RiverNan Loc: Eastern Pa

I like it. Yes I enjoy getting it right in the camera but there is so much you can do with PP that I find it fun to play with those possibilities.

JMB9250 Loc: Upminster, Essex, UK

I think it is a good discipline to try and get it right in the camera, first time. I grew up on film so I learned that discipline.

Now I will do a bit of light editing if really necessary but only in iphoto. Quite frankly, too much editing just makes things look weird - you can really tell. In the end it is hard to make a badly taken picture into a really good one via editing.

Photography is a about seeing and composing. The less messing about after that the better!

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

I have Adobe LR and Photoshop (Adobe Cloud) and I have yet to have issues with locking up, etc. I shoot entirely NEF (RAW) and edit / post process every photo. I will shoot anywhere from 50 - 300 shots on a shoot and sometimes more depending on location (in fact, at last years Grand Prix in St. Petersburg, Fl. I took close to 5000 photos) time, availability of good shots etc. so it isn't unusual to be uploading all of the shots from that or those shoots to my laptop and or my main computer system for processing. My entire income depends on Adobe Lightroom and the process working correctly, so I would NOT deal with a process that, as you put it, was buggy, constantly locking up, freezing or otherwise unreliable. Lightroom has various shortcuts that will get you, quickly, close to the correct adjustment on an image (you do this by holding down the shift key while clicking on each of the first group of sliders and LR adjust each to or close to the best point) so it takes me about 3 minutes or less to get each photo close before I fine tune the ones I deem best. LR also has built-in corrections for most lens settings and easily exports the images to a desired folder for sending to processing labs, Facebook etc. LR automatically adds copyright logos etc. to each photo as it is exported. I too, grew up on film, and I attempt to start with a correctly shot image. Lightroom takes that correctly shot image and gives me the ability to adjust or enhance color, focus, edit shadows and other things that are impossible to do in camera. Then, there is Photoshop, which adds even more capability to the process. Are we spending more time? I used to have a darkroom and processed ALL of my black and white and color prints and slides (including film). Then I printed both slide and film. A. on a shoot, I would never be able to afford to shoot 3000 shots because of the price and weight of all of that film on a location. and B. I was spending 20 - 30 minutes or more on each shot in the darkroom. So, for me, digital processing is a Godsend.

sodapop Loc: Bel Air, MD

:thumbup:

mikegreenwald Loc: Illinois

Totally disagree.
The possibilities that these programs have opened up for us have added excitement and abilities that we never had before. We can do everything that we could before, but our horizons are so much wider than in the past, so far beyond anything we even could imagine a short time ago, that any price is worthwhile.

GregWCIL Loc: Illinois

You actually sell photos of bears with the zoo fence in the background? You are kidding, right?

Dale40203 Loc: Louisville, KY

Back in the days of "souping" film and tray processing prints, "getting it right" in the camera was not so much of an obsession. Choosing a grade of paper to alter contrast, burning and dodging portions of the image, exposing the film itself based on range of shadow to high-light and then developing according to the Zone System - these were all analog steps similar to post processing of the digital workflow. The Master Printers and amateurs alike would spend hours in the darkroom trying to reveal what was on that silver halide frame.

billwassmann Loc: Emerson, NJ

I too try to get it right in the camera. I had PhotoShop 2 and learned a little bit, then a friend bought me CS4 and I got lost. The things I thought I knew didn't seem to work. Deep sigh.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

:thumbup:
I agree with Don and appreciate both good fundamental photo technique and the added creative possibilities of post process. With time and lots of practice I've managed to become more adept with LR v5.7 (and may now elect to upgrade to LR v6.3). That said, some months ago I began looking beyond the constraints of LR and Photoshop, and very recently purchased a copy of DxO OpticsPro 10 Elite. In many ways I find OP10 a more straightforward 'anvil' on which to craft my images. It is by no means inexpensive, but over the short space of one year it will be cheaper than Adobe's $9.99 monthly annuity option.

aaciolkowski Loc: Sugar Grove Illinois

You hit the nail on the head. I also started a long time ago. On location product shoot exposing 100 sheets of 4x5 8x10 sheet film. Processing and proofing would take a day or more. you are more than right Truly a God send.

Mark7829 Loc: Calfornia

I think we missed it along with the OP. What processor and OS are you using, how much ram, do you use agraphics card, HD speed and storage, etc. Is everything tuned and memory allocated? If you are running today's software on large HD images on a minimal system, you're going to have problems.

There is no magic button, no magic software, no simple anything if you want to be proficient. Years ago, you would shoot and take your film or slides to the drug store and a week later you would get back what you shot with little control on the quality of the images. Most ended up in shoe boxes to never see the light of day. For the post part those days are gone and we are better for it.

There is a new learning curve, technology, jargon and technique. You will need to make an investment in yourself. You will need to learn and learning is better with hands-on instruction in the form of workshops, seminars, and classes. Join a local camera club, subscribe to a photographer's blog, shoot and shoot often.

There is NOTHING wrong with post processing. If you shoot RAW it is required. You're not going to get it perfect in camera. The camera has its own flaws and issues. But trying to get it right in camera is always the best start. I never try to get it right in camera to avoid post processing. Getting it right in camera just means I am using fewer correcting tools and more optimization tools. Never less processing.

Sure there are wonderful plugins but you don't have to use them at all. If you do, you will have to get use to disconnects when Adobe upgrades or when the software updates. It is the nature of the beast.

Photography is a science as it is an art. It is complicated, it is challenging, never easy, but also very rewarding.

texashill Loc: Texas Hill Country

I like to use "Fill Light". Otherwise, "getting it right in the camera" would require bringing in lighting for interior shots and, of course, would not be possible for exterior shots.

LennyP4868 Loc: NJ

yes I got rid of it and just use elements it has everything I need for post processing and it only cost $40 at Cosco and its mine not rented and controlled

mjmoore17 Loc: Philadelphia, PA area

[quote=raden]No kidding. With all the downloads, updates, bugs and crashes from Adobe LR and PS and similar problems with other editing programs, plug-ins, presets, etc., that was created or compounded with a computer hard drive crash and all the hassles of dealing with that, I now just almost completely and totally despise having to do any editing at all. I used to really enjoy it and will again soon....

I must be in a minority, I use the CC version of PS and LR and have had no issues. I still enjoy editing photos. I have quite a lot to learn about both programs but my frustrations are all due to my lack of knowledge, not the computer programs themselves. If I did not read about them here, I would be hard pressed to know that most of them exist.

janelux Loc: Florida

I agree with you totally!! :thumbup: