The transition to digital photography has opened another fascinating world – that of digital editing. Many people opt to print their digital images directly from some form of storage device (card, CD, USB key ring etc.). Others showcase them in a range of digital displays and on-line sites. However you utilise these images, you may discover that there is so much more that can be done with these files by spending a few minutes editing them.

There are many software options to choose from. Most cameras are sold with some basic form of application which will allow for simple editing. Probably the most sophisticated and widely used benchmark application on the market is Adobe Photoshop. It is a remarkable piece of software which offers editing capacity well beyond the needs of the average photographer. Serious photographers fall in love with it. Many budding photographers find themselves becoming less serious when they view the price tag. If you find yourself baulking at the price, a very capable alternative can be found in the form of its kid brother, Adobe Photoshop Elements. This incredibly versatile and affordable package has much of the power of Photoshop for a fraction of the price (approx $160).

What is digital editing?

Hover mouse over image to view pixelsIn the simplest of terms it is the manipulation of pixels of the three primary colours, red, blue and green to control changes in an image. These three colours combine in different ratios to form 16.7 million different colours (or tones). If you look at an image taken by a digital camera under magnification you will see millions of little coloured squares of different colours which are ordered to create the image. Roll the mouse over this image to see the individual pixels. Editing can only change the size and the colour of a pixel. The editing program provides a framework which allows us to be precise in the way that this happens. We can control tonal qualities - dark/light, contrast and saturation - and add a range of effects such as blur, sharpening, distortion. These changes can be global across the whole image, or confined to defined areas of the image. Once mastered, you can take an ordinary image and make it look good, and take a good image and turn it into a masterpiece

is digital editing necessary

Many digital cameras allow tweaking of saturation, contrast and brightness in the camera settings. The results can be quite pleasing and one could argue that further editing is not really necessary. In most cases, any image coming directly from the camera will benefit by editing. The highest quality images (RAW) contain raw digital data which results in an image which usually looks flat and unexciting. As a general rule, all RAW images require editing.

Here are two examples of images taken at Constitution Dock in Hobart which have benefited from editing. Roll your mouse over the pics to view before and after.

Note: These images looked bright on the camera's review screen at
time of capture, but when viewed in Photoshop they were dull and
lifeless. Editing simply extracted the latent quality of the images.

Ethics

In the same way that words portray life as we choose to describe it, so images are a selective way of visually portraying the subject as we perceive it, and then showing it to others in the way we want them to see it.

Just as writing or speech is not a flawless description, the images we capture cannot be expected to tell the whole story. Photography, whether film or digital, is almost by definition, a manipulation of reality. For a start it is a two-dimensional portrayal of a three dimensional world. Film choice, film speed, lens choice, printing options, use of flash, filters, props, models . . the list goes on. All are forms of manipulating the world to produce an image that conveys the meaning we wish to portray.

Anyone who has developed their own film and then printed their work in a dark-room will know that conventional photography is every bit as manipulative as digital. The ethical issues are by no means a new item on the agenda of the photographer.

Many professional photographers will go to great lengths and expense to control and manipulate the environment to capture the desired image. In many cases, digital editing allows us to make the same adjustments on screen.

It is ultimately up to the user to decide how far they want to go. Over-manipulation may eventually reflect on how others view your personal integrity or the integrity of your images. Much depends on how the images are eventually used. As long as one stays within the law, there is a huge scope for artistic licence to take your photography to an excitingly new level.