I remember thinking that as a kid. I was always the precise kind. Black or white. Right or wrong. No shades of grey. You know what I mean? I was square.
Now that I'm retouching pictures it's weird. I still really want to see things in "all-or-nothing" mode, but I can't. Why? Because there really is no right answer.
In a way, it's like T-Ball, which I hate because I'm a type-A personality. How can you have no losers? How can you rob the winners of their glory? There's something to be said about breeding an entire generation of Average Joes here in America...
But no one can tell you, "No, that's wrong" with retouching. It's not wrong, it's simply, different. And as much as I hate that, it's the truth. There simply aren't any definitive perspectives.
And that's the difficult thing about Photoshop... it's just a tool. It's only as useful as you are creative. It's the equivalent of handing someone a blank piece of paper and saying, "Go and do what you will..."
Yes, it's a complicated program. But what's more intimidating is that there are endless possibilities. For most (like how I used to be), that's really really scary.
Most people can't live in a world without boundaries. Most people create boundaries for themselves in one form or another. They limit themselves and give themselves exactly what they think they deserve. Photoshop is like life, there are no "rules". There's no right and wrong.
Don't be afraid to experiment. Don't be afraid to push the envelope. Don't be afraid to just be whatever you want to be.
Allow me to leave you with this quote from the movie Benjamin Button...
Benjamin: For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.
And that's the difficult thing about Photoshop... it's just a tool. It's only as useful as you are creative. It's the equivalent of handing someone a blank piece of paper and saying, "Go and do what you will..."
Yes, it's a complicated program. But what's more intimidating is that there are endless possibilities. For most (like how I used to be), that's really really scary.
Most people can't live in a world without boundaries. Most people create boundaries for themselves in one form or another. They limit themselves and give themselves exactly what they think they deserve. Photoshop is like life, there are no "rules". There's no right and wrong.
Don't be afraid to experiment. Don't be afraid to push the envelope. Don't be afraid to just be whatever you want to be.
Allow me to leave you with this quote from the movie Benjamin Button...
Benjamin: For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.
Agreed.
ReplyDeleteMy answer used to be whether or not a model used my shots in their portfolio...
Photography is an art. Photos are art. It's whatever moves you!
Keep up the great work! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Greg :)
ReplyDeleteIn retrospect this is a funny post, but you're right, it's whatever moves you!