straight out of camera vs. editing

I had some questions about how much editing I do and what programs I use. So I am going to share some of my images straight out of the camera and the same images edited. You will probably notice that some images need a bit more and some don’t really need much at all. It kind of depends on a few things. It depends on how I did on my manual settings when shooting, in the moment with those wiggly kids or whoever. If I was right on, my picture may not need much help. If I was off a bit it might need a little pick me up. :)  If a baby has a lot of baby acne or red spots then I may need to edit a little more, if they don’t then I’m likely good. I shoot in RAW format so I do have some flexibility when editing my images later. I have been using Adobe Camera Raw and Adobe Bridge for most of my editing. I use Photoshop when editing newborn’s blemishes.

This first picture below is Straight out of the Camera (no editing).

This picture below was edited a bit, you can see it’s brighter.

This picture below is Straight out of the Camera (no editing).

This picture below is the finished image but very little editing was needed (in my opinion).

This picture below is Straight out of the Camera (no editing).

This picture below was edited just a bit but not much was needed. Baby’s face was pretty clear already and my lighting and white balance were pretty close. :)

My primary goal is to get my image correct straight out of the camera. Then it looks more realistic and pure. It also saves me time because I have less post-processing (or editing) to do after I shoot. So keep learning your camera first….continue to make that your goal. And correct things in editing only when you have to. :)