I have been an avid dabbler in the field of photography for the past 5 or 6 years. I've spent quite a bit of time experimenting with different film types, speeds, apertures, mediums, cameras, lenses, etc... I have a strong admiration for photographers who can take those components and parameters, and accurately capture what their eyes see. I have an even stronger admiration for those who can capture what their mind sees.

In a perfect world, these two abilities go hand in hand. You just pick up camera, point it at something, set the aperture based on the desired depth of field, adjust the shutter speed to compensate, and open up the shutter. If you've made the right decisions, and the film has been properly exposed, you've got a winner, right? Unfortunately, this isn't a perfect world, and some of us need a bit more help than others.

One thing that many photographers rarely talk about is all the work that is performed after the film has been exposed, whether it be cropping, straightening, sharpening, blurring or altering the color balance and levels. I think some folks consider the act of making these adjustments to be a sign of weakness or deficiency. Maybe I'm just saying this because I'm not a good photographer, but I'm a firm believer that the end result is more important than the process. Out of the 600+ photos on this site, I doubt that there is one shot that hasn't been processed, excluding those untouched ones that were posted for demonstration purposes. And while many of these kinds of adjustments can be made in the darkroom, digital photography puts the tools into the hands of everyday hobbyists, like me.

Do I feel guilty? No way! Should you? Of course not. I can never seem to transfer the image I have in my mind onto film (or my memory card). Sometimes I come closer than others, but I give all of my photos a bit of attention before launching them into the blogosphere. And, I'm going to assume that 98% of other photographers out there are doing likewise (that makes me feel good).

So what are we doing to our photos?

Have a look at the ever delicious Gin And Tonic with a wedge of lime (pictured above). Sure, the original photo was bland and the color was awful, but don't throw it in the trash yet! It was reasonably sharp, and the composition was decent, so I decided to work with it. In this example, the following adjustments were made in post-processing:

1. White balance correction. This photo was taken using bland tungsten lighting. For a studio-style shot like this, the yellowish cast is unacceptable.
2. Color enhancement. After adjusting the white balance, the lime still didn't look right. It was dull. So, I bumped up the saturation level a bit to bring out the green.
3. Contrast adjustment
4. Sharpening

This level of processing is pretty typical of my studio-style shots. I don't have any fancy lighting gear, so I rely on post-processing tools to turn my bland shots into ones that looks somewhat professional. And at this point in my career, it sure beats going out and spending $500-1000 for an entry level strobe kit.

Also, there are occasions when photographers will use processing to alter a photo more dramatically. In the jellyfish on the left, I made some basic adjustments (contrast and sharpening) but then cropped the shot and inverted the colors-- and now it's a trippy abstract image.

Now, this particular transformation might not be your cup of tea, but that's not the point. The point is... EXPERIMENT! Don't get too frustrated if you're not 100% happy with what your camera is capturing or if your photos don't look professional. There is life after exposure! Bring your shots into Photoshop. The Curves and Levels tools will be your friends-- learn them. Use Adjustment Layers and Channels. There's no shame in post-processing. The end result is more important than the process.