Is using photoshop wrong?

Thanks! I like that.

What's a good free program to play with?

I have been trying to learn photoshop, and I don't see anything wrong with using it. If you were trying to do something bad with it, yea you could look at it in a negitive light, but that is with anything. Here is what I did with you photo...

dan1263 said:

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I have been trying to learn photoshop, and I don't see anything wrong with using it. If you were trying to do something bad with it, yea you could look at it in a negitive light, but that is with anything. Here is what I did with you photo...

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With respect, that's the kind of thing that gives photoshop use a bad name.

The moon is too large for the picture, the reflection looks like it's been rotated 180 degrees rather than reflected (so it clearly isn't a reflection), and the reflection doesn't show any of the signs of ripples in the water that I'd expect to see in a reflection.

So unfortunately adding the moon like that turned a picture that looked natural into a picture that looked fake.

I was not going for realism; I was just showing some of the goofy things you could do with PS. I was going to put a cartoon boat going under the bridge, but I did not want to spend to much time on it. I think the poster wanted to reduce the green exposure in the photo.


I personally believe that if you try to copy something from someone without their constant then it is wrong. Most photographers nowadays copyright their photos that they want to keep under their control.

I just can’t see playing around with an image is giving something a bad name unless you try and commercialize something that is not real, IE photoshopping a product and selling something to another person that is not actually what they bought to begin with. Or even breaking copyright laws.

Here's what I did to your pic with PS. I only adjusted the color levels.

In professional work, it's expected that you will retouch photos, correct technical errors, etc. You don't need to say that you did, unless there is a reason you need to make it clear that the photo has been altered. (Contests, documentary, scientific or court evidence photos, for example) Photography is art, and retouching is a part of that art. Simple honesty is all you need.

Michael Snow said:

Thanks! I like that.

What's a good free program to play with?

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I don't know of a GOOD freebie, but Photoshop Elements is a good, inexpensive alternative to the full version of Photoshop. Unless you're setting up professional print jobs, you won't need all the high tech features of the full version, like halftoning and color separations for four color printing.

https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=photoshop_elements&loc=en_us

There's a free trial available from Adobe, so you can play with it before you buy.

flowerforever7 said:

Hi, I am a Christian, and would like to know if you think using photoshop to alter an image is decietful and wrong? I mean in the general sense, and then also in the sense of saying to people "hey this is my photography", and then showing them images that were altered in photoshop. Do you think that is decietful? I am contemplating on this issue, and want to know what other people think. Thanks

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Unless you are using it to deceive people, like putting yourself into a pic with the president and telling people you were actually there or any of the other twisted things some do, it is not immoral to use it.

Photography is an art and Photoshop is simply a tool. Many of the tools and techniques photographers use with Photoshop have their origin in the darkroom. Ansel Adams manipulated his photos in the darkroom. It is the nature of photography.

There are some purists that frown on photo manipulation, but it's a matter of preference and taste. It's not something you should worry about in a moral sense. Now, go have fun.

Michael Snow said:

Thanks! I like that.

What's a good free program to play with?

Click to expand...

Like someone said, you can get a 30 day trial of photoshop. A good free program, while not quite Photoshop, is called Gimp. It has a lot of the same tools, but it isn't a clone. If you have the money, or when you do, I definitely recommend Photoshop. It's an amazing tool.

I use Photoshop nearly every day to retouch blemishes, wrinkles, scars, lines, and bags under eyes. I have never had anyone complain that I made them look "too young."

LST

90% of the time I try to keep the scene as original as possible. I will remove distracting objects like birds in the background, power lines, cones, etc.


Messerschmitt 044 by fight2flyphoto, on Flickr
This is a picture I got published recently. You know what was in the background? A huge abandoned Boeing 727, a bunch of orange cones, and three police cars. None of it helped identify where this aircraft was and only made the picture look tacky. Now, if it was an identifying feature such as a building at the airport that let viewers know where this aircraft was, then I would have left it in.

Two weeks later all that stuff was moved anyway.

Other times it's just fun to play around:


220 by fight2flyphoto, on Flickr
Yuck!!


220 Oldie by fight2flyphoto, on Flickr
Fun!

I think it boils down to our motive, goal, etc.
If we are trying to deceive people in some way about our own talent level or make money off of others' photography by PS them and not giving the originator credit, than yes, that's wrong.

ABSOLUTELY OK it is to use photoshop or other editing program. It is not lying or deceit at all!

As a professional photographer and a Christian I can tell you, Photoshop is the modern-day equivalent of a darkroom and it's chemicals, just quicker and less messy. Many of the functions in these programs are just the same as what you used to be able to do with chemicals and other techniques in the dark room.

Everyone knows we use Photoshop to adjust contrast, correct white-balance and colour cast, remove dust motes from an image, crop, sharpen according to output needs, all to present a finished product.

Taking a photograph and presenting it is not just pointing and shooting, letting the auto (complete idiot) function on the camera make all the decisions for you, but a plethora of skill, creative control, artistic composition, and post-processing skills.

The only deception is when someone asks you if it is Photoshopped or straight out of camera, (SOOC) is when you lie about that. I always answer, "Of course it's Photoshopped!" It's either a file full of ones and zeroes or a printable image. Which would you want?

You need to differentiate between the different forms of photography too. Purists like to get it right IN CAMERA, doing only the very basics in Photoshop to convert their RAW data files into a finished JPEG. As a PHOTOGRAPHER, I think this should be the aim. Take control of the camera and lens to achieve the very best you can SOOC.

Artists do all kinds of image manipulation to get a desired effect/end result and call it a composite work of digital art.

As long as you are honest with people when asked what it is, I see absolutely no issue with it being deceitful.

Baz.

I'm new here but thought I'd throw in my thoughts on this matter.

I'm a professional photographer for the United States Air Force as well as on the side where I do weddings, portraits, and special events.

When it comes to photoshopping photographs in the Air Force we are limited to simple color correction and cropping as long as it doesn't take away from the purpose of the photo.

However when I do things on the side to make money, it's all about what the client wants. I don't see anything wrong with bluring the background, removing a pimple, or other simple things like that. I don't think it's lieing or decieving anyone. It's common knowledge that photographers do this and all we are really doing it making our client look their best.

Some great before and after photoshop shots here.

Nothing wrong with it, be truthful, don't paste yourself shaking hands with Obama & say you really were there,,,,,

I started doing digital photography in 2006 and never looked back. Being an artist who does photography, not the other way around, manipulating images has been a natural progression.

I've been on the photo site, Flickr, for about five years now. In the beginning, I knew absolutely nothing, and now I'm barely intermediate! I still work with point and shoots for several reasons, the biggest being finances, and have had to learn to do post processing in order to create work that was interesting enough to sell, and to show, both of which I've done. I've had one of my shots on the cover of a magazine in South America, and others have been used around the web, and in books.

I would tell you that with this art form, it's the end result that matters, not how you arrived at it. If your camera cost $200 and you pick up a lot of graininess, post processing can help remove some of that. If you have a good shot that could use a better looking sky, you can airbrush in some color, or take out things you don't like. Photoshop is the tool of choice for most, but I couldn't afford it, so I improvised by using free or inexpensive editing tools like Picasa, Picnik, and even the Kodak Easy share editing software that came with my first camera. Photo Explosion is inexpensive, and is fun software to create artsy edits, too. For Facial Retouching, I use Portrait Professional. THAT is a skill that takes some time to do well, and better editing tools make the edits a whole lot more natural! My first attempts were like masks, having hand airbrushed (on the computer) the skin, not using the portrait software. Even my airbrush skills have improved, and I regularly use it to add color or take things I don't want out.

Don't use other peoples' photos. Don't say it's SOOC if it isn't. Don't post your own retouched face and let people think you're perfect if you're not. (Been there, done that! Was convicted, and now post the before's, too!) The ethics come in what you DO with your photos after the fact, and what the content of those photos is. Post processing is fun, artistic, and creates beauty where it was lacking. Our desire to re-create comes from the part of us that is like God, who creates. Nothing wrong with that. Have a blast!

You can see my photos, retouched and unretouched, (I usually show the before and after) on Flickr. Just add /celticsong22 after the web address. There is a group on Flickr, I think it's called "Beginner's Digital Photography", and in the discussion threads there are countless links to free editing software. There are tips on there, too. Until April 19, Picnik, which is Google's editing software, will be available on Flickr. You can play with it and see how you like it. The premium version is free to all for the next month.