Photoshopping

It seems that photography is all the rage these days. I love it. My friends love it. Strangers love it. It's a great hobby and a great skill. However, what I am learning, is that even though I have a fancy new SLR, half the skill is not in just taking pictures, but in the photoshopping.

So here's my internal debate. If you're editing and photoshopping your pictures every time, how great is the photography, really? Don't get me wrong, I think the photos look awesome after they've been edited, but if you smooth out every blemish, and tweak all the lighting, are you really capturing the moment? Part of the reason I love photographs is so I can capture the moment and the person or thing. I want to remember them just how they are in that moment. But if each photo is edited, I'll be remembering a false memory.

Before

After

What do you think? How much editing is too much? Obviously, magazines edit their covergirls to make beautiful covers. But we all know that. They're not real. I want to take real photos. However, I also realize that photography is an art form, so editing and tweaking enhances a photographers ability to be creative and artsy, and I'm all for that.

So, that's my internal conversation on photoshopping. I'm for it and against it. I'll admit, I find myself spending a lot of time playing around with my photos in photoshop. You can get great results. Just know, that I plan on leaving a few of those scrapes and bruises in place on my children's faces, so I can remember them exactly how they are!