How to be a Great Photographer
Photo retouching is one of the most important aspects of photography which requires graphic artists, graphic designers and computer technicians to work together. Photo retouching is a hot subject among graphic artists such as photographers, illustrators, and other designers because it helps in adding a glossy effect to make the image more appealing.
A number of companies are involved in photo retouching according to their specific needs such as Retoucherlab Paris which offers use high quality skills for online photo editing. In terms of software tools that you can use for your photo editing jobs, Photoshop is one tool that almost every professional photographer uses for providing realistic effects in images.
Another editing tool that professional photographers use is Adobe Lightroom which is a basic photo editing tool used by professionals for creating composite images.
Lightroom was launched in 2007, and it offers a variety of tools and features to easily organize photos and create amazing effects. It adopts a non-destructive editing system that keeps the image intact before any changes are made to the original image. Lightroom offers a large number of retouching tools which enable customers to add effects such as skin tone, colour, contrast, detail along with reducing noise levels before making any alterations.
The most important feature of Lightroom is its ability to merge raw images with other sources such as time-lapse photography, burst shots, or video. It can also make changes to the stored photos such as repairing exposure problems and removing dust particles.
Before using Lightroom, one must first decide which version of Lightroom they would like to use. The two options are Classic and Developed Settings which have different functions. These options are :
Classic: Adobe Lightroom is a photo management tool that helps users organize photos while quickly accessing their favourite photos. On top of this it provides instant previews before applying changes.
Developed Settings: Lightroom is a powerful photo management tool that helps users organize photos while quickly accessing their favourite photos. On top of this it also provides instant previews before applying changes. The Developed Settings version of Adobe Lightroom enables users to work on raw files as well as edit JPEGs and TIFFs.
Studio: Adobe Lightroom offers the Studio option which is a paid version that works with Photoshop for team collaboration and sharing workflows. It enables users to make unlimited modifications to their images, share them online, and even apply effects to others' images with the click of a button.
Professional: Adobe Lightroom offers the Professional option which is a paid version that works with Photoshop for team collaboration and sharing workflows. It enables users to make unlimited modifications to their images, share them online, and even apply effects to others' images with the click of a button.
Adobe Camera Raw: Adobe Camera Raw is a photo editing software developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated as an open platform that upgrades raw image files into post-production photo editing tools such as the Adobe Digital Negative (DNG) format which supports colour spaces such as sRGB and ProPhoto RGB. This tool allows you to make adjustments on the raw image files like exposure, white balance, and noise reduction before applying them on your final images.
Adobe Photoshop: This revolutionary graphic editing program was launched in the year 1979 by Adobe Systems Incorporated, a California-based software developer. It is widely used for graphic design tasks and image manipulation such as photo retouching, photo restoration, painting and drawing. The latest version of this program is released in the year 2018 which offers a wide range of tools and features to create amazing images. Its pricing ranges from $19 to $50000 depending on the number of licenses purchased.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom has two versions: Classic is used for managing photos while Developed Settings works with raw files as well as tiffs (TIFF) or jpeg (JPEG).
In an article by Catherine Moore for "Practical Photography", she says that "it is not what you make the picture of that matters, but what you make the viewer think about".
Moore’s statement validates the concept of editing; a photographer must edit to enhance their artistic skills. In addition, editing allows photographers to further express their creativity and ideals to the audience by helping them focus on certain areas of the photograph.
In order to promote your style and unique vision, it is important that you have a distinct approach in editing your work. The approach should be visible through each photo you edit. There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to editing pictures creatively. Each photographer has a unique approach in editing their work.
A number of popular photographers have their own signature style how they edit their photos. These styles are based on the uniqueness of each photographer which is why there are no two ways to edit the same picture. However, the general guideline for editing the photographs is to make them visually attractive, pleasing to look at and positive.
As you progress in your photography career, you will realize that it is not always necessary to do a lot of editing for each photo taken. However, sticking to your signature style will help you keep your photography recognizable by people and potential employers who might see your pictures online or in a magazine.
Editing in photography starts from the moment you press the shutter button. There is a new trend of “in camera” or “on-camera” editing. This trend encourages photographers to enhance their creative skills using post-production. Most of these filters can be applied on smartphones, laptops and desktop computers. This way of editing gives photographers more time to focus on taking pictures rather than editing all the photos in a short period of time.
In addition, photo editors such as Snapseed by Google (Android and iOS) are also available which allow you to edit your photographs on your smartphone or tablet.
Some of the most popular mobile apps used by photographers to edit their photographs include:
There are also other photo editing softwares/apps such as Adobe Photoshop Mobile, COLLAGE, Snapseed, Fotor Mobile (Android and iOS), Instagram (Android and iOS) etc.
The following is a list of photography schools offering different types of photography courses. Most photographers obtain formal training in photography before they start practicing or freelancing. These courses are usually offered at universities and colleges in different fields such as applied arts, photojournalism, photojournalism etc. The length and duration of these courses varies. Course prices also vary depending on the level of education and whether the course is on-going or distance education.
Some photography programmes are also offered through diploma colleges such as:
Photography is an easy way to improve your skills in a short period of time.
Conclusion:-
Editing is the best way to show your style and make your photos unique. It is important that you have a unique approach in editing your images so that they can be easily recognized by people. There are several software programs that you can use to edit your photographs such as Adobe Photoshop, PicMonkey, Snapseed etc.
In a step by step guide we will teach you how to get started with one of the most popular photo editing tools – Adobe Lightroom. For this tutorial we used Adobe Lightroom 6 on Mac OS X Yosemite (10.10). If you are using a different version it might look somewhat different but most principles will remain the same.