Mrs. Davis Speaks: Let's talk editing!

Hi everyone.  My sweet husband and I have agreed to do a little switcheroo, and while he's posting on my blog today, I am posting on his.  Today I get to discuss my favorite thing about photography and that is editing!

Before my husband flips out let me say this, and you should adhere to this like the DH and I do: you should not not NOT rely on editing to save your photographs from mistakes that could have been fixed in-camera.  In fact, working and correcting mistakes in-camera is what makes you a photographer.  See honey, I do listen to you :-)

So let's get cracking!  While everyone thinks that editing (in the photographic sense) and Photoshop are synonymous these days, that couldn't be further from the truth.  Today there are a wide variety of programs out there from beginner to advanced, and you certainly don't need to start with Photoshop.  In fact, I barely use Photoshop and try not to unless I'm touching up a blemish on someone's skin.

If you have a Mac of any variety, then you've got iPhoto and at least until you get very familiar with photographic editing, you're all set.  This program has slider bars that allow for adjustments in exposure, contrast, saturation, color temperature, and a few extras.  I think the sliders are useful for beginners because they allow a lot of control and you can visibly see the difference you're making in the photo and adjust accordingly.  After experimenting over time, you will be able to know what every control does and what your photo needs.  From my personal experience, I feel that this program is absolutely fantastic for beginners and even allows a great means of importing, exporting, and storing your photos in an organized way.  I love organization, yes I do!  So you've got a Mac?  New to photographic editing?  Start with iPhoto.  Done.

Now while I'm unwilling to admit this (and find it an absolute travesty!!!!) most people are using PC's.  That's a Windows-based operating system, for the record.  I'm not an expert on PC's and don't pretend to be, but there are plenty of photo programs out there to get the job done.  So I will only discuss programs I am familiar with.  That said Picnik.com, Photoscape, and even Adobe Photoshop Elements (the intro version of Photoshop) are great programs that all run on PCs and have rave reviews all over the internet. Two of those are free and Elements is only 99 dollars.

Adobe Lightroom is my favorite program and I use it on my Mac, but it is designed for both Windows and Mac users alike.  This is definitely a "professional" program but I found it easy to use from the beginning.  Like iPhoto, it has slider bars for editing and is fairly self-explanatory.  When I first began using it, I had no clue what I was doing, but it didn't take long to figure out the concepts, how they applied to my image, and grasp the awesomeness that is Adobe Lightroom.  My highest praise is for this program because of one reason:  you can never outgrow it.  The simplest thing it does it edit photographs into beautiful masterpieces but it can also help you with a photographic website layout, printing, watermarking, you name it.  It's my personal Gold Standard.  You can tag photos by keyword,  organize them neatly, flag, rate, you name it.  But, of course, it's not free.  The going rate for the newest version is 299 dollars and while slightly steep, if you've outgrown your free program, I suggest this.  Why?  Because the workflow is easy and I am a self-professed lover of this intuitive and amazing program!

Now I know you want to know the scoop about Adobe Photoshop right?  "Photoshop" is a term used so often it makes me laugh.  I hear it used in all sorts of contexts--always a verb and never a proper noun.  So here's the skinny.  Photoshop is truly a photographic professionals' program.  Most would say it's the industry standard and maybe it is.  But honestly, it's pretty advanced.  Okay, extremely advanced.  And if you're reading this blog, I know you're not in that category just yet and I also suspect you don't want to spend $699 on this program when you've just dropped your first wad of cash on a dSLR.  Am I right?  So is it cool and can it do amazing things?  Absolutely!  But trust me when I say, it is not for you.  Not now, at least.

So now that you've read all that, I bet you're still confused.  Buying the right software is just as confusing as buying the right intro dSLR.  Here are my final choices, but feel free to do some research if you don't believe me.

• Just starting out? GO FREE!

-iPhoto (if you have a Mac, you're set)
-Photoscape
-Picnik.com

• Outgrown both those programs?  

-Adobe Photoshop Elements (99 dollars!)

• Going a little more pro?

-Adobe Lightroom



Editing software is great, because no photos ever have to look like this:

Or this:

Instead, they can look like a better version of how they are:

Isn't editing awesome?  And we've only just begun!

Since I do all the editing in our family, I'm sure I will be doing more guest posts on editing in the future.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming with my husband....