Lens-Artists Challenge #294 – Before and After

Shrimpboat at Sea – Original

“There’s no school of editing that says do it this way or do it that way. You find your own way there.”

Chris Boot

This week John asks us to “show our underwear” as it were – to share the unaltered originals of some of our images. As stated in my opening quote, good image editing is an important element in the transformation of a photograph from SOOC (straight-out-of camera) to something closer to art. The original image of a shrimp boat headed out to sea above isn’t terrible, it just looks a bit boring. First, it breaks an unwritten rule and places the subject smack in the middle of the frame. So I moved it to the right a bit, straightened the horizon, framed it, and added a bit of contrast to show the sunlight that originally shone on its left side. Then, I would normally have discarded it to be honest, as it’s a fairly boring image. Instead, for this week’s exercise I added a more interesting sky – one I captured myself earlier that same day. What do you think – interesting or a bit overdone? After all, beauty really IS in the eye of the beholder!

Shrimpboat After Edits

“A good eye can edit before the shutter opens.”

Craig Coverdale

My second choice of the week comes from our safari in Africa. For most of the time we were there, the landscape was very dry and dusty. The rainy season was to begin shortly after our visit so many of the animals were returning in anticipation. In Botswana, elephants were everywhere, in every shape and size imaginable. The adventure remains at the top of my list of favorite moments ever, and I cannot imagine anything that would surpass it. That said, let’s see how we might improve on one of my favorite captures.

Family Love – Original

“Editing is how you create meaning, so it’s probably the most important part of the process.”

Carolyn Drake

Because the landscape surrounding the two beautiful elephants was so barren, I turned to Photoshop’s Generative AI product to replace it. I very rarely use AI, and if I do I make a point of saying so – my version of “truth in advertising”. In this case I worked hard to keep the landscape true to what we actually saw in other parts of our adventure. I used the phrase “African landscape during spring” which is when and where we actually were. I discarded nearly a dozen options before finding this one, which to me felt quite natural. I then added a slight touch of contrast to the subjects, lowered the contrast in the background and added a frame. Here is the final result. To be honest I prefer the original which is true to the moment in my memory, but to an unbiased observer this version might be preferable.

Family Love – Edited with AI

“The editing, the sequencing? For me, that’s where a lot of the magic happens.”

Jonas Bendiksen

My next example uses the same technique, except that the subject is a lovely flower from nearby Magnolia plantation and the original background was so horrific I actually discarded the image. Having pulled it from oblivion I edited by once again replacing the background using Photoshop AI. This time, not only did AI replace the background (my text was “replace background with soft color”), it also added a stem for good measure 😊.

Lovely Blossom – Original

“Photography is a system of visual editing. At bottom, it is a matter of surrounding with a frame a portion of one’s cone of vision, while standing in the right place at the right time.”

John Szarkowski

In this case, to me the edited version is much nicer and in fact I might consider using it this way, but only after confessing the edit. I would also take out the 2 stems that were added which to me look a bit unrealistic.

Lovely Blossom – Edited with AI

“It’s possible to think of photography as an act of editing, a matter of where you put your rectangle pull it out or take it away.“

Michael Kenna

Finally, I’ve included a set of images from a recent storm here on Kiawah. In my post describing the storm I mentioned that the beach was strewn with hundreds of seashells and sea stars. In my original image I was not very happy with the coloring, which was gray and dark based on the timing and the weather. Here is the original unaltered:

Sea Stars – Original

“If most editorial stories were photographed just as they are, editors would end up throwing most in the waste basket.”

Alfred Eisenstaedt

For this image I tried a number of approaches to make it more appealing. I first removed the debris that surrounded it on the beach. I then modified the coloring to a warmer shade of beige more similar to the beach’s appearance on a sunny day. From there I added a frame but I was still not happy with the result. Finally I used AI to change the background for a bit more contrast and here is the result.

Sea Stars Edit-1

“Those who want to be serious photographers, you’re really going to have to edit your work. You’re going to have to understand what you’re doing. You’re going to have to not just shoot, shoot, shoot.”

Annie Leibovitz

I was still unhappy with the image despite my love of the subject and the way Mother Nature herself had arranged it. So I played a bit with some of the standard editing tools available in Photoshop and this is my result. My goal was to have the sea stars appear as if they were under the shallow waves that reach the beach just as they are dying. I’ll admit I never quite fell in love with the image so it may yet appear in some other form in future posts, but for now here’s the final edit.

“Photography is simple…You take to the streets, you come back home, edit your photographs and show them. It’s that simple.”

Abbas Attar

I had to laugh at Mr Attar’s quote above. I think photography and in particular editing, are not the least bit simple! Good photographers have imagination and skillsets that allow them to create compelling images. There are basic edits like cropping, contrast, spot removal etc that can be used to improve the end result. But it is the photographer’s intent and skillset while capturing an object or a scene that truly counts at the end of the day in my opinion. The opportunities with options like Artificial Intelligence (which continues to evolve and improve) challenge us to remember the importance of the basic “rules” and to admit when we’ve gone beyond what our eyes and our lenses actually see.

Sincere thanks to John for challenging us to share some of our “misses” and the ways we might address them. Be sure to visit and link to his terrific original here, and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you. Thanks also to Sofia for her beautiful Water in Motion challenge last week, and to all of those who responded with such amazing images. Finally, we hope you’ll join us next week when Donna once again leads us on her wonderful Wind Kisses site. Until then as always please stay safe, be kind and enjoy the journey.

Looking for more information on joining our challenge? Click here.

Tags: Artificial Intelligence, editing, elephants, LENS-ARTISTS, photography, sea stars

• April 6, 2024
• Photography
• 71 Comments