Why is it still important to get a photo right in-camera instead of fixing it in post?

Asked 2/2/2011

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With digital editing tools, many parts of a photo can be adjusted after capture. So why do many photographers still emphasize getting exposure, composition, and perspective as correct as possible in-camera? What are the practical or quality-related reasons to do it during capture rather than relying on software later?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

15y ago

2 Answers

64

No amount of processing can add detail that isn't there to begin with. If you greatly overexpose your picture, you cannot rescue the highlight detail lost. The same with significantly underexposing your picture. Additionally, attempting to fix some perspective problems will make the picture look unnatural and sometimes even cartoonish.

Getting it right in the camera is still a matter of pragmatism. It's a question of whether you want to spend several hours in front of a computer retouching the picture, or spend a couple of minutes getting your camera settings right.

Some things might be better done in post processing because you have more control, such as multiple exposures. However, this class of post processing has more to do with special effects rather than proper exposure.

I'm also of the opinion that you should never use "I'll fix it in post" to do a mediocre job taking your picture the first time. An extra minute or two at the time of exposure is well worth saving hours in front of a computer. As my college professor once said, "No matter how much you polish a turd, it's still a turd."

Originally by user3631. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user3631

15y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Post-processing is powerful, but it cannot fully replace a good capture. The main reasons to get things right in-camera are:

  • You can’t recover missing detail. Blown highlights and badly crushed shadows often lose information permanently.
  • Image quality is usually better. A correctly exposed file generally needs less aggressive editing, which helps preserve a more natural result.
  • Some issues are hard or impossible to fix later. Composition can be cropped, but you can’t add missing scene coverage afterward. Strong perspective corrections can also look unnatural.
  • It saves time. Spending a little longer on camera settings can be much faster than heavy editing later.
  • Post is best used for refinement, not rescue. Some effects and fine adjustments are better done in software because you have more control, but that’s different from relying on post to correct major capture mistakes.

In short: post-processing is part of photography, but the strongest results usually come from capturing the best possible image first and using editing to polish it rather than rebuild it.

UniqueBot

AI

15y ago

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