Feb. 22, 2010 at 10:04pm with 43 notes
Reblogged from louobedlam
LOU O' BEDLAM: Big Question of the Week

As it’s the 20th anniversary of Photoshop, I’m wondering:

Is photography better off for its creation?

I know it’s made a lot of things more convenient, easier, faster. But has it actually fostered creativity? Moved the medium forward?

I ask sincerely, not as a way of denigrating the program,…

But in all seriousness (srsnss?): Photoshop is great for editing your photos just like a $7000 rolleiflex is for taking photos, but if you don’t have a good photo to start with then it doesn’t matter what software you use. Like anything else, using photoshop doesn’t mean shit if you can’t compose a photo, or don’t have “the eye”. I can’t take a decent polaroid to save my life and you’ve proven beyond any doubt that that has nothing to do with the camera.

  1. scatterlock answered: It all depends on the photographer. Photoshop doesn’t really hold back creativity, but promotes it. But this is just my opinion
  2. ultralaser answered: everything that makes creativity easier fosters creativity. after than it’s just another tool, like the flash or a zoom lens or tilt-shift.
  3. shellygrrl answered: I think, like with cameras, it all depends on who’s using it. One person can use it well; someone else could fudge things up.
  4. thatartzygirl answered: Photos, potentially; Photographers; absolutely not. It occured to my friend and I that in the olden days, “photoshop” happened in the camera.
  5. sabro answered: It’s a hard question. I use Photoshop but I don’t overuse it. Most people do. I don’t like that.
  6. this-is-ryan reblogged this from louobedlam and added:
    in all seriousness (srsnss?): Photoshop is great for editing your photos just like...$7000...
  7. this-is-ryan answered: Photoshop was created on the set of Willow so Lucas could do morphing. All of the shit we use it for today is B/C THEY MADE WILLOW. But yes.
  8. modulations reblogged this from louobedlam and added:
    responses. Stuff like “it makes it possible...hipsters to make a good photo by editing it”...
  9. modulations answered: As with any new development, it has created both good & bad. Bash all you want, but Loretta Lux and Clark & Pougnaud push boundaries w/ PS.
  10. andysayshi reblogged this from louobedlam and added:
    reblogging this to answer your question because...need more than 141 characters to do so,...
  11. lauraelise answered: i’m just shocked you use iPhoto for adjustments..?!? i can’t agree with that decision.
  12. lightwriter answered: I believe just as the dark room was necessary for b/w and grew over time, so shall digital/ PS. consumerism is what will kill our art.
  13. harrigan answered: It’s subjective to the user.. As a photographer I use it seldom, except for organizing, type, or a dyptych. I feel Its over used by (photogs)
  14. kianna answered: In things like graphic design, yes. Photo’s them self? No. Sometimes the imperfections are the best part of a photo.
  15. krisisisipoo answered: I’m sorry you find reality boring and mundane, especially since it’s really all you’ve got.
  16. gotmoxied answered: nope
  17. theamazingjosh answered: Absolutely. Would film have progressed without a darkroom?
  18. everydayjonhill answered: Did photography ruin painting landscapes? No. But it changed the game, and any game changer creates a need for more creativity.
  19. originalmaterial answered: Win Crouwel said, it makes it quicker, not better. It’s “just” a digital darkroom, not all were a fan of solarization when it was on film.
  20. javierrivera answered: With every new tool, comes responsibility… It’s bad when you take a photo and say: “F it… I’ll fix it in PS”
  21. kevinmosley answered: I don’t have it on my computer. I use Digital Photo Professional for my Canon RAW files. I would say it helps and hinders a lot.
  22. moderation answered: Photoshop is a Digital Darkroom. Its just a little easier to manipulate photos.
  23. verygoodlooking answered: i believe its truely lowered the standard of handmade arts/craft. in photography its a point and click away from making a shitty photo grand.
  24. seanscheidt reblogged this from louobedlam and added:
    photog who is also...painter…it gets rid...mechanical...
  25. tastedwalentz answered: Perhaps it has made art better. But the photo is the actual picture, pre-edit, and the photographer is only as good as the pure shot.
  26. seanscheidt answered: its my darkroom for digital, nothing more. While it can do more, its best approached, atleast w photography analogous to the traditional d.r
  27. louobedlam posted this