then just use that skill. I've been doing post-processing for at least twenty years and I still learn new techniques all the time. I don't expect that to ever stop - if only because the editing software itself keeps evolving.

If you are just getting started, make a copy of a photo and start experimenting with your editing software. Try different tools, effects, etc. and just play with them to see what they can do; remember - it's just a copy of your photo. If you can't figure out something by trying it then turn to the manual or look up on U-tube to see if there's a video that might help; you can even post a question on this site. Then go back to playing around to find out what other tools do - always thinking about what kind of use it might be in improving an image.

After you are familiar with something like a quarter of what your editing software can do (this might take a few days), it will be time to take on a photo with the objective of improving it and then you will be starting the next phase of learning. As with using your camera, there will always be more to learn.

waegwan Loc: Mae Won Li

Hmmm who did your darkroom work when you shot film? I did film mode most of my life and spent most of the time in PP (darkroom). PP is PP whether it is darkroom or computer. I'm only doing digital now because I don't have an adequate place to set up my darkroom equipment and I don't want to give up photography as a hobby. I still prefer film and darkroom over digital but I'm enjoying learning digital too. But still, PP is PP it is just a matter of mindset.

PhotoArtsLA Loc: Boynton Beach

There are shooting tricks and there are post editorial tricks. If you don't know how to shoot a model walking, then chances are, you can try many, many, many, times in vain to get the shot when knowing how to do it will get it in one. Or a few to get various expressions. To shoot a car in motion, the car barely moves. How do you light a black piano? Et cetera. Those who had darkrooms in the past see the digital frame as just the beginning of the process, which involves post. Digital post is more creative than darkroom post, thus it is more fun.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Actually, in the style and method of the masters that preceded us, its both. Though I would not characterize post processing work as "doctoring up the photo on a computer to make it look artificial" though some photographers might do that. Open any fashion, real estate, photography, or the product label on just about any product on the market with a picture of the contents on it - but, consider that a good amount of the manipulation occurs before the shutter opens.

coot Loc: Evansville, IN.

I use Corel PaintShop pro X7. It has 2 editing screens. One for advanced editing and one with less complex tools. I am learning to use it. All you have to do is pull up a picture and adjust it to your hearts content to learn how to use it. You can cancel any and all changes you make while you are learning how to post process your photos. For some time I just practiced on pictures and canceled the changes. Now I have gotten to the point am keeping many of my edits. It's a learning process that can be fun to learn. Just start by making simple adjustments until you get the hang of it.

dragonfist Loc: Stafford, N.Y.

Give it a rest. Always great with the bad vibes aren't you. Must be hell to be perfect.

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

Why does Rongnongo need to be so rude all the time.
It's probably taken years of practice to be so good at it.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

I think this gentleman makes a good point, one to which I aspire as well -- getting it right the first time, in camera. I would like to suggest that if you don't have anything nice to say, keep it to yourself. IMHO!

coot Loc: Evansville, IN.

A thought. You might want to think about your picture making process as you would making an item out of wood. You first use your tools (camera equipment) to make it as good as you can, then you apply a finish (photo post processing). It then becomes a skilled 2 step process, 3 if you're going to print it.