For those who’ve been following my photography journey, you’ll know that
I’m not big on editing photos.
A little crop and contrast is usually as far as I go, preferring to capture the moment – a bit of a straight photographer, if you were.
So the other weekend when we visited the skate park and I took a portrait of Daughter that I really liked, I was faced with an editing dilemma.
the original
I loved the photo.
Daughter on the other hand hated it and informed me that I wasn’t ever to print it (she’s going to string me up by my toenails if she finds out I’ve put it up here).
It’s not that she actually hated the photo. She likes it. She hates the fact that she’s breaking out so badly (anyone else remember those delightful teenage years!?) and didn’t want her spottiness preserved for all to see on our piano (I am so dead if she finds out it’s up on the blog for all to see!).
So I pulled up the photo in PicMonkey and used the Blemish tool to prettify her and make her happy.
edited with the PicMonkey Blemish tool
It’s the first time I’ve played with the Blemish tool and while I’ve not done a magazine worthy job I did get the thumbs up to print the edited version.
It was a valuable lesson learned for me – that it’s not only about my desire to capture the moment as is.
Editing is more about making the person photographed feel comfortable and wonderful about themselves too.
So how often do you edit photos?
And how far are you prepared to take your editing?
I know it’s one of those chicken-and-egg-type arguments, but I’d love it if you shared your thoughts on the topic with me here.
Your lovely daughter is lovely whatever, but I guess, as you say, it is about keeping the other person happy:)
Thank you Jane (and I’ll be sure to pass on the compliment to her this morning – it’s her turn to be sick in bed so she needs a little cheering up).
I’m about to start learning Photoshop Elements (self-taught at a slow-pace!), so maybe I’ll start doing a little more editing… who knows.
The important thing is that Daughter let me print the photo – and she’s happy with the end result – so that makes me happy as a Mum and a photographer.
T xo