Too much Photoshopping !!

[Stephen]

I came across this article on a Danish site yesterday. It involves a Danish photographer who had entered his photos for a Photo of the Year competition, and then was asked to submit his raw files for inspection. As a result of this his submissions for the competition were disqualified as the judges felt they were over photoshopped.

Now I would encourage you to read the article, especially as it raises certain issues, not least In my humble opinion the fact that the decision questions the right for a photographer to create an image that expresses a feeling rather than being a strict representation of what the camera saw.

There is also a link further down the page where you can see the images compared with a PS auto levels version and the untouched Raw image. Also there is an option to here what the judges are saying about the photographs, most interesting. Please note however the flash won't work in Firefox, you will need Internet Explorer or Safari

I'd be very interested to read anyone's views on this matter, so please feel free to express your opinions here.

[pewidane]

Re: Too much Photoshopping !!

I personally felt there is too much color in these pictures,but there is no change at the pictures,but they look almost as if they are handcoloret,but any photographer can see that these images are unrealistic with these color.Personally i thought this kind of images are better in black and white.
Like this.Picture of a alcoholic.(Copenhagen)

[Stephen]

Re: Too much Photoshopping !!

Thanks for your comment and the excellent picture Pedar.
There is a strong body of thought that Photojournalism should always show what the camera saw. Indeed newspapers demand it from their photographers, and some may remember that not so long ago the NY Times (iirc) sacked one of their top photographers for editing one of his photos in photoshop. Now whilst these photos are not showing anything different, the impression they create to anyone viewing them can be very different to what it would be if it were just general levels adjustment.

[Graham_of_Rainham]

Re: Too much Photoshopping !!

David Bailey is quoted as having said that Photoshop can make a poor photographer avarage and a good photographer avarage.

Here the accuracy of the content of the image is smothered by the effects. In much the same way as strong curry masks all the flavour of the meat so you cant tell if it was good meat or poor meat.

We see so much of life through the enhanced media, that to gain prominence the tendancy is to over do things, simply to get it to stand out from the rest.

I still shoot slide film and love the purity of the medium but even that can be, and often is, manipulated to enhance the image.

I wonder how pure RAW images are? The development of in camera filter effects will soon see HDR available, which would negate the judges comments in this instance, unless they study exif settings and decide that if anything is set to other than factory defaults, the image is "processed"

Certianly an interesting article, thanks for bringing it to our attention

[jojo]

Re: Too much Photoshopping !!

the right for a photographer to create an image .

I think Stephen's comment above is quite pertinent. The images in question, to me, are what I would best describe as "images" i.e. "a physical likeness or representation of a person, animal, or thing, photographed, painted, sculptured, or otherwise made visible" (definition courtesy of dictionary.com, 23/04/09) A "photograph" on the other hand I see as a pretty much unadulterated accurate record of the subject matter. In the article it states that judges repeatedly say, "that the submitted photos are photoshopped in a way that deems them unreliable"? Is this what they mean by "too much photoshopping"? If so, isn't this subjective? I personally preferred the PS auto enhancements, but once again we are talking subjectiveness. Interesting article all the same. Anyway, that's my two-penneth.

jo

[mib2]

Re: Too much Photoshopping !!

Hi Guys

What a great topic.

I feel sometimes that I spend a little too much time trying to get a better photograph using software.

Cheers
Dave R

[Patrick]

Re: Too much Photoshopping !!

I came across this article on a Danish site yesterday. It involves a Danish photographer who had entered his photos for a Photo of the Year competition, and then was asked to submit his raw files for inspection. As a result of this his submissions for the competition were disqualified as the judges felt they were over photoshopped.

Now I would encourage you to read the article, especially as it raises certain issues, not least In my humble opinion the fact that the decision questions the right for a photographer to create an image that expresses a feeling rather than being a strict representation of what the camera saw.

There is also a link further down the page where you can see the images compared with a PS auto levels version and the untouched Raw image. Also there is an option to here what the judges are saying about the photographs, most interesting. Please note however the flash won't work in Firefox, you will need Internet Explorer or Safari

I'd be very interested to read anyone's views on this matter, so please feel free to express your opinions here.

[Stephen]

Re: Too much Photoshopping !!

Thanks for that Patrick. I pretty much agree with your stance on these pictures, though whether I like the pictures or not is irrelevant, though as you say the judges saw something to like in the images. The over saturation has changed some of the colours, and in that sense, and as the judges comment, things are not real or as they were. To me though the content is the same, only the feel of the pictures have changed. This though is surely the artistic licence of the photographer.

In the last Salon "Streets" I posted a shot which was heavily processed to enhance and create a more appealing feel to the scene. I wonder if some people would think the treatment was over the top, and had it been submitted to this Danish competition whether the judges would have called for the raw files

[Cogito]

Re: Too much Photoshopping !!

In the last Salon "Streets" I posted a shot which was heavily processed to enhance and create a more appealing feel to the scene. I wonder if some people would think the treatment was over the top, and had it been submitted to this Danish competition whether the judges would have called for the raw files

I had similar thoughts about my own entry into the last Salon which was manipulated in photoshop to try and create a particular effect.

When I picked up a camera seriously for the first time last year, I thought that the main skill I would need to learn is how to get a "true" photograph, faithfully recording exactly what I "saw" in the scene I was photographing.

However, I am fast coming to realise that the just as great a skill (and maybe more challenging) is allowing the image to "represent" what I experienced. For example in my recent entry to "Streets" I wanted to convey how Stamford can feel like a model-village, with its old shops and churches, and relaxed strolling pedestrians. Was the image exactly true to life? no - but post-processing in photoshop allowed me to try to express some of the feelings I felt when I took the image.

I guess its the difference between the science of optics and the art of photography.

Regards,

Neil

[Stephen]

Re: Too much Photoshopping !!

I had similar thoughts about my own entry into the last Salon which was manipulated in photoshop to try and create a particular effect.

When I picked up a camera seriously for the first time last year, I thought that the main skill I would need to learn is how to get a "true" photograph, faithfully recording exactly what I "saw" in the scene I was photographing.

However, I am fast coming to realise that the just as great a skill (and maybe more challenging) is allowing the image to "represent" what I experienced. For example in my recent entry to "Streets" I wanted to convey how Stamford can feel like a model-village, with its old shops and churches, and relaxed strolling pedestrians. Was the image exactly true to life? no - but post-processing in photoshop allowed me to try to express some of the feelings I felt when I took the image.

I guess its the difference between the science of optics and the art of photography.

Regards,

Neil

Well said Neil, I'm really pleased you are putting something of yourself into your photography, it makes all the difference IMHO