Way back in mid-August I asked the following question on my Facebook page:
"What do you struggle with when it comes to being artistic?"
There were several great responses and today we're going to talk about Shondra's question:
"How do you know when to stop editing an image? When is the image complete?"
My answer?
When you love it, it's complete.
I know.
It's a very vague answer, but the time you spend on an image or the amount of editing you do to it will differ from shot to shot.
Let me give you some examples.
I spent a decent amount of time on this image...
But I did more to this image...
The thing that changed between my two edits was my knowledge of PSE 8, which allowed me to do more with the second image in a shorter amount of time.
Lets look at another example.
This shot is pretty close to SOOC (straight out of camera).
I just boosted contrast and color saturation.
There will be times when you capture an image almost exactly how you want it to look.
And there will be other times when you could work on an image for hours.
If you're struggling with getting a shot just how you want it, here are some things you can do to help you along the way:
1. Save your work in .psd format and come back to it another time. I've often found this helps when I'm stuck. When I've had time away from my image I can come back with a fresh perspective.
2. Ask for opinions! Ask your spouse, kids {who will always tell you how it is! :)}, or blog friends for input on an image.
3. Download some new free textures, actions, or overlays.
(A quick search on flickr or even Google images for any of those things will get you many results! Just be sure to check the copyright terms before using...flickr has small circular copyright icons in the lower right sidebar of all images, which will give you more info.)
1. Save your work in .psd format and come back to it another time. I've often found this helps when I'm stuck. When I've had time away from my image I can come back with a fresh perspective.
2. Ask for opinions! Ask your spouse, kids {who will always tell you how it is! :)}, or blog friends for input on an image.
3. Download some new free textures, actions, or overlays.
(A quick search on flickr or even Google images for any of those things will get you many results! Just be sure to check the copyright terms before using...flickr has small circular copyright icons in the lower right sidebar of all images, which will give you more info.)
i like to leave things as simple as possible, as natural as possible. maybe its just because i am so new to the photo editing process.
ReplyDeleteNice. I'm a fan of the simple stuff in editing. I find the more time I spend in pse, the more I do and then undo, and the final product is actually less edited than if I spend just a bit of time on it.
ReplyDeleteHa! I love your answer!! And it's so true! However, I find myself not wanting to edit and edit and edit... which may be a good and/or bad thing! ha!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Chell
Great post...that's a good answer. Sometimes it just needs a little something, and other times I love going all out on a shot. It's impossible to put a formula on that.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good answer!A really good one!
ReplyDeleteThanks for answering my question, Katie! I guess sometimes i just feel like I'm going in circles with my editing. Sometimes I wonder if I need to look to me for cohesive with my editing style, but I just like editing so much. :) It makes me want to experiment all day long.
ReplyDeleteBut thanks for your answer. I have experienced moments where I know I am in love with the final product. Other times I think I'm done, but I don't love it yet.
I guess I need to keep striving to find that moment.
Thanks again!
I love your edit of the tree on the second image. I will try it out on some of my photos too. Have fun editing!:)
ReplyDelete