Before and After

You've probably heard of a darkroom before, even seen one in a movie. If you're really fortunate, you may have been in or used one at some time. If you just started to explore photography, you will probably not be using a darkroom in the traditional sense.

Today, it is the digital darkroom. There is no fussing with chemicals or worrying about exposing that precious roll of film to light before it's been developed.

Here is an image handled in the digital darkroom. On the left, the image is right out of the camera. On the right, a few minor things have been adjusted in Photoshop. It is only a jpeg, not a RAW image. So, there are some limitations to the editing process, but this is the format most cameras have.

Before After

These are simple things that almost anyone can do. I used the clone tool to get rid of the phone pole just left of center. I bumped the brightness, contrast and saturation. I may have played with the levels and exposure a bit. Mostly, you just have to rely on your eye and the more you practice, the better you will become. My goal with the after picture is to have an image that conveys either what I actually saw or how I feel about the particular "sight."

The best thing anyone can do, is try to take the best picture first. The less you need to do in photoshop, the better quality you will keep. I could have let in a little more light when taking the original image (for starters).