Well the title pretty much says it all. I have seen quite a few pictures where people will say that the picture is unedited, but then again you can see in other peoples pictures that the picture is clearly edited, and often time looks amazing. In fact both unedited and edited pictures look great! We truely have some very talented drone photographers on this fourm. Im trying to work on my raw (non-post) photography skills. Especially with the sharpness and vibrance/colors in the picture. Ive been trying to use the histogram, but that dosent always want to cooperate. Ive tried shooting during the day but living in the desert, that can be quite bright as expected. Ive also tried shooting in the "golden hour" but often times I cannot get colors to pop like I would like. Definitely gonna keep practicing!!
The ultimate question is do you guys prefer to post for yourself/see others post unedited or edited photos? Also any tips on shooting photos would be greatly appreciated.

Hey CJ,

Firstly I have to say that I hate seeing photos that have been over processed in post. However, unprocessed images rarely convey the mood, feeling or atmosphere of the scene as we recall it. This is mainly because the camera's sensor is no where near as efficient as our eye at recording the dynamic range of a scene, and cannot capture the feel of the moment. A well processed image should recover some of the dynamic range and enhance the mood of an image while appearing to have been untouched in post.

Perhaps give image bracketing a try. Regardless of it's detractors, HDR is one way of recording dynamic range closer to the way we perceive a scene without introducing noise and such artefacts in the darker parts or blowing out highlights.

My opinion, do not feel embarrassed to admit to a bit of post processing. Virtually all photographers do it whether they admit it or not. If it was good enough for Ansell Adams it's good enough for me!

Cheers

As an amateur photographer, almost all my photos are edited.   Forbsie summarised it well, most images don't represent exactly what the eye sees, so post is just a way of correcting that.    It's also worth remembering that JPEG photos are a already an edited version of a raw photo, so it's pretty hard to avoid any type of editing.

At the end of the day, photos are like music.  There is no right or wrong, it's about appreciating the end result.  Whether or not it requires editing or not, I don't care.

Do you like your carrots raw or cooked?
Both can taste great

But when it comes to photography: it's all about light and composition.
Post processing can enhance certain parts of your picture, but if the composition is wrong, it will never be a great picture.

Montfrooij Posted at 2018-4-23 00:04
Do you like your carrots raw or cooked?
Both can taste great

Yes absolutely agree, and forgot to mention that in my post! As the old saying goes, "you can't polish a t..d" ;)

Sweet! Thank you all for your input!

forbsie Posted at 2018-4-22 19:44
Hey CJ,

Firstly I have to say that I hate seeing photos that have been over processed in post. However, unprocessed images rarely convey the mood, feeling or atmosphere of the scene as we recall it. This is mainly because the camera's sensor is no where near as efficient as our eye at recording the dynamic range of a scene, and cannot capture the feel of the moment. A well processed image should recover some of the dynamic range and enhance the mood of an image while appearing to have been untouched in post.

Thank you for the reply! I completely understand. Unprocessed pictures can look good, but often times do not come close to replicating the actual look.  Take a good unprocessed picture and make some minor touches on it and it can be a much better picture (if done right).

Montfrooij Posted at 2018-4-23 00:04
Do you like your carrots raw or cooked?
Both can taste great

Thank you very much for the tip on composition and light! I always try to think about lighting and framing, but sometimes the framing gets away from me because im so focused on the lighting. Definitely need to learn how to take both into account at the same time!

I prefer raw unedited photos with little or no post-work done. Only if the editor posting the video knows color grading editing well, as long as you have the raw unedited the images can be quickly uploaded to future programs that edit videos and photos more automated using the faster upcoming 5G

CjMiller7 Posted at 2018-4-23 17:03
Thank you very much for the tip on composition and light! I always try to think about lighting and framing, but sometimes the framing gets away from me because im so focused on the lighting. Definitely need to learn how to take both into account at the same time!

Yes, I know.
Hard indeed

It depends on the image and what you want the capture to look like. I tend to edit most of my stills but rarely 'over edit'