Why editing your photos should be your thing

Some images require very little enhancements. Here, I simply removed a few visual distractions and added a touch of saturation.

Back in the darkroom days, if you handed the same negative to ten different photographers for processing, you'd end up with ten very different looking prints. My point is, editing isn't new. The idea of transforming something raw into something refined is at the core of artistic expression. For the carpenter, it looks like fresh lumber. For the painter, it's a blank canvas.

As a photographer, when I'm framing and capturing a scene, the same process occurs. Not only am I observing the scene, I'm seeing it's potential too. In my mind's eye, I'm visualizing how I'll make it my own. That's the power of editing: it can not only help solidify your style as a photographer but also enhance your individual creative vision during a photoshoot.

The image on the right is precisely what I saw in my mind's eye when observing this scene. I saw that this symmetric iPhone capture would require a square cropping, some selective colour popping and a vignette. All I had to do is edit my vision into reality.

Although editing is an artistic and personal process, a lot of it depends on where you're starting from. With naturally spectacular scenes and under great conditions, edits should remain subtle. And sometimes, if you're lucky, edits aren't required at all.

I encourage students to keep their edits natural looking and to try and build a consistent style in their work by experimenting with various editing tools to begin. Presets are fun but they're also super generic and as they say: nothing worth having comes easy. If you're only using presets, you are missing out on an opportunity to grow and define your own artistic style.

In general, edits should enhance an image, not become its main feature. We've all seen overly saturated skies that look like they're from another galaxy or overkill HDR filters that makes an image appear heavy, cluttered and messy. Moderation, in my opinion, is far more aesthetically appealing.

Ultimately, it's a matter of savoir-faire. If you wanna go overboard on an edit, go for it. But do it well!

I made the mistake of trying to enhance this image. After 20 minutes of going nowhere I realized it was pointless. This natural and stunning scene was perfect as is.

On these iPhone images, edits are more dramatic and creative.

Editing is particularly crucial with mobile photography. Although phone cameras have come a long way, their lenses are still no match to Nikon or Canon lenses that have exceptional optical qualities. Smartphone captures have their limitations in terms of rendering, detail and dynamic range. A little polish can go a long way with mobile captures! A free mobile app like Snapseed is incredibly well suited to the task, offering powerful and professional-level editing tools while keeping things incredibly user friendly and intuitive.

And last but not least, editing is fun. It's an opportunity to unwind, relax and get your creative on.

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Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section if you'd like! (Scroll all the way down)

PS: I don't use AI to write...:)

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