Is post processing that important
- Thread starter enyu
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To me, it depends.
It depends on your objectives and the final output.
"Post-processing" is not a new phenomenon. Photographers using B&W media had been using that for years.
A well know example is Ansel Adams "Moonrise over Hernandez". You will not recognise the straight print from the final product.
The current "photoshop" techniques use many terms that were in common usage with the traditional darkroom, such as dodge and burn, unsharpmask, to name a few.
But for many hobbyists, PP may not really be necessary, or if requires, minimal adjustment of contrast and sharpening.
Attached two images straight from the camera with no post-processing except for resizing.
It depends on your objectives and the final output.
"Post-processing" is not a new phenomenon. Photographers using B&W media had been using that for years.
A well know example is Ansel Adams "Moonrise over Hernandez". You will not recognise the straight print from the final product.
The current "photoshop" techniques use many terms that were in common usage with the traditional darkroom, such as dodge and burn, unsharpmask, to name a few.
But for many hobbyists, PP may not really be necessary, or if requires, minimal adjustment of contrast and sharpening.
Attached two images straight from the camera with no post-processing except for resizing.
thanks everyone, really enjoy reading the discussion, the reason i said so is bcoz i believe that a GOOD camera should let the owner have confident in her & spending too much time & effort in PS'ing only show that its not good enough, by the way, I'm a D70 owner, just curious do you guys use AUTO WHITE BALANCE or manual select your own white balancing ?? if we leave everything to the LAB, i really don't see any reason we need to do much setting on the camera..
i also using a D70s.
i use auto, cos I shoot in RAW, so i adjust my WB back home.
in my opinion, if u say loading in a custom curve so to have more correction free pictures, than dont u think custom curve also is in some way a post processing process(PPP:bsmilie: ) too?
i think there is a reason why there is so much control on a DSLR. for a photographer that appreciates and goes to learn how to creatively adjust and control these setting to give pictures would really love the amount of control given. but for ppl that jus want to point and shoot, than a point and shoot camera is the best, hence the terminology right?
anyway, how a person uses his/her camera is up to him lah. all we show to the others is the photos we take
i use auto, cos I shoot in RAW, so i adjust my WB back home.
in my opinion, if u say loading in a custom curve so to have more correction free pictures, than dont u think custom curve also is in some way a post processing process(PPP:bsmilie: ) too?
i think there is a reason why there is so much control on a DSLR. for a photographer that appreciates and goes to learn how to creatively adjust and control these setting to give pictures would really love the amount of control given. but for ppl that jus want to point and shoot, than a point and shoot camera is the best, hence the terminology right?
anyway, how a person uses his/her camera is up to him lah. all we show to the others is the photos we take
hehehe..how come i see one ignored post from some joker's ID starting with E? it feels as if its like seeing a joker trying to shout through soundproof glass but no sound arrives at the other end. aiyo soooo comical lollllllzzz :bsmilie: 
my point is: to answer the threadstarter's question, yes it is possible to avoid post processing totally by tweaking camera settings and loading custom curve. and it has been done before. and i have done it before. and others have done it before.
for those who for some reason or another refuse to believe that it can be done or refuse to try it or have tried it but didnt get the results that was intended, then its up to you to decide.
my point is: to answer the threadstarter's question, yes it is possible to avoid post processing totally by tweaking camera settings and loading custom curve. and it has been done before. and i have done it before. and others have done it before.
for those who for some reason or another refuse to believe that it can be done or refuse to try it or have tried it but didnt get the results that was intended, then its up to you to decide.
for 4R prints of events and weddings, I dont usually do postprocessing. Will let the labs do the minimal sharpening, color adjustments and contrast controls, otherwise wont they be sitting there doing nothing ;p let the labs do some work la :bsmilie:user111 said:
for larger than 4R prints (usually smaller quantities), product or stock picture shoots, I will do the usual PP like USM, level/colour/contrast adjustments before adding things of my own to make the picture more presentable.
maybe I'm using a 20D, I have less worries :sweat: abt the colour and WB differences. in-camera sharpening is usable for 4R prints.
I really don't like to do PP, I'm just like you, most of time, i just shoot and send for lab print, unless the pic is really bad, than i will do some simple PSing, (anyway i am very weak in PS:embrass: , only know level, contrast, curve adjustment only) and adjustment also based on my naked eyes & me un-calibrated monitor
im quite new to the whole digital photography scene myself.
im still coming to grips with PP or DI, so for me, i just do raw conversion, i cant even bring myself to tweak anything because once i start, then i feel like i have to do it for all my photos and i cant afford the time to do so. so right now, im just concentrating on getting good photos out of the camera.
i think if you can take good photos, then it does alleviate much of the requirement for PP,
but then again, those who are good at PS, can take already good pictures and turn them into stunning works of art. but for me, thats a long way down the road.
i think in future, once ive got my workflow down, i can probably see some PP as a routine part of my photography. but would i say it was absolutely indispensible? i dont think so. ive been quite happy with photos out of the camera with just some colour adjustment done by photo shop.
im still coming to grips with PP or DI, so for me, i just do raw conversion, i cant even bring myself to tweak anything because once i start, then i feel like i have to do it for all my photos and i cant afford the time to do so. so right now, im just concentrating on getting good photos out of the camera.
i think if you can take good photos, then it does alleviate much of the requirement for PP,
but then again, those who are good at PS, can take already good pictures and turn them into stunning works of art. but for me, thats a long way down the road.
i think in future, once ive got my workflow down, i can probably see some PP as a routine part of my photography. but would i say it was absolutely indispensible? i dont think so. ive been quite happy with photos out of the camera with just some colour adjustment done by photo shop.
It's really dependant on yourself and what you want to achieve.enyu said:I really don't like to do PP, I'm just like you, most of time, i just shoot and send for lab print, unless the pic is really bad, than i will do some simple PSing, (anyway i am very weak in PS:embrass: , only know level, contrast, curve adjustment only) and adjustment also based on my naked eyes & me un-calibrated monitor
DSLRs and SLRs are tools that the photographer will control to achieve the final desired output. Many expect DSLRs to take pictures and voila! The image is swee-swee. Often, it's the other way round. However the D50, D70 has proven to produce good out-of-camera image.
PP is just the after work just like shooting film, you need to process and print, the PP is the same for digital. If you don't want to, then don't.
If you want/need then do.
If I purchase a DSLR I would want to control the final output during shooting and after shooting. PP allows me to achieve different effects from the same file.
As for PP is important or not, it's up to individual. There's no right and wrong.
enyu said:
It's actually the reverse... DSLR gives u the performance and control, including the flexibility to do post-processing instead of relying on the camera's inbuilt processing. Of course, you can always adjust the settings accordingly in camera and point-n-shoot-n-print. Nothing wrong with that (I do that sometimes too). But for important "work" (or to impress people ;p), I usually do some additional post-processing to make a good picture even better.
Actually investment in a good display calibrator will go a long way. I would prefer my own output over the shop's. I normally ask them to print as is and it comes out the way I want it. It's too risky to leave it to the shop's descretion, but I can trust KT's views when they suggest to me what needs to be rectified.enyu said:
Also important is to have a regular lab that knows what you want, just like a MUA.
All of these are a workflow, from make up, to shooting, to processing to printing. Everything should follow a similar step for best results.
Ihsan Chua
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user111 said:hehehe..how come i see one ignored post from some joker's ID starting with E? it feels as if its like seeing a joker trying to shout through soundproof glass but no sound arrives at the other end. aiyo soooo comical lollllllzzz :bsmilie:
my point is: to answer the threadstarter's question, yes it is possible to avoid post processing totally by tweaking camera settings and loading custom curve. and it has been done before. and i have done it before. and others have done it before.
for those who for some reason or another refuse to believe that it can be done or refuse to try it or have tried it but didnt get the results that was intended, then its up to you to decide.
When I adjust, I go according to the lab's feedback. That is provided that your test shots are consistent in nature. For eg, I just bought my 30D. The test shots indicated that my photos are soft and had too much contrast. Colour also a bit off. I tweaked my camera to
-1 contrast, +5 sharpness, + saturation. However, certain pp dun believe in this. I am trying to minimise my level of post processing needed.
However, do take note that custom curves is dangerous if u do not know the nature. Somebody gave me a suggestion to download a custom curve. That curve I believe was more intended for Europeans as they are fairer in nature and therefore the custom curve would make their skin warmer. It is also because of the weather there. I downloaded the curve and forgot to remove the curve during shoots and I had slight brown cast for that set of photos.
enyu said:thanks everyone, really enjoy reading the discussion, the reason i said so is bcoz i believe that a GOOD camera should let the owner have confident in her & spending too much time & effort in PS'ing only show that its not good enough, by the way, I'm a D70 owner, just curious do you guys use AUTO WHITE BALANCE or manual select your own white balancing ?? if we leave everything to the LAB, i really don't see any reason we need to do much setting on the camera..
spending long time on post processing does not equate to being a lousy photographer.
put it simply, post processing enhances the work, so you'll need a good piece of work to begin with. rubbish in rubbish out, don't expect to turn a piece of trash into a masterpiece if the fundamentals aren't even firm.
post processing also opens possibilities for the artist, he/she might actually make use of modern digital post processing to make up for genuine limitation from the equipment he/she can afford to have.
user111 said:hehehe..how come i see one ignored post from some joker's ID starting with E? it feels as if its like seeing a joker trying to shout through soundproof glass but no sound arrives at the other end. aiyo soooo comical lollllllzzz :bsmilie:
my point is: to answer the threadstarter's question, yes it is possible to avoid post processing totally by tweaking camera settings and loading custom curve. and it has been done before. and i have done it before. and others have done it before.
for those who for some reason or another refuse to believe that it can be done or refuse to try it or have tried it but didnt get the results that was intended, then its up to you to decide.
i can't imagine how ignorant you can get :bsmilie: like i said, loading a custom curve is equivalent to post processing. the post processing is done inside the camera after the picture is taken. it just saves you the trouble of having to open it in a software on a PC and apply the curve to every picture you take.
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