
Blue car by red shed, Methven
‘Reality’ in photography is something some people spend a lot of energy talking about. I try to avoid any discussions on the matter so am writing my thoughts here for reference to those who worry about such.
No matter how an image is captured, reality is altered to some degree. Anyone who says “Oh I don’t use PhotoShop, my images are unaltered” is either ignorant, lying or disingenous. Even if they use a manual film camera and print straight from the negatives they have altered reality by all the decisions along the way: selective framing/composition of the subject, what sort of film was used (just how ‘real’ is B&W?), lens choice, processing method, type of paper printed on (is reality glossy, matte, borderless?). Not to mention various filters – how did Ansel Adams capture those broody skies? – by using filters to enhance the tones among other choices he made.
Digital photography is no different. Instead of film being processed the raw digital data is processed either in the camera (the only option for pocket digicams) or optionally later on the computer with PhotoShop or other software. And contrary to what some people think, PhotoShop does not have a magic ‘unsuck’ button that transforms a bad image in to a prizewinner. A good image still needs to be captured properly in the beginning.
Now this assumes that for some reason a finished image should convey something ‘real’. Maybe if you are a forensic photographer, or cataloguing artwork for a museum. But for anyone who approaches photography as an artistic outlet the only reality to worry about is your own and you should use all tools & skill available to construct your reality. Ten people can photograph the same subject and come up with ten different images, because everyone’s reality is different!
When I find a subject that compels me there is a mood, feeling, or some emotion triggered that I want to capture in a 2D image. If I set the camera to ‘A’ for automatic (or maybe ‘P’ for Professional), push the button, and download my memory card at the nearest photo kiosk I’m going to be sadly disappointed with the results.
What I do instead is spend a lot of time getting the composition right. Then I often have to wait for good light. I decide what lens to use. I agonise about the right exposure to get the tones I’m after. When I get back to my office and download the images I pull them apart and reconstruct them to match my reality of what I saw and felt. If other people enjoy what I do that is a bonus and I’m glad that my reality resonates with theirs. If it doesn’t, too bad, it is impossible to produce a universally loved image.
So do I use PhotoShop? Yes, of course I do, and I’m proud of it.