To edit, or not to edit?
To edit, or not to edit? When does a photograph stop being a photograph? Is an image, the same as a picture? Is photography ‘art’?
Before I get started, this is another divisive conversation starter, but certainly an interesting and thought provoking one. Ultimately, as with any subjective discipline, there is no real right, or wrong.
The Facts
Lets start with the facts. The Collins English Dictionary refers to a photograph as ‘an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor’. Therefore, what is an image? Well, the same dictionary refers to an image as ‘an optically formed reproduction of an object, such as one formed by a lens’.
If that’s the case, what is an edited image called? A picture, perhaps? Well the definition of a picture is ‘a drawing, painting, photograph, etc.’ but the definition then goes on to say ‘We took a picture of (= photographed) the children on their new bicycles’.
Confused?
I am, for one!
Since the invention of the first camera in 1816, the heliograph, we have taken ‘pictures’, taken ‘photographs’ and taken ’images’. So what is photography?
The word Photography literally means 'drawing with light'. This derives from the Greek words photo meaning light, and graph meaning to draw.
So, with that definition of photography in mind, does editing or post production, have a role in photography? Or is that then, just referred to as ‘art’? A survey carried out in a well-regarded UK photographic magazine in 2021, suggested that of the photographers asked, most thought that at the time of publishing, 50% of photography, was in the editing or post processing!
Considerations
From the research that I have done for this article, it seems like, particularly with wildlife photography, there are a few clear points to consider;
Why do we participate in photography? Why are we out there capturing the image? What are we going to do with it? Is it being entered into a competition? What aspirations do we have as a photographer?
For many people, wildlife photography was a lockdown hobby that has transcended the original purpose and become something much greater. For others, the OGs if you like, wildlife photography started with an SLR and 35mm film – respect!
Why?
My journey into wildlife photography, came from a lifelong passion for wildlife, coupled with a fascination with the arts. I have always drawn and painted and therefore the creative side to photography, along with the objective of capturing a ‘moment in time’, has shaped what I now am as a wildlife photographer.
A selection of my paintings...
What this means, is that sometimes I choose to use ‘artistic licence’ to alter, or elevate the look and feel of an image, through editing and post processing - exclusively in Lightroom, and predominantly with the use of colour grading, masks and gradients. Will this limit my ability to improve as a photographer? I challenge anyone to make a genuine case for that. I actually think, that to the contrary, it enables me to look at a scene differently and more creatively.
If we were all blessed with endless time and opportunity, we could spend days, weeks, years, waiting for the minimal window of opportunity that provides us with the perfect light, scene, weather conditions, and even then, could not guarantee a subject - wildlife is wild, and I would prefer to creatively edit an image of a wild animal ‘in post’, than capture an image of a captive animal in a controlled environment to get the same result. Something that many highly successful ‘professional wildlife photographers’ have done.
Modern Digital Photography
Pre-2020, there was no such thing as Topaz Denoise, pre-2007 no Adobe Lightroom and pre-1990 no Photoshop. Regardless of that, way back in July 1906, National Geographic published it’s first ever wildlife photos, by American George Shiras III from Pennsylvania.
Although photographic manipulation was a possibility in darkroom processing, using techniques such as dodging and burning, vibrating while exposing, scratching the negatives, blurring, airbrushing, painting negatives, and colouring, etc. post-production and editing became a much more significant part of photography and photographic art, after the introduction of digital photography in 1975.
As with anything, the evolution of photography has been influenced by time, technology and by innovation, but does that make Paul Nicklen a better photographer than Eric Hosking or than Richard and Cherry Kearton? No more than it makes Tiger Woods a better golfer than Sam Snead.
Social Media
What has played a significant part in the use of editing and post-processing in photography, is social media, and the introduction of applications such as Facebook and Flickr in 2004 and Instagram in 2010, gave photographers an online platform to promote and share their portfolios. Along with the search for justification, validation and gratification that social media demands, it is also now much easier to see, share, and gain inspiration from others on an almost minute by minute basis. We are ‘influenced’ by Instagram and it’s influencers!
Conclusion
I for one, try and capture an image ‘in camera’ that is as close as possible to the image that I had envisaged in my head - the final representation, has to look and present, like the subject that I had researched, planned and tried so hard to capture. Post processing for me, is not making a misrepresentation of the species, animal, bird or scene that I have captured, more a way of elevating an image to an entirely different level - as humans we have an innate curiosity with improvement, and that manifests in different ways for different people. Does this mean that I ever feel like I have captured the ‘perfect image’ - never!
Life is full of differences, and I love that. Some will always be happy to point and shoot and hope for the best, some will be the meticulous technicians that study the scientific elements to make better photographs, some are blessed with endless time and resources, some the creative geniuses that turn photographs into genuine ‘art’, and some, that try to the best of their ability, to embrace and consider a time to try and appreciate all of the above.
The future
It could be argued that wildlife photography has changed more over the last 20 years than the previous 200 - what will the next 20 look like? And what does AI mean for photography and photographers? Well that’s another conversation, for another day!