Anyone can pick up a camera and take a great shot. It’s easier now than ever. With technology making the advancements it has the art of photography is more accessible now than ever before.
There are a few areas that separate the pros from the amateurs but one above all carries great power. The art of post production.
There are many implementations for post that make it arguably more valuable than any other skill in photography. I will run through these and hopefully highlight the value of this knowledge to you, and if you haven’t already picked up some software, encourage you to do so.
Corrections
Image looking through your pictures after a shoot with no fear. Underexposed? Overexposed? Poor framing? Hair out of place? Even dirt on the lens? No problem.
All of these issues can be improved or completely corrected in programs like lightroom and photoshop. I cannot recommend these strongly enough to unlock your photography and take away so much worry with just a little practice and some youtube tutorials.
A few areas you should be familiar with are:
1. Clone stamp tool, perfect for removing unwanted street lights, stray hairs, lens dirt, and number of imperfections in your image.
2. Lowlights and Hightlights, balance out the image and put all the detail on display. This will recover overexposed and underexposed alike, if the light changed mid shoot this is a life saver.
3. sharpness, if you’ve missed focus JUST A TOUCH this will give you that edge and might just salvage a lost image.
Expression
This is moving more into the artistic side of post. Rather than using it just to correct mistakes and recover questionable images these tools will allow you to push the envelope on reality to create art in your images. Use tools like contrast to boost the atmosphere in your shot. Use a vignette to draw the eye to a certain spot. Use colour balance and hue/saturation to boost the vibrancy in your pics.
These will let you create a more striking image and really create impact and command attention.
Creation
This is art. Once you become comfortable enough with these tools you can create ANYTHING! Wish there was a plane in that picture? Add one. Wish the moon was a little brighter in that image? More stars? Do it. You can change, mould and improve any image in any way you like.
Once you’ve mastered these skills you will unlock the true potential of your image creation. Not limited to light passing through a lens, but empowered to create literally anything.
Have a look through my galleries and see you can spot some places I may have use post to enhance my pictures.
