“Her work is almost all Photoshop.”

Yea? And?

There is a group of people that discount creative imagery as substandard solely because there was more post-production work than in-camera setup placed into the image.  To be honest, I feel that mentality is what is substandard.  Outright ignorant, really.

The very first comment above was one that I saw in reference to a certain user’s account on Flickr.  As you know, Flickr is a very popular photo sharing site, yet many non-photographers post their images there as a way to connect, share, inspire, learn, and be inspired.  That original comment, followed by a couple more of disdain toward the user’s account surprised me.  First, the account in question contained some extremely impressive work.  I personally saw the skill and craft that went into taking the photo and manipulating it.  Second, the person that made the comment clearly relies heavily on Photoshop for their own work, so it was a bit pot/kettle/black in my opinion.

But that got me thinking.  Does it matter?  There are two “people” you need to worry about when creating, be it digital manipulations, photography, or other medium of choice.  Those two are yourself and your client.

If you are creating the work for yourself, and enjoy post-production and heavy manipulation, does it really matter that the final result is not pure photography?  It shouldn’t it.  It is your personal work and should make you happy first and foremost.  If you enjoy ensuring that the photograph is flawless in the camera before bringing it over to your computer, does it really matter that you have to process it?  How relevant is any of that mess if you are happy with the final image?

Your clients are usually paying you for a certain image, and more than likely, it is an image that they feel you can produce.  I have yet to have a client tell me “Oh, I was hoping you would give me pure photography and nothing processed.”  They want the type of look that I can provide and instead of caring how I came to create that look, they instead are concerned only with ability to deliver what they are paying for, the final cost, and how quickly they can get their hands on the files.

I guess I am just tired of seeing people’s egos poured out online placing others beneath them because of the amount of Photoshop work, abundance of technical camera skill, or any other reason. If you like it, say so, if not, keep on moving.