hi there... hope it's ok to ask this here... i don't know where else or who else to ask!
This year, in addition to posting here, i also joined the 52Frames challenge... kinda like the 52 week challenge - each week there's a new prompt and away you go...
this week the challenge is to have your photo edited by someone else... i'm REALLY struggling with this... the whole point is about giving up control, but it seems so much more than that to me... i guess maybe it would make sense to me if i was trying to take a picture of something to show you that something, but since that's rarely what i do, it just seems so wrong to me... more as if i set up a subject for you to paint, you know? how is it mine? what does it teach me?
and it's not that i mind taking advice and tips... i've learned tons from folks here who've made really helpful suggestions on composition and editing... it's just the idea of someone else editing my shot... how is it then still mine?
so - what are your thoughts? am i thinking about this completely wrong?
it seems to be an odd exercise but that being said, I have seen professionals that shoot a job and hand over the raw files and the company they shoot for does the editing. I could see everyone taking the same shot then editing them to compare but don't see too much use in it just as an exercise. maybe they feel it will somehow free you creatively? have you look at your own work in a different light?
i suppose it's like the WWYD challenge. it's your shot but someone else sees it and presents it differently. it then becomes a collaboration but you still own the photo because you took it. it can be claimed that the edited one is jointly owned, but not the original. that's from the law's perspective.
Maybe the idea is to see your image in a different light, a sort of wwyd moment if you will, to see another possibility than your go-to , as we can all get a bit tunnel visioned or habitual about these things. Your particular style is so well developed, you obviously know what you want from a photo that I can see how you would find it less than interesting... just skip it!
THis challenge is for people who don't have a community like 365 perhaps., where they can get healthy critique. I have seen youtubers like Jessica Kobeissy doing re-edit videos, kinda as a teaching moment.
I have been given other people's photos to edit for them and I do not consider my work my photos. I imagine the exercise is worth a try--what would you lose in the process? You still own the shot. You can always do your own edit to the file.
You have a very specific style and edit to absolute perfection and for you to edit another person's photo, in your style, would be mind blowing for them.
You may not like how they process your photo, but they will have used a shot they probably wouldn't have taken, so it's good for them too .
Embrace it!! Go for it! Then delete it if you don't like it.
I totally see (and feel) your point. Any work (of art) is so personal and it is difficult to give away control. While I have no problem, to help on other peoples work, to bring out what I see in a pic, I'm hesitant in handover my RAWs. ;-) But maybe it is meant to open your horizon and your point of view. It has a lot to do with trust. Just take part, if you feel absolutely ok with it and with the person you hand over your work.
I suppose this is your project with your rules. Most important is that you enjoy this hobby. If you struggle with the challenge you shouldn't do the challenge.Or you could bend the rules and use your own interpretation, which is what I tend to do with all chalenges. Now that I've said this I wonder what I should do... I would probably look for some AI tool, instead of a person to edit a photo. I did that once to create sound with the digital photo-info and than make an image from that recording again. That was weird :-)
Good luck!
This would allow you to see your pictures as others see it. Ask them to edit it to emphasize or deemphasize it to show what's important in that shot to them. Don't let them add Mickey Mouse to your flower picture or the Death Star to your sunset, but let them show you what you don't see in your own picture.
All I see in this is maybe the chance to see a new approach to your image and your editing technique. It might be interesting. I think, if it were me, I might give them a shot of mine that I am not in love with. In other words, if there are images that I am eager to get in and edit myself, I wouldn’t hand them over but, if there is an image or two that you are less enthusiastic about maybe let someone else have a go and see what they can make of them? If you don’t feel comfortable claiming the work as your own, after that then don’t, just label it as a collaborative effort.
Interesting discussion!
I think it depends on the subject matter and as you say - what you're aiming to learn. Having someone experienced quickly "knock out an edit" of some of my astro shots was very enlightening - it enabled me to see what was rubbish because of the data and what was rubbish because of my edit flow - but that's a pretty specialised case. I can see how it might be similar for portrait work.
I understand the hesitancy though. I was surprised at how unhappy I was when someone took one of my shots and used it for a WWYD to "correct" my colour balance without even asking first.
Years ago, I had to take other photos to edit (crop, size, etc.) for publication use in newsletters, magazines and ads, but I never considered them my photos. I would ask them what the point of this challenge is all about.
thanks everyone... i think this challenge is meant as a serious growth opportunity... one of the reasons i'm struggling with the question is i keep wondering whether it's just uncomfortable (in which case i should probably try it) or inherently "wrong"... the 52Frames site takes itself quite seriously... but there's no discussion thread, so i really don't have a sense as to how others feel about it - and you don't see any of the images taken / edited this week until next week... i expect there's chatter on facebook - but as i don't fb, i wouldn't really know...
i AM tempted to take Mek's approach of finding some sort of AI tool - i actually have a few iPhone apps that do weird random stuff to images you've already taken, so it's a definite possibility...
hmmmmm
In many professional photography areas, someone else will edit your photo, especially for cropping and sizing. With digital photography, it's possible for the editor to do all the editing. It is hard to give up that control, but sometimes that's the job.
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You have a very specific style and edit to absolute perfection and for you to edit another person's photo, in your style, would be mind blowing for them.
You may not like how they process your photo, but they will have used a shot they probably wouldn't have taken, so it's good for them too .
Embrace it!! Go for it! Then delete it if you don't like it.
Good luck!
I think it depends on the subject matter and as you say - what you're aiming to learn. Having someone experienced quickly "knock out an edit" of some of my astro shots was very enlightening - it enabled me to see what was rubbish because of the data and what was rubbish because of my edit flow - but that's a pretty specialised case. I can see how it might be similar for portrait work.
I understand the hesitancy though. I was surprised at how unhappy I was when someone took one of my shots and used it for a WWYD to "correct" my colour balance without even asking first.
thanks everyone... i think this challenge is meant as a serious growth opportunity... one of the reasons i'm struggling with the question is i keep wondering whether it's just uncomfortable (in which case i should probably try it) or inherently "wrong"... the 52Frames site takes itself quite seriously... but there's no discussion thread, so i really don't have a sense as to how others feel about it - and you don't see any of the images taken / edited this week until next week... i expect there's chatter on facebook - but as i don't fb, i wouldn't really know...
i AM tempted to take Mek's approach of finding some sort of AI tool - i actually have a few iPhone apps that do weird random stuff to images you've already taken, so it's a definite possibility...
hmmmmm