Why vision is more important than software when editing
I had a vision for this image when I edited it
Editing images is just like cooking
When a good chef creates a new recipe, it is made from two things: ingredients and vision. A good dish is made from the right ingredients, lovingly combined to create a mouth-watering experience. But the end result can only happen with vision as well.
The chef knows what sort of dish they are aiming for. They know how to use the right combination of ingredients to create the results they want. It may require a bit of experimentation to get there. They may have to use something new or combine two elements in a way that they haven’t tried before. But, because they have a vision, the experimentation has purpose. There is a reason for each of the ingredients.
What does this have to do with photography?
A good image editor will use exactly the same process. They have a vision for the final image that they wish to produce. And they know how to combine a variety of editing techniques (or ingredients) to get to that result. If they are trying a new style or a new subject, they may need to experiment as well. They might have to use a different combination of techniques or learn a new one.
Learning ingredients is easy: vision is the hard bit
A lot of photographers spend many hours diligently learning editing software in great depth. They will often find that they use very little of what they learn. Good editing rarely uses lots of features in software. Instead, it applies a few elements to create a certain look.
It may be that learning new software features and techniques keeps some photographers in a comfort zone. It is easier to learn software than to put it into use. That is when vision is required. And that is when things get more difficult.
What are you trying to achieve with your images?
What look is right for you? How do you express this look? What ingredients should you use and how should you combine them to achieve your desired vision?
These are all testing questions that require a bit of thought! And, naturally, your vision will evolve and change over time. Part of this will be a change or refinement in taste. Part of it will come as you develop new skills in editing and can achieve new ideas. And part of it will be a change in influences, from photography but also from a far greater range of factors.
However, your vision will always retain certain elements of you (unless you want to copy someone else’s style).
If you have a vision, it changes how you learn editing software
As you learn software features, it becomes important to think about the why as much as the how. It also means that learning becomes more selective. You learn tools for a purpose, not because they are there. How does a software tool or feature contribute to your vision?
The focus becomes on how to create the image not how good you are at the software. There are many features in my editing software that I don’t know about. But I do know what features to use and combine for the types of images that I like to produce.
What is your image vision? Think about images that you like. Study them. Think about how editing has contributed to the image and what has been used.
There is no right and no wrong in vision
That is the beauty of it. Everyone is free to pursue the styles that appeal to them: just like cooking!
PS There loads of resources on how to use software. There are far fewer about understanding how to use software to create the right vision. Join me in my new online workshop “Editing with Vision”. Find out more here.