RULES I LIVE BY: On Photo Editing

12/17/2012


Having been a "blogger" or should I say "a girl with a blog" for half a year already, I honestly admit that almost all of my posts have pictures in it, thus the blog title "Pixels and Tales". As what most people say, pictures speak a thousand words. Most of the time, I always find myself at a loss for words so I usually resort to pictures to tell the story for me.

Before I started out this hobby called blogging, I have already been a photography-enthusiast. I am easily fascinated with pictures. At one point in my life, I have been bitten by the photography bug, immersed myself with other hobbyists and embraced photography as one of my hobbies. I even started out a photography blog in Tumblr but later ditched it when my sister went away with the DSLR I'm using. However, I never lost the enthusiasm and continued on with the hobby using my handy-dandy point and shoot camera and at the same time, saving up for a new gear.

Let me show you some of my photos:

A Minute after Take-off (NAIA Terminal 2 ; BenQ Point and Shoot Camera)

Urbandub Concert (Nikon D5000 with 18-300mm lens)

 Sunset in Babusanta (Nikon D5000 with 18-55mm kitlens)

With all honesty, the pictures are not really "what you see is what you get". I have still a lot more to learn in photography, and sometimes moments passed swiftly that there's no chance left to take another photo if the first photo wasn't good enough for my taste. Thank God for the creation of digital photography and photo editing has always been the easiest solution to some of your photography problems. However, let me just share to you some rules I live by  in terms of photo editing. Please be guided that these are my rules, and it doesn't mean that these are yours too. It is up to your judgement whether these apply to you or not.

Keep photo editing to a minimum as possible. 
It is always better to retain all the natural details. 
Correct only the things needed to be corrected.
Sharpen details. Blur what is needed to be be blurred.
Editing should be done to enhance the photo, not to destroy it.
If a photo is not enhanced after photo editing, just leave it within the corners of your image folder.
Spot a subject and enhance it.
Imagine a story behind the photo while editing it. 
Stick to that story.

Of course, nothing beats knowing the basics of composition and other ideals in the realm of photography in producing quality photos. Always start with the basic and keep on taking shots to master your gear and  further enhance your skills.

Do you also have rules to live by when editing photos? Share your thoughts!

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