topic Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop? in Camera Software

How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

John_SD — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 17:46:27 GMT

I won't hijack the other guy's thread asking if there is a stigma attached to using Photoshop (no idea where he would get that idea anyway). But I am curious about how much time people spend in Ps to begin with. I don't have Ps, but I do use Gimp (rarely), after I've done what I can do in DPP. I could see myself one day biting the bullet and making a move to Lr, as I progress with the hobby. But I just dont have many occassions to use Ps. Now, if I needed to remove a light pole, or replace a house with a meadow, or put a nice rainbow over a scene, or remove a bunch of clutter from the backgroud, Ps might be useful to me. Do you guys really spend a lot of time in Ps? Do you use it daily in your workflow?

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

Bartee — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 18:53:04 GMT

I shoot models, portraits and seniors. I use Capture One V11.3 and PS subscription. I spend 80% of my time in PS. I guess you would consider what I do hgh end retouching. I have spent many, many hours looking and learning from You Tube videos. It is what I enjoy doing. I am retired and my photo business is a hobby, which I like to charge for when possible. If uou are curious take a look at justbartee on Instagram.

All of that said, you can do absolutely incredible work in LR or C1 without ever using PS.

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

cicopo — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 19:44:08 GMT

I don't usr Ps much for special styles of editing but do use the ACR function when forced to shoot under poor conditions. Shooting towards the light on a dull day in particular means I'll be working my RAW files rather than doing quick edits to the jpg's in Picasa. Here's a recent example which was run through ACR & then Ps where I brightened the aircraft & then darkened the sky to give it an angrier look which makes it a lot more interesting than the jpg would have been with basic edits. First the untouched jpg & then the finished product which has been printed at 16 X 20. Without the editing work I wouldn't have used the image at all.

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

ebiggs1 — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 14:43:05 GMT

A 2 hour Senior photo shoot will create a 6 hour LR first and PS second time consumption. A 4 hour wedding can create several days of PS work. Depending on what was ordered.

My workflow is usually LR for first import. Catalog the files. Then start culling the duds. Selecting and editing the rest follows. If LR can handle it, it stops there. If not it goes to PS.

If you don't have LR, you can easily do the exact same procedure with Bridge, ACR and PS.

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

ebiggs1 — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 14:52:49 GMT

"Do you guys really spend a lot of time in Ps?"

To answer these specific questions, the answer to that is yes. I use LR and PS daily. I never shut either one down.

"... I progress with the hobby"

Hobby photography is a whole different game. Guys can spend hours and hours on hobby shots. Both taking and editing. There is a big difference between somebody that likes to get the photo and somebody like me that has to get the photo. If you are amateur or enthusiast you can use just about whatever software you want to. If you are in the business you need to use the standard of the industry which is LR and PS. However, if you like swimming up stream, more power to ya.

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

kvbarkley — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 19:13:01 GMT

Just throwing this out there:

The newly announced Zeiss camera, the ZX-1, has Adobe Lightroom Photoshop CC *built in*!

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

RobertTheFat — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 22:12:44 GMT

@John_SD wrote:
I won't hijack the other guy's thread asking if there is a stigma attached to using Photoshop (no idea where he would get that idea anyway). But I am curious about how much time people spend in Ps to begin with. I don't have Ps, but I do use Gimp (rarely), after I've done what I can do in DPP. I could see myself one day biting the bullet and making a move to Lr, as I progress with the hobby. But I just dont have many occassions to use Ps. Now, if I needed to remove a light pole, or replace a house with a meadow, or put a nice rainbow over a scene, or remove a bunch of clutter from the backgroud, Ps might be useful to me. Do you guys really spend a lot of time in Ps? Do you use it daily in your workflow?

Well, John, since you asked, my answer is "none". I must confess that I've never used Photoshop.

Overall, I think your analysis is spot on. There are certain advanced capabilities that very few editors have; and when you need those capabilities, the answer is usually Photoshop. Once you've mastered its learning curve, you can do things that you probably couldn't do otherwise. But the truth is that most photographers, even most professional photographers, rarely need those capabilities. That's not an argument against using Photoshop for routine editing. But it is an argument against the proposition - sometimes advanced in this forum - that those who don't do so are ignorant, incompetent, or unprofessional.

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

cicopo — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 23:00:35 GMT

Something I've been asked to use it for that can really be helpful is for old photo repair. I won't claim to be very good at it but I've done it a few different times to resurect really old or neglected photos of either my wife's family or old black & white school photos from the early 60's. Fixing cracks & blending in areas that have discoloured isn't too tough nor very time consuming. I haven't tried on any colour photos though.

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

kvbarkley — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 00:27:30 GMT

Check out Ctein's "Digital Photo Restoration"

[Removed 3rd party link per Forum Guidelines]

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

Waddizzle — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 01:33:49 GMT

Bob, you may not know what it is that you are missing by primarily using DPP. Check out this photo that I colorized from the early 1950s.

Me, at two years old, about to go to Sunday School for Easter Sunday. It still needs some work and tweaking. This was my first attempt at colorizing an old black and white photo. Yes, the walls were pink, and I need to turn down the saturation.

This should give you an idea of where I started. This time the B&W shot is being cleaned up for noise, BEFORE I start to colorize it.

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

John_SD — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 02:27:10 GMT

Very nice photos, Waddizzle. Colorizing it has added some punch to the picture, for sure. That gilded mirror might fetch you a pretty penny on eBay if you still have it. There is a niche of collectors who seek out old mirrors and they pay good money for them if they are in good shape.

As for Ps, I have no doubt as to its power, but I can't yet bring myself to pay for a subscription at this point. While Gimp is a challenge to learn due to the mostly amateurish documentation that supports it, I have been able to do some things with it. If I find myself using it more than I anticipate, I'd consider buying a copy of Photoshop lite instead (Elements, that is).

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

ebiggs1 — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 13:21:35 GMT

Bob said, "... those who don't do so are ignorant, incompetent, or unprofessional" and unsuccessful. Well in the case of people that are making it a career, a business, a living. If you are a hobby shooter, a for fun shooter, a Mom, you can use just about anything or nothing!

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

RobertTheFat — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 20:54:34 GMT

@cicopo wrote:
Something I've been asked to use it for that can really be helpful is for old photo repair. I won't claim to be very good at it but I've done it a few different times to resurect really old or neglected photos of either my wife's family or old black & white school photos from the early 60's. Fixing cracks & blending in areas that have discoloured isn't too tough nor very time consuming. I haven't tried on any colour photos though.

Nicely done. But why didn't you get rid of the flare spot on the wall to the right of the window while you were at it?

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

cicopo — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 14:39:50 GMT

I knew that question was coming & the answer is simple. I cropped tighter. The photos were needed for a family photo swap between several on my 91 year old mother in laws brothers & sisters or remaining spouces where each member swapped a few of their old photo collection but only as 4X6 or 5X7 sized prints. The photos I repaied actually printed very well considering what took them back in the day & how they had been handled etc since then.

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

ebiggs1 — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 15:00:15 GMT

What you are doing is really pretty interesting. I got a job from a large genealogy outfit to restore a few old photos. It is amazing what PS can do on those old photos. Some of the photos from the 1860's to 1900's are extremely sharp.

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

RobertTheFat — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 15:20:07 GMT

@ebiggs1 wrote:
Bob said, "... those who don't do so are ignorant, incompetent, or unprofessional" and unsuccessful. Well in the case of people that are making it a career, a business, a living. If you are a hobby shooter, a for fun shooter, a Mom, you can use just about anything or nothing!

"a Mom"??! How sexist is that, Ernie? My wife is a mom (and a five-time grandmother), and this summer she had pictures accepted for the juried show at the Griffin Museum (q.v.) and for a rather selective regional calendar. I had edited both of those pictures for her using DPP.

I don't know where you got this idea that only full-time professionals have to produce acceptable results, meet demanding deadlines, etc.; but I can tell you from personal experience that it isn't true. During the eight or ten years in which photography was part (albeit a minor part) of my job, there were many occasions where underperformance was not an option. I wouldn't have been fired if I had screwed up, but it would have been extremely embarrassing.

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

ebiggs1 — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 15:50:31 GMT

"I had edited both of those pictures for her using DPP." ...you can use just about anything or nothing!"

You made my point. If it is not you livelihood, any post editor will do. And, I suppose, if you look hard enough, you can find a successful pro that doesn't use PS but I have not met one.

BTW, we are a nine time grandparents!

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

ebiggs1 — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 15:58:05 GMT

Let me be clear. I am not a PS or LR fan. I don't like them any more or less than anybody does. And, I really, really don't like Adobe. Although Adobe doesn't really care, I am sure, I have told them so as many of us have. I use PS and LR because they are the best. Period, get over it.

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

John_SD — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 17:58:51 GMT

@ebiggs1 wrote:
I use PS and LR because they are the best. Period, get over it.

That may be true of Ps, but Lightroom is facing increasingly stiff competition and its days as the go-to top-flight RAW converter may be numbered. Several of those competing products are increasingly gaining serious ground, such as Capture One Pro. You pay a flat fee, and it's yours, period. Because really, who wants to be consigned to paying a monthly tribute to Adobe for a lifetime so that they permit you to continue working on your own images? Well, not me. And a lot of others have also learned that Lightroom is no longer the only game in town. Threre's some great products out there.

Re: How much time do you spend in Photoshop?

ebiggs1 — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 18:31:53 GMT

John everything you said is true. The difference is with the real full time pro shops. The subscription to Adobe is just an entry on the ledger sheet. Beyond that out of sight, out of mind. LR has no competition there. For part timers, hobbyists, amateur pros, Robert, etc, use what you like best. No harm, no foul.