Is Photoshop really all that necessary? What subjects do you like to photograph? How many years taking photos?

Question

I have had a digital camera for about two years, and I just wonder if folks who use photoshop recommend it for beginners or should we just continue using something like Picasa? I am just about out of subjects to shoot...or am I just unimagnative. Actually it's a very exciting medium...how does one know if his photos are really "art". I certainly don't want to be a diletante but I honestly don't know if this is good for me to pursue.

Answer 1

if your a skilled operator and dont need to "fix" images, then any software that allows some sharpening will do it for you,

if you wish to turn photographic images into cartoons then PS offers the most options

EDIT: havent "taken" pictures for years, for personal and work i make images

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Answer 2

As a "traditional photographer" (that means I still use film) I either get it right in the camera or toss it. Since I bought my first SLR, a Minolta SRT-100 in July, 1971, I guess that means I've been involved with this fascinating, frustrating thing called photography for over 36 yrs.

I really don't understand how you can feel as though you're
"... just about out of subjects to shoot..." Everywhere you look there is a photograph waiting to be taken. You just need to learn to see it.

"Looking and seeing are not the same; seeing involves perception, and this brings into play our entire system of human values. Because people's values differ, no two individuals see exactly the same."

From 'Object & Image: An Introduction To Photography, Third Edition' by George M. Craven, Summary, Chapter 1.

I encourage you to seriously consider adding this book to your photography library.

Answer 3

Interesting progression. Got better all along the way. This is always a challenge - and emulating the grain of the older pictures is always the hardest part. I've been doing this sort of thing for ten years. My best suggestion is to first balance levels between the two, and then on the newer image, work with Artistic Filters>Film Grain BEFORE you start doing everything else. It'll take a lot of experimentation. But once you get the grain characteristics as close as possible, all the other modifications will work more consistently too. Have fun with it! And be very, very patient!

Answer 4

I'd say that pretty much any image made with a digital camera could stand some minor tweeks in Photoshop, but I use Photoshop Elements (now in release 6.0 for $99), which gives me WAY more than I need. I used to think I could "get it right" in the camera, too, and I do think I can do a pretty good job, but even the best digital sensors are inherently a bit softer than the best film and so they can benefit from some sharpening, even if it's only very slight.

For instance, see http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/2051332385/ which was made by someone else with a full-format Canon 5D, which is one of the kings for image quality. I sharpened the image only slightly - hardly enough to say it had been touched at all, but look at the "before" face, which is the inset right next to the sharpened face. See the difference? Of course you do. Okay, cameras have the option of increasing sharpening in the camera, but I like doing it on the computer because you can exercise some restraint. I admit that I have not tried this enough in the camera to say that one is better than the other, bu as long as you can do it in "post-processing" where you get the chance to try it at several different levels, why do it in the camera where you get one chance at it and that's it?

See also:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/1753537048/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/1768957753/

See also:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/1887954874/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/1190290008/

As far as subjects, while you are on any one of those Flickr pages, just click on my name at the top of the page and you will see about 200 of my images. Some of them are tutorials in support of Yahoo! Answers, but many are just things I like to shoot.

Answer 5

If you're just going to be doing things like changing the exposure and colors a little bit, a program like Picasa (or if you want higher quality, lightroom or aperture) should be fine. If you want more precise control, however, or if you're going to be doing things like editing undesirable objects (telephone poles, brown patches of grass, etc.) out of your pictures, you really should invest in photoshop. Photoshop elements comes relatively cheap, and its pretty powerful for its price. It really depends on the level of control you want over your photos, and how comfortable you are with the technology (a lot of people find photoshop overwhelming.)

Answer 6

Photoshop is great. Kodak.com has a great pic upload system that you can do things on too.
I love pictures of life, an old man or lady sitting on a bench, kids playing, just people interest me. Nature is my other favorite, everything from the small blooms to full blooms in spring and summer to the colors of fall and the snow drifts and icecycles in winter. This is a great hobby!!

Answer 7

photoshop is awesome

but the price is ridiculous

download it like the 60% of people who already own it did do.

btw don't take that advice very seriously.

Anyways I'm a photographer myself and I can tell you photoshop is the industry standard. It's great beacause you can use it at a low level and not know anything about ninety percent of the features and still get a great deal out of it.

If you don't do anything else download the demo and try it.

Answer 8

Sometimes you can't help things like people's eyes turning red, or the lighting. Those are the only things I use photo shop for. I love to take pictures of just normal every day scenes in the city. Play around with the contrast.

Answer 9

Photos don't really have to always be artistic. Check out stock photography. They photograph anything you can imagine.

Here's a link to my stock portfolio. http://www.fotolia.com/p/169859/partner/169859 I use photoshop elements for all my editing. Couldn't function without it. I also use some software called Neat Image and will soon have an HDR program called Photomatix.

Answer 10

photoshop is for serious graphic artists. used in commercial fine printing and such. best there is and little comparison between ps and things like picaso. use the thing that is easiest that will achieve what you want.

in much of europe corel draw is used for excellent graphics work. it is also much easier than adobe products. adobe is the top of the line, expensive and not easy to master. but so many things will do more almost everybody else. if you don't already know that you most like should stay away from ps.