As a photographer who trained in the darkroom, I love film. I love the smell. I love the dim lighting of the darkroom, the sound of constantly running water, the tedious but wonderful process of slowly testing out your exposures. I love the process.
I actually love the process of digital as well. Somehow, my love for the old school just carried right on over to technology. I *love* the control of digital and the speed! I also love carrying my knowledge of zones, dodging and burning and using contrast filters to control my art. Sometimes people who learn on digital think that post shouldn't be a lot of work. That if we were "good", we'd just hand out our RAWs.
Sidebar: Great reading on creating a final image - Ansel Adams - Photography Series
I'll tell you. We never did that. Photography is an art form and as such, it involves control from the first formation of my frame to the final color correction and physical print.
I recently took the time to build a collection of presets for post processing that are inspired by master painters. A lot of my own work is heavily influenced by master painters color palettes and contrast schemes. Initially, I just wanted the presets for myself, to streamline my workflow and build cohesion in my work. Then, as I started sharing my work, interest built. So, this December I released the collection and it's been pretty awesome.
Artemisia is my favorite preset ( it feels like having a favorite child!), so I made a video showing my editing process:
I've been having so much fun making the editing videos that come with the collection. I've had some great photographers help me out ( testing the presets before release and sending me RAW images to edit with for the videos)
Post processing should be like every other part of your creative workflow; fun and exciting and satisfying!!
Want these presets? Grab them HERE