Hello ,
So as you can tell by the title this will be about my thoughts and the powers of the infamous photoshop, most people use this phrase anytime something has been modified in an image and don't know what it really does or what it (IMO) should be used for , when i first started in the art field i was in high school, i didn't know anything about photography but i was learning graphic design and photoshop was the newest thing , all i knew was if i took a picture and added filter on it , it made it.... "cool" ... that was the end all of it for me. now fast forward 12 years and i am now a full time photographer and dancer and I'm trying to learn the newer version of this ....man things have changed........
So about 2 years ago when i started taking my photography seriously (learning exposure triangle, off camera flash, metering, composition , the ART of it ) (Most of the skills i was learning was because of photographers like Zack Arias and David hobby so many thanks to them for making downloadable lessons WHICH I PURCHASED LEGIT ) i was pretty anti photoshop, because i think back to those days of me in high school just hitting buttons and making things "cool" now i (and i also have run into clients) and people that think you can change and do anything in photoshop, technically you can, but to me just seems like a waste of time to correct something i could have done in camera, But being an artist at heart, what about those times where i want to make something great into something amazing....or something normal to something crazy and truly create something ....and it hit me and i have realized that photoshop it can be whatever you make it.....for me i have made it a tool , not a necessity Im not really interested in turning a model into a thiner porcelain doll version of themselves and i can happily light and work an image in camera and be perfectly fine with giving it to a client with minimal re touching if any because i am confident in my skills behind the camera. so as of late i have worked on a concept from start to finish and created images with photoshop that can't really be done otherwise.......i want to basically make something that looks like it could be out of a movie or video game or a dream for that matter. So the last few months i have been studying websites like Phlearn.com and have purchased and watched tutorials that have really helped me achieve a better understanding for what photoshop is and what it is not......again for me its a tool.....if i can do everything in camera i 100% will but if i needs that extra magic then i will use all the tools in my bag at the end of the day to produce the best image possible.......BUT my one rule to myself is it will be done with using photoshop in mind from start to finish.
so leads me to the image below.
about a year ago when i first moved to Las Vegas we had this crazy storm....and after it finished we had this amazing set of clouds so naturally i wanted to do a shoot, i called a friend last minute (Thanks Masi) to help me assist and another to model....and BAM i had an image with an absolutely amazing background and i would still with 100% confidence post this picture as is with no editing (and i have) But i always wished even before i started the shoot ....."i wish i got this while it was raining".....so that brings me to this edit below.
So the image below was out of camera with dancer Dezmin "Alpha Jack" you might have seen him on SYTYCD this season
The image below was with some dodge and burn techniques (I've just learned that this is a thing about 2 months ago and just now got the hang of it ) love what this does to images adds tons of contrast and just really makes the images pop.
Its a change to me only adds to the photo rather then correcting an image that was poorly executed .....
SO in short ....photoshop is fresh.... but even better when you know what your using it for..and even better when you know how to actually take a picture.......
So my suggestion start with the camera when you got that.....add a light or two ....when you got that....maybe learn a thing or two on photoshop if thats the type of artist you want to be....it definitely is not for everyone ...but for me..... i will use it to further push my art and continue to create ......but at the end of the day my work starts in camera.
Tim Salaz
RANDMVISION PHOTO