Colors: Wet, green leaves

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”
– Ansel Adams

Photographers used to have the darkroom; today, they have Lightroom.

Photographs used to be rescued and enhanced and cropped in the darkroom. That was post-processing in the past. Now, the darkroom has gone digital.

Of course, something has been lost, but darkrooms and the equipment involved is very expensive. Those expenses were barriers to entry. No art should be so expensive and artist can’t afford it.

Today, it’s less expensive to be a photographer, especially the post-processing end. Right now, I’m using the free version of Lightroom. I’m still deciding if I want to get involved with the monthly fee–which I hate–or choose one of the other gazillion post-processing products out there.

Today, I just want to post an example of how helpful post-processing can be. I took the unprocessed version of this photo, below, on a hot, steamy day; I hadn’t realized water had condensed on my lens when I took this photo.

Before processing, it’s not a very good photo. It’s all misty and muted. The processed photo is featured in this post. It’s bright and green, and, in my opinion, pleasing to the eye. At the least, you can see how much difference post-processing can make and how it can rescue and enhance your work.