As a photographer, the hardest part I have is choosing what filters/actions to do. Since I started getting more serious about photography during the digital movement and with the huge excitement about filters and digital manipulation, I have felt pressed to utilize the tools available.
For a long time now I have tried to stick to my claim “no, natural is better!” But, what I have to remind myself is, even in the darkroom there was still a good amount of “editing” with dodging, burning and so on… So, while yes, I like a lot of natural looking photographs, I also value the idea of enhancing my photography. I love vibrant colors, to show details and in some instances some of the filters to give it a certain look and feel I want to convey. That is the fine artist in me transferring to my photography. The more I work with filters the more I feel comfortable using them. I have also gained more skills and understanding of them to where they give my photography work a professional look and feel.
However, there are times where I am stuck between options. Some photographs look good in multiple ways. Here are some photographs I have recently edited of some daffodils. I played with different filters and Photoshop actions.
I couldn’t decide between the two. Which one do you like?
Here are some others I enjoyed playing with some Photoshop actions and doing additional adjustments:
What do you think of filters? How do you use them yourself? Give your thoughts and feedback!