Week 8 – Processing with Intent #FYV2018 — Plus Post

For a person who processes all images, this week sounded like a walk in the park. But of course this is teresa pilcher’s mentorship and if nothing else, it’s taught me that there are surprises awaiting in the awnings. Something to learn, something to discover, something to make you drop your jaw in awe. And yes, surprised was I! (It even brought out the Yoda in me… lol)

Processing to me was always about making the RAW image stand out. And then we heard of “Processing with intent” … in simple terms, it’s here… take this toolkit and build absolutely anything you want. Wow. To think of all the under appreciated potential we’ve been discarding cause we didn’t experiment enough.

I found myself trawling through the photos I made over the last few week with new eyes. I randomly applied presets and filters in an attempt to see differently. And yes, the same way that love gives us rose tinted glasses, this mentorship has honed my sense of “seeing”. Using the brilliant example that Teresa gave us, I found myself cropping, converting and simplifying. One image could give me ten, we do have the tools, we do have the vision, so heck yeah… Why not!?

I’m not ashamed to say, that I didn’t truly understand what processing meant until this week. Processing is not just about making it better. It’s about putting the spotlight on what made you press that shutter at that moment. It’s about your vision. It’s about you as a photographer, as an artist, as a dreamer.

Yes, I do know there are people who believe that everything should be in-camera. I’ve heard “Oh it’s photoshopped” used in derogatory terms, but as an artist, how does it matter? I’m not a photojournalist, I’m not trying to convince anyone of facts, I’m here presenting my vision, creating impressions of my chaotic soul for myself. So does it really matter if I used Photoshop or Lr or Nik or Snapseed or Luminar or Capture One?

Truth: No. It doesn’t.

I’ve never felt so glad about having my thoughts/beliefs/perceptions challenged. Street doesn’t have to be dreary and all about luck. Sometimes it’s just heart and instinct, sometimes it’s a conversation with a stranger and a shot with less than perfect lighting, sometimes it’s backlit and dark but with a story that could cause goose pimples, and yeah… we won’t always run into perfect weather and lighting conditions, but now, when the day throws us lemons, we have the tequila and salt to make it a perfect evening!

Lessons learned:

History brush more efficient than masking … I tried both ways and like the brush results better. (Bigger lesson: there is always something to learn. Stay humble. Be open to trying different things)

If you are stuck with a photo, probably means you need a new photo to play with or more wine. Most probably much more wine. Don’t beat yourself up about it.

Get as much right in camera, but don’t let anyone’s definition of right/wrong cage you in.

Instead of a keep-it or lose-it methodology, I should move to a Keep-it, Has-potential, Lose-it ranking.

A huge THANK YOU to teresa pilcher G+ Mentorship Program for Photographers and the moderators for your support, inspiration and time.

This one’s from the Week 5:

In-camera blur + vibrance + selective dehaze brush.