Breadth or depth?

Breadth or depth?

I’ve just finished an email to an impecunious photographer who wants to use RAW files, and can’t open them in his shareware. Now, I normally use Photoshop these days, but for years I was very happy with Elements, and still sue it for some things. I also have Affinity on my computer, bought when I was on holiday and having problems.

I’ll be honest: I haven’t applied myself to Affinity, so I can’t provide a methodical comparison with PS – but to the extent that I’ve used it, it does a decent job, and the biggest problem is getting used to it because – however good it is – it’s different from PS. I feel entirely the same about Lightroom, which comes free with my PS subscription. As long as PS is working, why would I want anything else? (Caveat: for the sort of editing that I do!)

And this brings me to a crucial point about our hobby and how we approach it. We can be dilettantes, doing bits of this and that, but never getting particularly good at any of them. We can play with shifting pictures between two or three different programs to polish this or that, because some YouTube guru says that the only way to do this or that is to buy another program. Or we can narrow our sights and only get new stuff when we’re fairly sure that it will make a positive contribution.



So – for instance – I am currently waiting for a special offer on the Imagenomic skin softening plugin. I’ve used up my free trial, and I like it. On the other hand, I have the two Anthropics programs for face and body work, bough 18 months or so back, and I really don’t like them. I have tried, but they are slow, they are cumbersome, and they don’t produce the sort of effect I’m looking for: as far as I can see, they lack the subtlety of effect that Imagenomic offers me. However, if I ever have a commission to make flattering images for money, they’ll be working!

There are some people who love having a broad overview, and knowing how to do a decent amount in every program going. Similarly, there are women and men who use multiple camera systems, either for different purposes, or simply for fun: most people run one system, possibly with a spare body and a compact or bridge camera as backup. The latter approach is sensible unless you want to spend a lot, or have very specific needs.

You can ask yourself the same question about the genres that you work in: you don’t have to shoot sports if you don’t really like it. I have a friend who is not content if he doesn’t have at least one current project, and imposes a lot of stress on himself doing things he feels he ought to do. Wisdom and happiness may be to do with deciding that you won’t bother with something that you’ve tried and don’t like. So go easy on yourself… It’s the weekend, so go and enjoy your hobby. Try something new if you like – but don’t feel that you have to take it to the limit!

The illustrations are a case in point: I have no desire to become a wildlife photographer, so these are the best I could do when a walk along the canal with a new lens led to a five-minute encounter with one of hte local herons.