Reality and the Digital Darkroom

Posted by Philip Northeast Jun 29, 2009

Manipulating images in post shooting processing is a long photographic tradition. The difference in the digital age is the ready availability of tools. Previously most techniques required a darkroom with all the associated specialist equipment. Now all you need is PC or a Mac and one of the many software packages such as Adobe’s Photoshop or the free GIMP. The power of these tools blurs the boundaries between photography as a representation of reality and s between art and photography.

Images for documentary and news should come straight from the camera with only corrections for color and exposure. They are supposed to represent the reality and bear unbiased witness to world events. Somewhere in between these two extremes, sits a wide range of photographic genres.

The pragmatic approach, adopted by many professionals including me, is we do whatever it takes to make the best image possible for its purpose in the least time. This does not meaning compromising on quality, just choosing the most efficient technique for the situation. Mostly this means getting the exposure and composition right when shooting the image and not using Photoshop to compensate for poor work.

The key to photography as an art form is that the final image reflects the photographer’s impression or interpretation of the scene rather than a literal mechanical reproduction of the view. When shooting interiors with that include large windows with worthwhile views, the intention is to recreate a local observer’s overall impression of the scene.

The technique is outlined in How to Control Window Brightness In Photos and is rooted in digital manipulation of two images. They do not create something false or misleading, rather this is away to overcome a technical difficulties of the digital medium. There is a limit in the overall range of light levels from brightest to darkest digital cameras can record, called dynamic range. This Photoshop technique is one way around this limitation

There are other alternatives, usually involving artificial lighting to balance the dark interior with the bright exterior, but then this just another form of image manipulation.