A friend recently asked me what I use in my Digital Darkrooom and when I started listing all the software I was a bit overwhelmed. Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Nik SilverEfex, Nik HDR Pro...those are the software products I've purchased. I've also tried several other demo products such as Helicon Focus, Topaz Adjust, and others too numerous to mention. To say the least, it's a bit intimidating to think of having to learn all this stuff.
It's tempered, though, by my minimalist approach to software. I don't do a lot of "gee whiz" alteration of my images, preferring to stick mainly to techniques similar to what I used to do in a chemical darkroom. Of course I try to get things as nearly perfect in the camera as I can. I use the histograms for exposure control and I'm not yet really proficient with the gradient filter feature in Lightroom so I carry filters with me to even out the exposure. This may change once I get more acquainted with HDR Pro but that remains to be seen. Once I get an image file in the computer I limit myself to cropping, exposure control, contrast control, a bit of color control, and selective burning and dodging. I shoot all my images in RAW format so there is also some sharpening involved. Mostly, though, I don't do a lot of unusual stuff with software...yet.
About a year ago I posted a blog entry about photographers who choose to use software to add elements to their images. (http://wcbeanphoto.blogspot.com/2010/08/when-icons-have-feet-of-clay.html) and how I feel about that. If you're adding penguins or cloning zebras, if you're placing a full moon inside Delicate Arch, if you're adding an element that wasn't there I feel you've falsified your image and it ceases to be a photograph. I don't like it and I'll never do it.
When I was listing the software, though, I started thinking about why I have different processing programs. Well, here's the story:
Adobe Lightroom...this is my primary software of choice. I use LR for probably 90% of my digital darkroom processing. It's also got a really nice cataloging feature that lets me sort in several different modes and makes it easy to add my watermark to images. I make all my exposure and contrast corrections in LR and also work to manipulate the color as extensively as needed. If I buy a newer printer and they add a clone tool I would have no need for Photoshop Elements.
Nik SilverEfex Pro...This is a wonderful tool for converting color images to B&W files. The amount of control you have over the image is much greater than the conversion tools in Lightroom or Photoshop. I love this tool!
Nik HDR Pro...I'm new to this tool but I think it's going to be a really useful element in my digital workflow. It's used primarily to reduce the difference in exposure from foreground to background. Many times the sky is much brighter than the foreground or main subject. If you expose for the sky the shadow areas turn black. If you expose for the shadows the sky turns white. HDR can balance those exposures and I'm looking forward to learning it. Just need to remind myself to avoid the cartoonish images you sometimes see when there is a heavy hand on the HDR controls.
Adobe Photoshop Elements...I don't use Elements so much anymore since I've gotten pretty adept at Lightroom. I use it for a couple of primary functions though. When burning and dodging is needed I find the burn/dodge tool in PSE to be a bit easier to use than the one in Lightroom. I also do all my printing from PSE. Lightroom has a really good print function but sometimes it has difficulty interfacing with my old Epson 1280 printer. Even when all the LR settings are correct it sometimes does crazy things to the final print so I print everything from PSE.
But the main reason I keep using PSE is the clone tool. It's a tool used to make an area of an image look like an adjoining area of the image. I use it primarily to remove unwanted items from images. The images above of CoffeePot Rock near Sedona, AZ, are an example of how I use the clone tool. I think it works much better without the jet contrail in the bald blue sky. In the bottom image I have removed the contrail with PSE's Clone tool. And here lies a quandary. As upset as I get about photographers adding elements to their images, here I am talking about taking an element out of an image. Hypocritical? Maybe....I guess it depends on your point of view. Leave a comment and we'll discuss it.
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