topic Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex in General Discussion

What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative expression?

JFG — Sun, 26 Apr 2026 23:35:51 GMT

Post‑processing is the digital darkroom — It is everything that happens after you press the shutter. It includes:

Minor corrections like exposure tweaks, white balance, sharpening, noise reduction, and spot removal. These are the “clean‑up” edits that keep the image true to life.
Creative enhancement, where you shape mood, color, style, and storytelling. This can be subtle (a signature color grade) or wild (textures, filters, double exposures, surreal composites).
Full artistic transformation, where the final image may look dramatically different from the original capture — the equivalent of adding brushstrokes to a painting.

Professionals overwhelmingly edit their images — 99.9% of them, according to one source — because post is where the final vision comes together.

️ When post is “just touch‑ups”

These are the quick, corrective edits that keep the photo natural:

Fixing exposure or contrast
Correcting color
Removing dust spots or small distractions
Sharpening details
Reducing noise

These are essential for clean, professional‑looking images and are considered standard practice.

When post becomes creative

This is where you push beyond reality:

Dramatic color grading
Stylized lighting effects
Texture overlays
Artistic filters
Double exposures (in‑camera or digital)
Composite storytelling

These techniques let you develop a signature style and create images that feel more like artwork than documentation.

🧠 How to think about it

Post isn’t a band‑aid — it’s a creative stage. Just like pre‑production and shooting, it’s part of the full photographic workflow.

A clean, realistic edit and a wild, stylized one are both valid. The only question is: What serves the image and your vision?

One question for you

Do you want your post‑processing to stay mostly true‑to‑life, or are you exploring a signature creative style? The decision is yours. Which ever route you take, "Do what you feel in your hart to be right, for you'll be criticized anyway." Eleanor Roosevelt

You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't. What is your take on this?

Cheers,
Joe
Ancora Imparo

"A good photograph is knowing where to stand."
--- Ansel Adams >
"You don’t take a photograph, you make it."
--- Ansel Adams

Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex

March411 — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 16:10:10 GMT

The process is basically the same only the platform has changed.

Let’s not be mistaken a good or great image starts with the photographer and camera, a quality capture always rules. Nothing written here should be confused with the fact that the old adage garbage in, garbage out applies. Post production is a tool to help refine, not fix all the images that we (including me) have all taken that are simply unpleasant.

Back in the day when I was still shooting film Kodak’s Panatomic-X was almost always loaded in one of my bodies, the dynamic range was incredible. I personally found it open doors to further my creativity. You could push this film both in camera, the lab and when it hit the enlarger.

I enjoyed shooting lower speed films because of their ability to allow me to become a little more creative in post-production. Longer development baths, different developer solutions gave me the capacity to bring for wonderful tones across the range and more times than not grain (noise) free images. Get the negatives into a carrier, slide it into the enlarger, a little burning, maybe some dodging, extended the developer bath and presto a stunning image.

Times change but many of the same opportunities are available and valued in the digital photography post processes. Today’s advanced software applications offer so much convenience to photographers that have shifted to digital photography, especially those shooting in the Raw format. I am of the opinion that post production is an essential element of photography, it increases image quality and produces stunning visuals to our audiences.

Let’s not be confused, many beautiful images can be generated out of the camera but with some minor tweaks an image can become refined and magnificent. Post production processing is a beneficial step for refining images to present a more impactful representation of what the photographer sees looking through the viewfinder, it gives us the ability to accurately depict what we visualized in real life. Quite simply, it gives us the power to extend our artistic and creative goals. It also gives us the capability to overcome many limitations of produced by the natural environment or our equipment (high ISO noise, optical distortion, vignetting). Adjustments can be made to the camera setting but these settings are somewhat limited, post production simply opens the photographer to a considerable number of additional tools.

Color Grading	Vibrance and Saturation	Color Correction	Filters and Visual Effects
Curves	Crop and resizing for improved composition	Exposure	Noise Reduction
Sharpening	White Balance	Levels	Highlights and Shadows

Learn from my mistakes, things to keep in mind in your post production processing.

Editing you’re the original file. Things can go awry and you may need to start from scratch. If you have auto-save or have saved the file yourself there is very little chance of going back.
Rushing your post production process. It doesn’t need to be done in a single process. Many times, it’s best to take a break, walk away and review the image later to make sure you’ve reached your goal and are satisfied with the finished image.
Cropping, whenever possible it is suggested that you maintain your crop ratio in standard formats. This may not always be feasible when attempting to crop out negative space.
Concentrating on only you subject and not the background/surroundings. Balance is vital, working exclusively on enhancing your subject can be visually distracting and appear artificial.
Conversely, only making global adjustments to an image will not always produce the results you may want to obtain. Highlights and shadows are a great example and to achieve balance you may have to use masks to achieve your desired results.
Fix/resolve that crooked horizon.
Use but don’t abuse the spot healing.
Enhancing or editing beyond what is lifelike. Unnatural skin smoothing, unbalanced subject to background enhancements, excessive vibrance/saturation, excessive sharpening/noise reduction. Any of these can diminish your final image presentation.
Saving your final images, again this is a function much like your original file. Save it as a different format, one that applies to how you will present the final image.

Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex

ebiggs1 — Fri, 15 May 2026 15:00:29 GMT

I was going to completely ignore this post but it got the best of me. The modern digital camera has become largely an image storage device. It is entirely possible to create a facsimile photo using Photoshop without ever making or shooting a camera image. Of course that is only true for some of us at this point. People that don't know how to use PS or don't even use PS have no idea of its power. I am good using PS and have been using PS for years, decades matter of fact. However, I am a rank beginner compared to some folks I know.

Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex

JFG — Fri, 15 May 2026 18:18:42 GMT

ebiggs1,

A ranked beginner, you are not ! A sandbagger, maybe.

😁

Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex

March411 — Fri, 15 May 2026 23:27:02 GMT

Its strange that for some individuals the topic can be so divisive when it comes up in conversation. Having a collaborative, open minded conversation can be challenging. Some believe that SOOC is the only true way to achieve a final image, others shoot strictly RAW because they believe it will give you the ability to produce a rendering close to what they saw visually through the viewfinder in post. For each group, both are correct!

The facts and history on this topic seem to be long forgotten though, post production enhancement has long been a part of photography.

Enhancing images began over 170 years ago in the darkroom or “wet lab”. For historical value post production began in the 1840s–1850s. Retouching negatives tinting and hand coloring were common practices for daguerreotypes (Invented by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre in 1839, the daguerreotype was the first public photographic process, producing unique, incredibly detailed positive images on silver-plated copper sheets. William Henry Fox Talbot utilized paper negatives that allowed for alterations and enhancements (patented as the calotype process in 1841).

With the introduction of the Kodak camera (1888 by George Eastman) a good portion of post-processing moved away from the photographer to commercial labs but editing continued as part of the photo finishing" process. Kodak used filters to achieve proper color rendition when going to print. Those individuals that possessed the financial resources had the ability to establish labs and learn/use many of the techniques commercial labs used in the post production process. Was that deception?

• 1889: The paper film was replaced with transparent celluloid roll film.
• 1900: The "Brownie" camera was introduced, making photography even more affordable for the general public.
• 1925: The Leica I was released, popularizing the 35mm format, others followed.
• 1986: Disposable, single-use cameras were introduced.

1950s–1980s retouching and airbrushing made its way into the post processing process. Manual techniques were used to edit photos for publication(s) such as airbrushing to remove, alter, or improve images.

As we continued to move into the 19th century photographers used techniques such as dodging and burning to adjust light exposure on specific areas of the print and the combination of multiple negatives to create a single image (in today’s world, stacking).

When the introduction of digital photography first became available to consumers in the late 1980s to early 1990s photographers in the US had the Dycam Model 1 available to them if they had the resources to purchase one. (digital cameras were commonly available by 1995).

Adobe Photoshop saw the opportunity and seized it releasing PS 1.0 releasing it in February 1990. It was developed by Thomas and John Knoll (licensed by Adobe in 1988). The only limitation was that the original version was released only for Apple computers. At that time the digital darkroom was born.

With the advancement digital photo processing it alleviated photographers of many hours in the manual wet darkroom completing labor-intensive processes and the post-production necessities. To this day I still remember how much I enjoyed the smell of the lab but for anyone that processed film to paper, while enjoyable you know how long it took to bring a quality image to paper.

Within the evolution of photography, the simple truth is the computer has replaced the wet darkroom. All or most of the elements used in a wet darkroom, burning and dodging, align/straighten, cropping, adjusting exposure, refining skin tones (filters) and contrast have moved from a stainless-steel film developing tank, easel and enlarger to a desktop.

This advancement to a digital darkroom gave photographers the ability to realize their vision, produce professional results and achieve a rendering that closely resembles what they observed through their viewfinder. It also greatly improved their workflow and the pace at which the final results could be achieved benefiting both the photographer and the consumer.

Most photographers shoot RAW for only one reason; it gives them more information/data to work with in the post-processing stage, to attain the best rendering of what they saw through the viewfinder. The majority of professional photographers now consider that the image captured in a digital camera is only half of the process in achieving a true rendering and their vision.

The rational for retouching is to achieve one goal; accurately depict the image capture. As an example, flesh tones, remove facial imperfections and improving the overall look and feel of the image, enabling photographer the ability to create professional quality visual content. If you are a professional it is not an aspiration to achieve this goal, if you desire to maintain or build a successful business, it is what the client expects. Whether professional or hobbyist digital post production gives the photographer the ability to achieve their visual impact.

There is a significant difference between post-production enhancements and photo manipulation. One is finishing an image, leaving the original content intact but using improved tools to achieve your original rendering, vision and produce professional results.

Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex

ebiggs1 — Sat, 16 May 2026 14:24:39 GMT

Whenever a discussion comes up about post editing and Photoshop it always seems to come down to a versus, users vs nonusers. Folks that don't use PS or any good editor don't know what they don't know. And, some argue against using PS because the learning curve for getting really good at it is steep. Some because PS isn't cheap. Believe me, this tech is hear and it is hear to stay and it will only get better.

Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex

johnrmoyer — Sat, 16 May 2026 15:18:28 GMT

One question for you

Do you want your post‑processing to stay mostly true‑to‑life, or are you exploring a signature creative style?

It seems to me it takes much post processing to achieve an accurate representation of the scene.

Most modern cameras can do post processing in camera, ranging from crop or picture style changes to DPRAW processing in some cameras. The modern camera is a powerful computer. Some cameras allow one to change brightness, white balance, picture style, clarity, auto lighting optimizer, face lighting, noise reduction, jpeg compression level, color space, peripheral illumination correction, distortion correction, digital lens optimizer, chromatic aberration correction, and diffraction correction on a previously captured raw file and produce multiple JPG or HIF files from the same raw data capture.

It has been decades since I used any Adobe software. I use Canon DPP, rawtherapee, GMIC, graphicsMagick, gimp, exiftool, and hugin. I have built jpegli from the libjxl source code and use it to create better looking JPEG images for putting on my web server than the images produced by other software.

I do things differently depending upon whether I expect the image to be viewed printed or on a screen. My own habit is usually to try to get the image to represent the scene. I neither add to nor remove objects from wildlife photos, but have removed spots caused by debris on the sensor chip to get a more realistic representation of the original scene. I nearly always crop, adjust white balance, change default unsharp mask settings, change default "digital lens optimizer" or diffraction blur correction settings. I sometimes change the color curve.

Unsharp mask is much more convenient in software than in dark room. Richardson/Lucy deconvolution was not possible in a dark room.

I first began using computers to acquire data from sensors and then present that data in a graphical format in 1987. To me, a modern digital camera is a powerful computer with a built in sensor.

Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex

March411 — Sat, 16 May 2026 15:51:23 GMT

You have some beautiful frames in your gallery John!

I also use DPP and recently DXO Photolab but that is mostly just to stay in touch with the evolution of post production tech. Like you I don't modify, use removal tools except for dust removal, never added anything to a single one of my captures. Composition happens in the camera.

I also do everything locally, I have not uploaded any images into online photo processors. A good friend uses some and I notice the export really is never a true rendition of the original. Lines are removed from peoples faces that gave them character and some simply lose there impact.

Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex

johnrmoyer — Sat, 16 May 2026 21:34:57 GMT

You have good photos in your gallery too. Well done!

Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex

LeeP — Wed, 20 May 2026 18:24:52 GMT

" 99.9% of them, according to one source"

I would love to see the statistical study that found that data point which was quoted by the source--if it indeed exists--because it should not a number pulled out of thin air for dramatic rhetorical emphasis.

If such a study exists, I would love to read it, check its credibility, and potentially use it as a part of the curriculum.

Whenever we quote a statistic here, we owe the Canon community a cited source that validates the statistic.

My take on "Do you want your post‑processing to stay mostly true‑to‑life, or are you exploring a signature creative style?" comes down to whether you see yourself as a photographer or an image maker.

I contend the difference is as follows:

A photographer knows and applies concepts of composition and knows and applies their knowledge of competent exposure control to create a photograph that is inherently good "as is" and which may benefit from minor touch-ups to exposure, or saturation, or contrast in post. The photograph was made in camera and is largely ready-to-go to begin with.

By contrast, an image maker does much more invasive work to what was shot. They may add content that was missing in the original like a Pinterest-perfect blue sky with wispy clouds, or they may remove distracting content such as a telephone pole that seems to sprout from a person's head. Beyond that they may stitch together multiple photographs for their image creation with the result being something utterly impossible to have been shot in camera.

In essence, all photographs are images, but not all images are photographs.

Both photograph and image creation depend on skill and competence to reach the end product, but they are not the same form of expression. They are in fact two alternate modes of visual artistic expression.

Both perspectives should be allowed to coexist.

Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex

March411 — Wed, 20 May 2026 19:59:32 GMT

@LeeP wrote:

By contrast, an image maker does much more invasive work to what was shot. They may add content that was missing in the original like a Pinterest-perfect blue sky with wispy clouds, or they may remove distracting content such as a telephone pole that seems to sprout from a person's head.

But isn't that manipulation? It adjusts original content and is now more then post production. Creative....possibly but that isn't really post production.

@LeeP wrote:

Beyond that they may stitch together multiple photographs for their image creation with the result being something utterly impossible to have been shot in camera.

How can this be considered manipulation? The scene, lets say a landscape cannot be composed as one single frame in camera, either it is to vast or you didn't pack a lens wide enough for the capture. It takes a good degree of skill to compose several different frames and stitch them together in post as a single image. If you don't add or remove content and simply benefit from minor touch-ups to exposure, or saturation, or contrast in post. How is that not defined as a photograph? This is really the ultimate test of good composition.

You and I agree on a couple points, adding picture perfect skies or other "stuff" causes an image to lose its integrity. To some regard removing content is manipulating the photograph. Maybe at that point it's just called Art. And there are some photographers that that use these tools that will outright tell you they have, because they honor the integrity of the image by letting people know it has been modified.

And both perspectives should be allowed to coexist.

Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex

LeeP — Wed, 20 May 2026 21:43:22 GMT

We agree on a lot when all is said and done. And in any venture semantics exist. What we differ on is largely semantics. The irony of semantics is that both sides can be true.

To tip toe into the semantics...

"Creative....possibly but that isn't really post production."

Anything done after-the-fact to alter a photograph we shoot--I maintain-is most decidedly postproduction. Be it minor attention to exposure/saturation/contrast or engineering photos into one outcome is "post" exposure and the altering "produces" the result, hence postproduction. At least that is what we teach in our program.

"It takes a good degree of skill to compose several different frames and stitch them together in post as a single image."

100% agree / Notice that you said stitching was postproduction

"How can this be considered manipulation?"

A basic definition of verb "to manipulate" is "to alter or to edit" therefore stitching together images involves altering and editing them into a one-image outcome. I am not speaking psychological / emotional manipulation i.e. deception.

I have never said that a Photoshop image is not artistic or that it does not require skill, but I am saying that engineering several separately shot photographs to become one picture is therefore an image because of the engineering done.

As always, I enjoy the intelligence you bring to discussions. I always feel engaged in the discussion with you.

"And both perspectives should be allowed to coexist."

100% agree

Thank you for the conversation.

Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex

March411 — Wed, 20 May 2026 23:00:42 GMT

@LeeP wrote:

"It takes a good degree of skill to compose several different frames and stitch them together in post as a single image."

100% agree / Notice that you said stitching was post production

"How can this be considered manipulation?"

A basic definition of verb "to manipulate" is "to alter or to edit" therefore stitching together images involves altering and editing them into a one-image outcome. I am not speaking psychological / emotional manipulation i.e. deception.

Lee, just to respond to your point and my thought on stitching. Not to disagree with your position.

I'll stick with the landscape scenario since that is my experience where I see it used most often.

Three separate images are taken to complete a scene in its totality because it can't be captured in a single frame. They are brought into whatever application one uses and aligned to resemble the exact view of the photographer.The are not altering or editing the original images

Here's the real verbiage for the task they are completing, its not stitching its splicing (used to be film more problematic) into to accurate single image. After its spliced they may go through the normal process and adjust contrast, exposure or saturation. The image isn't truly engineered or manipulated, it's spliced. If they add that cool sunset or Pinterest-perfect blue sky with wispy clouds they have moved out of post.

Post production as I see it, just my perspective is not adding or subtracting elements that were not in the original image.

Post is as you referenced, contrast, saturation, exposure and white balance..... just as a few examples. For professionals I would probably add flesh tone and blemish removal but that is just to keep their clients happy and the revenue stream positive.

I shoot strictly RAW just so that I can attempt to depict an image that as closely as humanly possible matches what I viewed with my eyes. When I had a wet lab I attempted to achieve the same goal, its just easier now. I can remember spotting, using incredibly expensive brushes and dye to fix dust spots. That's rarely an issue these days and I hated it back in the day.

Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex

LeeP — Thu, 21 May 2026 03:48:11 GMT

"For professionals I would probably add flesh tone and blemish removal but that is just to keep their clients happy and the revenue stream positive."

10,000% agree / I don't mess with portraits in my flow so it slipped my mind to include that in. Thank you for that.

It is a pleasure chatting and having a friendly debate. Doing so gets me out of my comfort zone and challenges my thinking on a topic. For that, I appreciate the food for thought.

Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex

ebiggs1 — Thu, 21 May 2026 13:39:24 GMT

"" 99.9% of them, according to one source"

I would love to see the statistical study that found that data point which was quoted by the source-..."

I have a hard time believing there is .1% that don't. If you are a money making 'pro' you use Photoshop and Lightroom. You u/l to LR from your camera and it applies lens correction. And that my friend is post editing!

Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex

JFG — Thu, 21 May 2026 19:21:17 GMT

Hi EB,

Surveys sometimes use 99.9% instead of 100% to avoid implying absolute certainty, which acknowledges that a very small number of respondents might not use the software. No survey can guarantee that every individual in a population has been accurately represented. Stating 100% might lead some to believe that the survey is infallible or that there are no exceptions. By using 99.9%, it clarifies that while the majority may use the software, there are always exceptions.

Having said that, I like you, "I have a hard time believing there is .1% that don't. If you are a money making 'pro' you use Photoshop and Lightroom. You u/l to LR from your camera and it applies lens correction. And that my friend is post editing!"

Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex

ebiggs1 — Fri, 22 May 2026 15:21:35 GMT

Most of what I reply is based on my own experience working for Hallmark Cards in KC for 40 years in the Graphic Arts dept. There, 100% of our images went through Photoshop. Every single one! In my own business plus knowing my friends, "competitors", etc., all use Photoshop. Every single one!

You could say for a fact that even when you save a raw image file to a jpg it is edited.

Re: What is "Post Processing," is it used for minor touch-ups only or and full creative ex

JFG — Fri, 22 May 2026 17:06:13 GMT

Hi EB,

I agree with your statement 99.9% 😁

"You could say for a fact that even when you save a raw image file to a jpg it is edited." 😃