View Full Version : do you have an editor?
back alley
08-08-2009, 20:11
who edits your images?
if it's only you then do you think it might be a good idea to find an editor?
how might an editor help you?
one of my ex wives was a good photographer but she was a great editor!
she would look over my contact sheets and circle the images she thought i should work on. often times i would not agree with her choices but after playing in the darkroom would find she was right in her initial assessment.
i post many shots on flickr but often think i need a separate website for edited images that are my better ones.
so, editor or not?
joe
bmattock
08-08-2009, 20:15
The world is my editor. I ignore editors. It's not that I know what's best, it's that I don't care. I just like what I like.
I regularly use three friends as editors. Couldn't do without them. They judge pictures by different criteria, and I do not always agree with them all, but in the end I manage to weed out the weak work.
Al Kaplan
08-08-2009, 20:33
I do my own unless it's a paid shoot, then they make the pick. I never discard any negatives though. Tastes change.
amateriat
08-08-2009, 20:42
I fall between Bill and Al on this one. I'll occasionally bounce an idea off Galfriend when I'm somewhat in doubt about something, but otherwise I do my own dead-reckoning. At this point in my life, if I can't tell what works from what sucks, I'm truly sunk.
- Barrett
benmacphoto
08-08-2009, 20:58
I was the Editor-in-Chief for a year on the photo magazine my college ran. So that experience has made me great at editing down my own work. Occasionally I will ask a few close friends for feed back when it comes to similar images.
While I'm not so bad at selecting the best of others' work, I have learnt not to trust my judgement when my own work is involved. To be ruthless one needs objectivity.
chris000
08-08-2009, 23:46
... It's not that I know what's best, it's that I don't care. I just like what I like.
That pretty much sums it up for me too. My photography is a personal thing and, whilst I like to get feedback from others on images that I 'make public', what gets out there is down to me alone.
Because of that, I think an editor would only confuse things.
one of my ex wives was a good photographer but she was a great editor!
How many ex editors do you have? :eek: :D
Morca007
08-09-2009, 00:07
I quite enjoy hearing others' feedback on which frames they enjoy the most versus my favorites, but in the end all of my photographs are for me, and it comes down to which I like the most.
Were I working for any other reason though, from selecting images for a gallery show or a newspaper, I would be eager to find someone to confer with (not defer to).
To be ruthless one needs objectivity.
Which is obviously possible in art, right? ;-)
My partner has a great eye and when I've put the images I've chosen together for a book I get her to have a look because she always has a great suggestion when it comes to seeing how certain images work together.
notturtle
08-09-2009, 01:45
I largely self edit, but get opinions from a small number of people whose opinions I respect. I can usually call them though, because I know their views on things. I find they cover the full gamut and so although one editor might not like all the images, between them they at least get my perspective on each shot and so can comment from a position of understanding (whether positive or negative). Women do seem rather good at it....
I agree in principle however, that the photographer's view matters above all because if you give up on that, you are done with. i find sometimes that an image that is generally not supported strongly by those whose views I seek will be the outright favourite of a small number of other people. It is therefore really important to follow your instincts otherwise diversity dries up.
Roger Hicks
08-09-2009, 02:05
There are two kinds of professional editors: those who make helpful suggestions, and those who try to impose their own vision. Although it is a delight to work with the former, I have encountered enough of the latter that I have a deep and abiding suspicion of anyone else's attempts to edit my work.
Having said that, Frances and I normally go through pics together.
Cheers,
Roger
David R Munson
08-09-2009, 04:44
A couple good friends (also photographers and good ones too) help me when I'm stuck, but I generally edit solo. An exception is work I do for a cycling magazine, in which case I actually have a for-real editor. I am fortunate in that he's an excellent editor and specifically wants those who shoot for him to do what they do best and not impose his ideas on them.
back alley
08-09-2009, 05:42
That pretty much sums it up for me too. My photography is a personal thing and, whilst I like to get feedback from others on images that I 'make public', what gets out there is down to me alone.
Because of that, I think an editor would only confuse things.
How many ex editors do you have? :eek: :D
only one ex editor...a few ex wives...
Al Kaplan
08-09-2009, 05:54
Editing has to be in context. The best stand alone picture from a shoot might not be the most effective as part of a page layout, or convey the right meaning. You're not going to shoot nothing but fantastic photos every time, but you should be able to come back with a good selection of useable photos.
I learnt never to trust solely my own jugement about editing.
other people have a very different perception of certain images, specially when the shot describes a "strong" situation.
BUT
I also learnt to make the final choice by myself. Putting your trust blindly into someone else's edit can lead to things you didn't intend (had such an experience lately, the edit was great and effective, but carried a message I really didn't intend to)
Mackinaw
08-09-2009, 06:04
I'm best at editing my own pictures (take 100 pics and pare this down to the 28 best) as well as editing a particular picture (do I crop it vertically or horizontally?). The end product that results is invariably better than other people's suggestions.
Jim B.
I think that often the emotional tags we place on an image give it an importance that is lost on others. I have a friend who is a professional artistic curator, call her an editor if you wish.
If ever I want to know and classify what is my best work currently ... I ask her.
Roger Hicks
08-09-2009, 06:13
One of my pics -- the Dikteion cave, birthplace of Zeus -- has twice been used full-page, once in a book, once in Shutterbug. I can't really see why, but I'm not arguing. If I've sorted out (say) 15 pics for an article (up to 10 to be used) or 200-250 pics for a book (all to be used), I know that the sizing and layout will vary quite widely from one editor or layout artist to another.
But one layout artist was fired after resizing images in one direction (vertically or horizontally) to make them fit his layouts. THAT makes insensitive crops look trivial (and I've had my share of those, even after the Polaroid has been marked up and signed by the art director).
Cheers,
R.
What happens to a picture after it's sold is seldom under the control of the photographer; but Joe wanted to know, it seems to me, how photographers decide which pictures to (in effect) discard.
Roger Hicks
08-09-2009, 06:28
What happens to a picture after it's sold is seldom under the control of the photographer; but Joe wanted to know, it seems to me, how photographers decide which pictures to (in effect) discard.
Very true; but what MAY happen to it must also influence the choice. My point, really, is that 'professional' editors and layout artists vary so widely as to make generalizations of dubious value.
Cheers,
R.
back alley
08-09-2009, 06:32
What happens to a picture after it's sold is seldom under the control of the photographer; but Joe wanted to know, it seems to me, how photographers decide which pictures to (in effect) discard.
from a contact sheet or from a media card, yes, how do you choose which to work on?
is an editor involved?
I make the initial selection. There are some pictures which I know I shall keep, but there are others about which I am unsure. It's with the second kind that I need help. I send them all out as reduced size JPEGs.
My wife has a good eye for editing photographs, but must of the time I'm too stubborn to include her in the process. It's a husband knows best kind of thingy I suppose!;)
Depends on the context...if the shots are for own artistic pleasure then I rely totally on my own ideas. For work, I'll work with clients or some of my associates to choose the most suitable for the job at hand - might not be the best shots but those that are closest to what is needed for that particular application. For an exhibition I'll take input from trusted members of my company - all who have a good visual eye as needed for our business.
There's an expression in editing (for TV) "murder your babies" - applies to the edit where the director has a favorite shot/scene from the production that doesn't quite fit the storyline - no matter how good/how hard it was to get...if it doesn't fit with the story then it gets cut...can be tough but is good practice when putting together a selection of shots for a client.
Then there's always the 'WTF' factor - if someone looks at one of my shots and says "WTF is that supposed to be?" then chances are it won't work for general release... ;)
35mmdelux
08-09-2009, 08:12
W. Eugene Smith & Winogrand would set their undeveloped rolls aside a long time recognizing the emotionality of a recent shoot.
I have an editor. She signs my checks. Though I usually hate the images she chooses.
easyrider
08-09-2009, 09:20
Looking at some of the stuff on Flickr, more people should edit -- whether themselves or with the help of others.
I think the idea of setting the shoot aside for a few days and the picking the best is good.
However, I notice that news photographers now narrow down their shoots and send only a few to their desks. Sometimes they consult by phone and only send one or two.
A famous mystery writer was once asked why his books were so successful. "Because I leave out the stuff that people don't read," he said.
There is a lesson there.
I once read an article about on-line editors, and one seemed pretty interesting in that they had packages where a human would review x hundred images of yours and select the best ones and optionally would do some post work on them. I think I read it in Rangefinder magazine about 1-2 years ago, but can't remember the company or site name.
Roger Hicks: "...what MAY happen to it must also influence the choice ... editors and layout artists vary so widely as to make generalizations of dubious value."
Then speculation about "what MAY happen" must also be of dubious value.
35mmdelux
08-09-2009, 11:07
Roger Hicks: "...what MAY happen to it must also influence the choice ... editors and layout artists vary so widely as to make generalizations of dubious value."
Then speculation about "what MAY happen" must also be of dubious value.
touche, payasam.
Roger Hicks
08-09-2009, 12:50
Roger Hicks: "...what MAY happen to it must also influence the choice ... editors and layout artists vary so widely as to make generalizations of dubious value."
Then speculation about "what MAY happen" must also be of dubious value.
Depends on your opinion of the editor...
Cheers,
R.
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