• Yes – Regularly
• Yes – Occassionally
• No – Never

View Results

• 
  rselph
  

  Back when I used film and worked in the darkroom, I would have given anything to have the kind of tools that are available now. What’s important to me is the image I see, not the image my camera sees.

• 
  Peter Kremzar
  

  How true. Unedited photo is a semi product. And Ansel Adams wouldn’t be Ansel Adams without his own photo edits.

• 
  FirstMate58
  

  I have Photoshop Elements but am just learning and don’t really know how to use it.

• 
  Heaney Hong
  

  The image has to be what we want it to express and not as reflected through the camera.

• 
  Barbara Farr
  

  I usually do some post processing; cropping for sure. I am into square format these days.

• 
  http://lenslord.com/ ijak
  

  I do not release any image without some post processing by me. When I learned photography, we would spend a week in pre-production, a couple days in shooting, a day in processing film. and two weeks in post production.

  Now I am faster, but the relative times in each phase are still applied to my work.

  http://www.thelenslord.com

  Jack

• 
  Myer
  

  Photographing in Raw makes PP essential Darkroom without the chemicals

• 
  SherriS.
  

  I used to be a never process kind of girl. But I kept reading info on here and other posts about the camera not capturing all the rich details that our eyes do. That helped me alot. Then I photographed my niece’s wedding and I had to “erase” a guy from the background of the vows shots (on the beach) and it was funny how it made me feel kind of sick while doing it. Lol.

• 
  Arnob
  

  I love have the real look of photos….

• 
  Peter
  

  It depends on the image and what I aim to portray with it. Sometimes I look at an image and see a number of stories depending on what I do with it, the edit is part of the creative process. There are other times when the picture requires little more than a bit of enhancement such as lifting the levels. But as a photojournalist I would never lie with an image.

• 
  http://www.praverb.net/ Praverb
  

  Honestly when I first started “taking pictures” I did not edit. Over the past year I have learned that taking a photo is the beginning of the creative process. Post processing or editing highlights the creative process. I believe this is based on the individual. Some like to edit, while some people might go overboard. The goal is to share your energy with the world.

  I didn’t start editing until I started shooting RAW.

• 
  tony
  

  i process all my salvageable pictures; i did in film with varying developing times, developers, dodging and burning. we just have more control now. my sole criterion is does processing make the picture more like what i envisioned when i pushed the shutter.

• 
  steve simmer
  

  A well-processed photo should look real. To see over-processed surreal photos, check out 500px.

• 
  Bill C
  

  Personally I might occasionally adjust white balance but generally I won’t rich a photo.

  Non-personally, I take a lot of photos for a large NGO. By policy we do not alter or post-process pit photos in any way.

• 
  John The Builder
  

  I am an amateur. I tend to think of Post Processing in the same way I
  would have thought of B/W darkroom techniques 40 years ago. When I did
  my own darkroom work, I would always control contrast, brightness and do
  some dodging as needed. almost every shot gets cropped.Now that I have control over color balance and many other tools within my software, I do little more than I did in the past.
  Yes, I balance for color if the camera let me down. I shoot RAW so that
  I can have it all if needed, but seldom take control as an artist would
  with a painting.

• 
  catlett
  

  Yes. If it was a good idea for Ansel Adams then it is probably an even better idea for everybody else. I don’t think photojournalists should be cloning items in and out, etc. but if you aren’t doing documentary work it is all interpreted. It may have been interpreted by whatever film, exposure and lens was used. If it is digital then by the processor, software and lens used. There is no perfect capture device and no correct way of processing. Some people think that a well processed photo should look real. Which is just fine for an individual to decide for THEMSELVES but everybody gets to decide how they want their art to be presented. If they want surreal then it is their choice and right.

• 
  Bojan
  

  Completely right. Photography is a process of expressing what we see and feel. The camera distorts that, and the process is not finished until we bring the image back to what we have felt about it.

• 
  Guest
  

  As a non photographer, all I can say is that when I view striking or beautiful images that are NOT processed or edited I am in awe of your skill. It’s rare to see anyone saying their photo is edited so I now assume they are – but on the occasion when they are not edited (I don’t mean cropping, though no doubt that will put people up in arms) the photographer will often proudly announce this, as they should.

  These days I tend to look at all photos, however beautiful, and if I reflect on the skill level of the photographer I assume that, yep with good software millions could probably do that too. It doesn’t stop the image from being beautiful or compelling or worth looking at, but it definitely alters the view of your skill as a photographer. Perhaps you don’t think that’s fair, but it’s honest.

  If you decide not to alter your pictures, let people know, they will be amazed and in awe of your talent.

• 
  Guest
  

  PS, naturally, I do take photos. But I make a distinction between snaps on my camera and being a photographer.

• 
  Ruth
  

  Hi there, thanks for a great site, I have learned loads since reading the articles. I don’t currently post-process my images, however, I can see that I need to learn how to do it to really make my images ‘pop’. I just don’t know where to start though – what should my thought process be when I first look at an image on the computer screen so that I know what needs doing to it?

• 
  Gijsbert Peijs
  

  Most of my pics get a bit of Lightroom treatment before I publish them.

  Sometimes a very small item can be very distracting and spoil a great shot. No harm in getting rid of those pesky bugger but be open and honest about it.Same goes for action shots. Most of the time you don’t have enough time to get the ideal composition. Cropping and/or straightening can still turn those shots into keepers.

  But whatever you do, don’t overdo it. Nothing worse than those over-processed pictures.

• 
  Mark Runge
  

  I post process but find that I rarely get the time to sit down and give them the right attention. Getting better at keywording and doing initial tweaking on download but that extra step of going through a post processing… it may wait for another day.

• 
  http://helenogbourn.com/ Helen
  

  I edit my photos if I want to make my photo into an artistic work, but leave them alone/make minor tweaks if they’re more documentary style photos.

  I get a lot of pleasure from the editing process and enjoy learning about it as much as I enjoy learning about photography.

  I used to think of editing as cheating but I’ve learnt that it helps me express more of my creativity.

• 
  Michael Owens
  

  I have two visions on this topic.

  1.) I am a Photoshop expert, being a Graphic Designer for years, I know the software in and out, and know I can fix any image to my liking when I get home.

  2.) I am now a budding Photographer, and am learning it from the ground up, so I want to learn how to minimise the editing process and have the shot show the work rather than my handy Photoshop skills!

  So I am saying…. I am on the fence!

  But I voted YES:Regularly.

• 
  Michael Owens
  

  That’s the thing… in todays age, you will be hard pushed to find an actual untouched image any more.

• 
  Joe Shelby
  

  Same as last time. A quick phone shot may go straight to Facebook for the comedy factor (or if it is just a nice scene), but the DSLRs are all shot raw and need to always be selected, cropped, polished.

• 
  Carl
  

  I truly respect photographers that can capture a moment with their camera without the need for post editing. it can be a difficult skill to master. I too am still learning..I do feel that the final image is what matters as it is an art form. you are displaying your vision to the viewer and only the vision you want to show. the technology or software is just another skill to master. it allows another depth of your vision if you wish to use it or not.

• 
  Binoy
  

  I definitely edit a lot, but the definition of edit is something that needs some clarification. 99% of my editing ends in ACR itself (tweaking WB, Exposure, Highlights/Shadow recovery etc). The rest 1% that I do in PS is Dodging and Burning. I never clone or alter my images. But there are people who can change a normal photo in sunrise/sunset, create a reflection where there is no water, Magically put something in the picture that is not there etc. Now I am up-in-arms against that. I feel that enhancing picture slightly is not bad, but when change the look and feel of an image , then its no more a photograph, its a Digital Art. I consider HDR as Digital Art, not photography.

• 
  Iris Nelson
  

  Very well said!

• 
  LauraAnnettePhotography
  

  To me the “edit” is the culling process, which I always do. I try to get it right in camera so as not to have to spend much time on the post process. I try to keep it to minor tweaks unless I am going for a “look” or converting to black and white.

• 
  MaryAnne306
  

  If you have the software to do editing or PP on your photos, you just need to start experimenting to see what works for you. If you use a separate product such as LightRoom or PaintBox, there are online tutorials to learn HOW to use it, then you start applying what you learn bit by bit to your photos. If you only have software that came with your camera, you might not be able to find tutorials, but again, you just start applying it.

• 
  Pat Alexander NY
  

  Anyone that doesn’t edit their photographs or explore the creative possibilities is missing a lot of fun. For years I used PhotoShop but now that it’s gone subscription only, I’ve switched to Gimp. This weekend I read a piece about a photographer who switched from using a Hasselblad to an iphone camera for his commercial work. He said people are often too hung up on camera gear and pixel count and he now considers himself not a photographer – but an image maker. In this new digital world, I think that’s where things are going.

• 
  Ro
  

  My photos are either good or NOT. No cheating!

• 
  Rebecca Ednie
  

  Most of my photos are product photos for my blog. Since I haven’t yet bought good lights for my light box, the lighting I have is very yellow even when white balanced as much as possible so I have to adjust them in post. They and my other photos are only minimally processed -exposure, white balance and cropping.

• 
  Roger Graham
  

  Post process ALL my images. Always shoot in Raw.

• 
  Ava Gunn Kinsey
  

  EverydayElements.com is a blog that I follow regularly. It has been a big help to me.

• 
  Mozart F
  

  Photoshopize them!

• 
  Dhy Strike
  

  I always shoot raw especially those that I want to upload on my account on flicker, but with those with jpeg format I don’t touch those at all.

• 
  Sherry
  

  If you shoot in raw, you absolutely have to post process, otherwise the image would be flat and completely unlike what you saw in person.

• 
  Bob Blauvelt
  

  I usually underexpose my images by a stop or less to assure I don’t blow out the highlights, then use the Photoshop “Adjust lighting” enhancements to lighten shadows, darken highlights and maybe add or drop a couple % of contrast. I do this for most every photo I plan to publish, print or post. Cropping is used selectively as needed, or to create multiple different photos from a single file. So far, I’ve worked mostly in JPGs – just ready to start working with RAW.

• 
  Jody
  

  Mainly light and shadows, sometimes a crop. I try to get photos right from the camera.

• 
  DJ
  

  I shoot RAW and so I do some sharpening and usually remove noise, too. Just a little tweaking here and there. If it’s a so-so shot but I like the subject, I may try to get a bit more creative and experiment just for the fun of it.

• 
  Judith
  

  I have many thoughts on this subject. If you take the name “photography” and analyze its etymology, it means “painting with light”. Back in its beginning, photography was purely physical and chemical. Therefore, I try to stick to just using my camera, do what I aim for with my camera. I find that this point of view is positive because this way I try to better my technique so that my photography will need as little edition as possible.

  However, I enjoy reading and experimenting with any kind of editing, and every now and then I do like to upload my pictures and play with them – the possibilities are endless! But then I do think that it goes beyond photography and it enters a different area or section in art.

• 
  Gary Ledgerwood
  

  Exceptionally well said Bojan.