If you read my earlier blog on "process" you will recall my mentioning post production.  What do I mean by that?  

 

Simply stated it is what happens to a photograph after you've uploaded it from your camera to the computer.  It could also include what happens in your camera after you've pressed the shutter release if you're shooting JPEGs.  In that case the camera is compressing and processing the image in the camera so that when uploaded to the computer it's supposedly ready for viewing.  I say supposedly because I for one do not think any image that comes out of a camera is ready for viewing.  I'll even take it a step further.  Back in my film days I shot transparency film (slides).  Nothing was done to those slides in the way of editing unless enlargements were made when there might be cropping or color correction employed prior to printing.  Yet when I look at those slides today there isn't a one of them that I can't improve today in post processing.  Indeed, many of the images seen on this website started life as slides.  The mantra was "get it right in the camera", and we assumed we could do that, and indeed we tried-and still do-BUT...

 

In today's digital world a photographer has so many more up front options than in the days of film.  Having the camera process images according to certain presets are some of those options.  One can set the white balance, tell the camera how much contrast to employ, what degree of color saturation, etc., all the things I prefer to do myself in post production on my computer where I have precise control over the process.  I do this by shooting RAW format images which is the format where the maximum file information that your camera sensor and lens combination are capable of producing.  For example, my camera is rated at 12.3 megapixels.  When I shoot RAW that is approximately the size of file I transfer to the computer.  Were I to shoot JPEG I might wind up with a file of approximately 3-4 megapixels; the rest is lost!  Initially the JPEG is going to look better than the RAW image because the former has whatever processing that took place in the camera, but I guarantee you that after I process my RAW file I'll have the better image.  The downside?  The RAW file takes up more computer space.  But, if it's quality your striving for there simply is no comparison.

 

To process RAW files one needs computer software such as Adobe's Camera RAW.  RAW processors are incorporated into such programs as Photoshop, Lightroom, Aperture, Nikon's NX2, and Nikon Capture.  For some time I did most of my processing and edits in Lightroom.  In the develop module things like white balance, exposure, contrast, fine tuning of highlights and shadows, clarity, vibrancy, saturation, cropping, and many other basic edits can be addressed.  This can be done on single images or in batch.  The adjustments take but little time.  I now tend to use Photoshop as my central hub for editing and move back and forth between that and several plug in software programs that I employ on a regular basis to perform certain functions.  Lightroom is my center piece, however, because it serves as my organizer and platform for printing.  I access my entire portfolio of near 200,000 images through Lightroom.

 

If Ansel Adams were around today he'd be doing something similar.  He's not a true comparison because he started with an 8x10 negative as opposed to the relatively small digital file most of us employ today, but it is true that he did not produce the astounding black and white images we all admire by simply making a print directly from his negative.  No, he spent hours in his darkroom manipulating, dodging and burning to get the results he did.  That's why he is considered such an artist because he did it the old fashioned way, and he did it with a master's touch!  That's post production.

 

So, "get it right in the camera" is a goal we all strive for, and that is why I spent so much time and effort to understand what it is I do when I am out with my camera.  We all want to start with the very best image possible.  But, I have yet to see the perfect image, and never one that didn't require post production work.  As sophisticated as cameras are today they still require the human touch and images require individual interpretation.  That is what makes photography an art.

 

Software I use in post-production:

 

Photoshop, Lightroom, NIK Photo Suite, OnONE Perfect Photo Suite, ArcSoft Panorama Maker, Photomatix Pro, Alien Skin Photo Suite, NIK Snapseed