do you have to use photoshop

Everyone is using photoshop these days.
i try not to use it unless i need to do some cropping...
i want to get my pictures out to the people as i saw it in my viewfinder without any editing, or adjustment if possible.

do you have to use it to use effects???

Yep. Wedding photography is an art that really requires some effort in post processing.

amironsi wrote in post #4253923
Everyone is using photoshop these days.
i try not to use it unless i need to do some cropping...
i want to get my pictures out to the people as i saw it in my viewfinder without any editing, or adjustment if possible.

do you have to use it to use effects???

The problem is that straight out of the camera is not usually how you saw it. Therefore some post processing is required to make it that way. Then you can do some more and make it even better.

I could do 99% of my work in DPP, but I do it in ACR instead. Very few of my images get a large amount of processing in photoshop above the the basics like color and exposure, I really wonder what people spend all their time doing in PS. My last count was that i've done 30 weddings this year, as well as working a normal job for part of the year too, no way do I have time to take more than a few images into PS.

There are two universal truths at play here;

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder;
If you're happy with the images you get straight from your camera, and your customers are happy, and you're happy with what your customers are paying, then you're doing fine.

You get what you pay for;
If you spend no time making your work 'the best it can be', then you will reach a price ceiling. Customers perceive value in beautifully presented photo's.

Now you have to walk the tightrope, between over processed stylized images and ordinary images. It is possible to process an entire wedding quickly, including PP, but it takes practice. It's also possible to build a business with very little Photoshop use, we did it for years with film.

n.b. In the 'film days' the top level earners used lots of darkroom tricks to ensure they produced 'the best print they could', at not inconsiderate financial cost. This is what gave them the edge over the competition. Today we can all do the same, cheaper.

To the people who do a lot of PP: what do you do to the average image before it goes in an album? I generally can't find anything a well shot image needs beyond tweaking brightness, white balance, contrast, and saturation. Sometimes I might remove something from the background, but I just learned to shoot so I don't have to. I used to do blemish removal, B&W, and sepia conversions in PS, but now I do them all in ACR. I don't use actions that make images look fake, midnight sepia is way overused, and I don't do selective color. What's left?

I find photoshop too slow for processing and only use it for a couple of features it has, such as the levels, curves and so on.

Paint Shop Pro 11 on the other hand is amazing for digital manipulation.

I don't use ACR, I'm still using CS2 and my raw conversion is done in DPP (personal preference).

So, in PS, all my images get the saturation, all the B&W conversions, the vignettes (most images), blemish removal for Bridal closeups (I use Jeff Ascoughs action for this - quick easy awesome - doesn't look over clean), the odd image may need straightening, and always chance of localised lightening for the lady hat wearers (common at UK weddings). Older brides also get subtle work to ensure the money they spent on makeup was worthwhile.

Including culling the images and doing the WB in DPP, this is about 1 days work (6-8 hrs).

You don't HAVE to use photoshop. However, I think think that one could get by very easily with just DPP (Canons free software.) I pretty much just ad contrast, and crop my photos, if needed in LR. Some like to go all out with actions, and all kinds of effects... whatever floats your boat. Everyone has a different eye. But you don't HAVE to use photoshop to provide great photos to your clients.

Phil V wrote in post #4255135
.... and always chance of localised lightening for the lady hat wearers....

TJ

tim wrote in post #4255017
To the people who do a lot of PP: what do you do to the average image before it goes in an album? I generally can't find anything a well shot image needs beyond tweaking brightness, white balance, contrast, and saturation. Sometimes I might remove something from the background, but I just learned to shoot so I don't have to. I used to do blemish removal, B&W, and sepia conversions in PS, but now I do them all in ACR. I don't use actions that make images look fake, midnight sepia is way overused, and I don't do selective color. What's left?

Photoshop is my goto mainly because I have been using it since I think version 3. I am/was (now I need to update it) an ACE in photoshop indesign and illustrator which I use daily in my job so I get twitchy if it's not open . Most of the clients I get are more inline with the style that I have so a more conventional couple would probably pass me over if they saw my portfolio, it's not for everyone but the people that like it, love it. That's the best thing about this business, you and I can work in the same city and still have a good client base because people have differing tastes. You are right that midnight sepia is used a lot but if it sells then I am not going to let my personal beliefs stop me from using it. Also, I have never done a selective color photo that the couple didn't pick for the album or prints. Lastly, even if I did not use heavy PP I would be taking every photo into PS for sharpening before printing.

ACR for white balance, saturation and mostly exposure. Photoshop for sharpening, cloning, cropping and vignetting - although ACR will do some of these I'm habit driven and also like to view photo in it's finality in PS before handing onto client just incase I miss something, I find I'm using PS less and ACR more & more.

Cheers

Damian

My question is why even use Photoshop to crop your image? There are lots of very cheap and even free programs like IrfanView that will crop your images. That way you can truly claim not to use any Photoshop.

amironsi wrote in post #4253923
Everyone is using photoshop these days.
i try not to use it unless i need to do some cropping...
i want to get my pictures out to the people as i saw it in my viewfinder without any editing, or adjustment if possible.

do you have to use it to use effects???

I use Lightroom 90% of the time. You need to do SOME PP (if only RAW conversion) to the photos. Like someone mentioned above - usually the way you see the scene isn't the way the photo will come out.

Like Bryan Lightroom does 90% of my processing.