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Many photographers today have been asked at some point two common questions:

• What camera do you use?
• Did you use photoshop?

Concerning the first question: What camera do you use?

The first question obviously suggests that the more expensive your camera is, the better your images will be. This is partially true, but also partially false. The camera and the equipment are tools that any photographer should (aim to) master over time and that can for sure make a difference between a snap shot and a nice photograph. In my case, I use a range of different cameras and equipment, and although I have a reasonable amount of gear, this remains very basic (you can check the list here).

In my case, every piece of equipment has been carefully selected to avoid spending huge amounts of money. Photography is an expensive hobby and one should try to select the equipment that could provide the most versatility for a given budget (this is of course different for a professional photographer). The cameras I use range from around 40€ for a Diana F+ to around 600 € for a Canon Reflex. The distance between these two is huge in terms of optical and build quality. However the main question lies in the purpose to select either of those. The final rendering will be completely different!! The plastic optics of the Diana F+ will give the low-fidelity dreamy look with lovely saturated colors. On the other hand, if fidelity is the objective, then the Reflex camera would be the choice.

So, the camera used to create an image is r-e-l-a-t-i-v-e-l-y important, but not the most important. It is what you put inside an image that’s important. The camera is just a tool.

Concerning the second question: Did you use ‘Photoshop”?

There is a whole debate in the industry around how much post processing and retouching are you allowed to do to a photograph. This debate is specially acute when it comes to digital photography, and the gray line is thick between what is “acceptable” and what is not. This, as many topics in art, is completely subjective.

Somehow, the use of digital post-processing techniques seem (in some cases) to lower the value of an image. However, these techniques are not always that different from techniques used in the past in the analog days. Photographers were confronted to several decisions when doing film development and finally printing (using an enlarger). For instance a choice of contrast, paper, deepness of blacks, decisions on the areas to dodge/burn, reframing, size of the image, etc. All of these are still applicable (and are in fact applied) in the digital darkroom.

Taking into account the retouching aspect. Retouching can go from typical color (or B&W) processing to actual modifications of the image. For instance removing a street sign from a picture, or removing wrinkles from a face. Is this right or wrong? In my view, this is not so different (in essence) in the analog world. For instance, the simple act of framing is in itself an act of “retouching”. The photographer has decided to remove/include certain objects to create his composition. Or how about choosing a perspective? Taking a portrait with a wide angle lens to take someone’s portrait and shooting from a low perspective will make the person have a “mean” look. However, shooting with a 85mm from a higher position will make the portrait be softer. Or, how about the choice of makeup and clothes. Is the model really what the photographer has decided to show through his lens?

In this article you can see a series of hybrid images. They were created using 35mm film with a Nikkormat analog camera. Development was done in the classic way by an external laboratory, and finally the negatives were scanned digitally and color processed using Adobe Lightroom.

The process used is, in nature, the same as the one used for 100% analog development. So, the question, is how much processing is too much? What is the boundary that says “No Trespassing” ? The answer will for sure change from person to person, but I believe that the real question is: Is it a good image in your own opinion? Then, if the answer is YES, then the debates around the camera used and the digital post-processing techniques are not important.

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