Does Photoshop affect Photography?

GarryKirsch wrote in post #11823995
In my opinion, saying that Photoshop is cheating, is like saying $20,000 worth of top end camera gear and glass is cheating. Cameras are computers with sophisticated software installed. The more you spend, the better they work, just like the more you spend on glass the better it performs. I believe photographers should use all the tools at their disposal to achieve the image they want. The measure of a good photographer is the quality of the finished product, and the judgment of their work should not be mitigated by what tools they used to achieve it. That's just my opinion.

Using PS to enhance your images isn't cheating. However, relying on PS to fix all of your shortcomings is.

Like my teacher says now
"Kids will go and spray a bajillion shots hoping for a good one. Then they go through them, they all suck, but they save a few by photoshopping. Wouldn't you rather just shoot the correct exposure and focus on the camera and be done with it?"

Andrew.Zerick wrote in post #11824169
Like my teacher says now
"Kids will go and spray a bajillion shots hoping for a good one. Then they go through them, they all suck, but they save a few by photoshopping. Wouldn't you rather just shoot the correct exposure and focus on the camera and be done with it?"

.....and save a CRAP-LOAD of time.

Andrew.Zerick wrote in post #11824169
Like my teacher says now
"Kids will go and spray a bajillion shots hoping for a good one. Then they go through them, they all suck, but they save a few by photoshopping. Wouldn't you rather just shoot the correct exposure and focus on the camera and be done with it?"

But but but... that would require work on the front end.

asysin2leads wrote in post #11824154
Using PS to enhance your images isn't cheating. However, relying on PS to fix all of your shortcomings is.

Exactly. It doesn't take much work, though, to tell which photos are genuinely well-shot and which are polished turds.

GarryKirsch wrote in post #11823995
In my opinion, saying that Photoshop is cheating, is like saying $20,000 worth of top end camera gear and glass is cheating. Cameras are computers with sophisticated software installed...

Point! If it's not film, it's cheating!

asysin2leads wrote in post #11824154
...relying on PS to fix all of your shortcomings is.

It will do THAT? I wonder if that's what she meant?

PhotosGuy wrote in post #11827787
It will do THAT? I wonder if that's what she meant?

So they tell me.

I am working on some negatives now in photoshop and I sure do prefer to remove dust in photoshop over spottoning prints. Burning, dodging and fine tuning contrast are easier as well with a lots less waste of materials as a bonus. Plus, I don't have a bunch of toxic chemicals to get rid of at the end of the day.


It allows me to experiment with different toners and processes without getting a bunch of chemicals I may not want to even use, all in real time. Once I get a print right I don't have to retest the next day with fresh chemicals. Making multiple prints is so easy that it may feel like cheating I suppose.

All of this for black and white add colour to the mix and more possiblilites are there as well. You have to discipline yourself not to get too carried away trying possibilites out.

I wonder if people who first ditched wet plates felt like they were cheating not having to carry the darkroom with them into the field.

Plus, I don't have a bunch of toxic chemicals to get rid of at the end of the day.

Is driving an automatic cheating? Is cooking on a self-lighting gas stove cheating? Is using a calculator cheating?

HiFi -> Digital Recording -> CDs -> More HiFi -> and so on....

Very similar to faster CPUs and more memory leading to more features in software, rinse and repeat.

I developed film as a kid; what's different now is I can do thousands of trial-and-error learning experiences which would have been impossible for me then.

Lots of people think of Photoshop as cheating. I think of it as a toolbox. A carpenter would use tools to make a chair, so why shouldn't a photographer use the tools he has available to create a photograph?
For me, the problem is when photographers overdo it & create a monster, or in other words, a graphic image which is not representative of the original subject.