Focus On Photography

Taking photographs is only half of the creative process - developing those images is the other half. Whether you’re developing your images with chemicals in a traditional darkroom, or processing your images digitally, the computer is todays ‘darkroom’. With film,  you can develop and then print your images, but I suggest you have even more creative control by scanning your negatives of slides into a computer, and then working on them.

With small formats, (35 mm - 2 1/4) it’s very difficult to capture the perfect shot simply because we have a very small canvas to work on. The view camera offers a much larger canvas that we can view and adjust accordingly. So using a software program like Photoshop or Lightroom is the next best thing.

I always shoot in RAW so I have total control of how the image will be processed. And, if I change my mind and decide to go for a different look, I can easily do so without destroying my original image - how cool is that?

Of course, not everyone is comfortable with the Photoshop or Lightroom. There are a number of other software programs on the market that are less expensive and easier to get up and running with. In fact, I believe there may even be some free software available, so ‘google’ it and see what you can find. The bottom line here is you should do something with those images after the shutter has clicked, and that something should be done in you computer. This will enhance your photographic experience, and, hopefully, create even more joy!
Have fun with it!