What I wanted to talk about today is editing though. When I first learned how to use Photoshop, yes I took classes when I was in High School, I was taught on Photoshop 7. (On another note I actually took that class several times because I loved working in it so much. I still have a certificate from that program actually.) I was more of the type of person that learns something as an exact science of doing it. So for me playing with numbers, sliders etc. had to be more of an exact method. I generally would repeat the same edits to every photo I put through the thing. This pattern, much like my editing, continued through the years, using the same editing techniques for every photo. I even developed my own method of repeating slider positions in Lightroom on each photo. This changed last year when I was working along another photographer and he encouraged... even dared me to branch out and do some creative editing. So finally in this past year I've been getting more accustomed to doing what I see vs. playing with numbers. I think editing using your brain, eyes, and emotions is a good way to edit. Sure you do not want to clip your histogram or smudge everything up, but being able to let go a little bit and experiment I've found really lets the creativity flow.
My very good friend and fellow photographer Mike "Kangster" Kang actually opened my eyes a little bit a couple of weeks ago when I was working on a Fine Art photo (The Photo I shared in the last blog). I found out that I didn't understand the adjustment tools and their capabilities in Lightroom. I figured Exposure and Brightness were the same exact thing... except they control the image in totally different ways. That actually goes back to my original teachings in Photoshop 7, when I was advised not to play with the Brightness / Contrast tool because it was not as accurate and more destructive than using Levels and Curves. I figured Lightroom's Brightness was the same way. Little did I know. So now I have far more control over my photos than I previously had, and guess what? The results are showing.
On another note. This past week Apple released it's new version of it's photo management program Aperture 3 I have actually downloaded the Trial of it and it's pretty cool. They have done a great job with this one adding some really cool features. I am actually really enjoying this feature called Places where you can put all your photos on a map and be able to organize by location. The next travel photo trip I take I'm definitely going to use it. What's really cool about it though is I can take a photo with my iPhone (which integrates the GPS Location into the photo) at wherever I'm shooting. I can then use the location data from that photo for a series of photos from that same location. For example when I shoot at Bombay Beach at the Salton Sea. I know I took a few of my portfolio shots on that beach on a trip last year. It definitely has some great potential.
It does make me excited though to see what Adobe will introduce in the new Lightroom 3 expected to be out within a few months. We shall wait and see.
Plugging A Fellow!
For the latest edition of my new series "Plug A Fellow" where I introduce you all to a fellow artist, I wanted to introduce you all to Mike "Kangster" Kang (I know, I talked about him above)
Mike is a very down to earth guy and cool artist. Some of you may know him from the local Los Angeles Flickr and Los Angeles Strobist groups. From taking daily photos on his iPhone to Concerts and Portraits, Mike is somebody to look out for.
A photo of yours truly at Bombay Beach @ The Salton Sea, taken by Mike, with our friend Kim St. Dennis
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