Do You Need Adobe Photoshop?

This is a question a budding photographer would eventually ask himself. Photography and photo editing are two different forms of art. Does processing your photo make you less of a photographer? Or is it a must for all photographers to post-process pictures? Is Photoshop necessary?

While many people can download Photoshop free of charge, the rest would have to spend around 700 dollars to get a copy. The legit version is expensive. If you have photography as a temporary hobby, then purchasing the full version is not a practical option. If you do not do much photo processing on editing software, then you really do not need to spend that much.

The question is: is it possible to create a masterpiece; a perfect photograph without using Photoshop?

The answer depends on what type of photographer you are. But it is possible to come up with a great image without doing post-processing. A good photographer should be able to capture their desired photo by setting the camera settings right and taking into account ambient conditions, before taking a snap. Important settings to consider when taking a shot are:

• ISO

• Exposure Compensation

• White balance

• Aperture

• Shutter speed

• Composition

So if you get things right in the camera in the first place, your chances of getting the perfect photo is so high, that you would not need to post process it later. If you set the ISO right, you may not have to go through aggressive noise reduction on software. The right exposure compensation ensures the photo looks just right-neither dark, nor bright. White balance ensures colors come right. Proper composition eliminates the need for unnecessary cropping or image rotation on the software.

However, there are many cases where even professional and seasoned photographers have to edit their photos. These are some of the cases:

• When there is time constraint in photography - You can get the settings right, as long as your subject can wait for you to set the camera and get the right composition. In so many cases, this is impossible. Outdoor, travel, street, sports, and wildlife photography involves taking photos continuously, without much time to tinker the settings. It is during these crucial moments when you have to prefer capturing the picture and just making adjustments on the image later. Setting the camera each time would mean missing precious moments.

• When the photo needs to be enhanced - There are those that already look right, but can still look better through post-processing. Portrait, wedding, and fashion photographers are heavy users of post-processing techniques. For instance, you have a nice portrait; everything is set right, but your subject's face has blemishes. You see, no in-camera setting can remove these facial blemishes. You have to resort to the removal of these imperfections on Adobe Photoshop. This is a usual trick many professional photographers do.

• When a photo needs to be altered artistically - Advanced photographers usually do not settle with just a snap straight from the camera. There are several ways to change the image to make it look entirely different from the original photo. For instance, the background can be blurred significantly, or the subject can be made to retain its color to make the background recede into grayness. Photographers can also add elements to a photo or change the background entirely, or clip photographs together to form a panorama.

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