Why I Edit

1. The human eye has a much wider dynamic range than a camera. It allows the eye to see details in both very bright and very dark areas simultaneously. Cameras have a more limited dynamic range compared to the human eye. 
2. Editing allows me to create my artistic vision.
3. Photography as an art requires post processing. Example: Ansel Adams edited his images.

A friend shared her thoughts with me. She said that learning that I edit and enhance my photographs was the last straw. She will no longer look at my monotonous photographs.

Here are some examples. I think you can tell which ones are my edited versions.

Roaring Forks Motor Tour, Great Smokey Mts, TN 4/20/2024
Place of a Thousand Drips, Roaring Forks Motor Tour, Great Smokey Mts, TN 4/20/2024
Cades Cove, Great Smokey Mts 4/21/2024
Newfound Gap Road, Great Smoky Mts 4/24/2024
Emert’s Cove Covered Bridge, Sevierville TN 4/25/2024
Skyline Drive, Shenandoah Mountains, VA 4/16/2024

12 thoughts on “Why I Edit

    • Sherry Felix 2025-07-10 / 4:46 pm

      Thank you. My x-friend said the colors in an unaltered photo are more true to life. A camera can not see the range of colors and tones that the human eye can see. A computer screen can’t either. We can only approximate reality and can never reproduce it accurately.

  1. Lookoom 2025-07-08 / 7:46 pm

    It’s true that the raw result of the photo can be disappointing and having all these tools at hand to adjust the photo is so tempting. It is also an art.

    • Sherry Felix 2025-07-09 / 9:42 am

      I agree. Editing in post is essential to creating art.

  2. Anne Lazarus 2025-07-08 / 12:29 pm

    It takes an artististic eye and talent, both of which you have.

  3. derrickjknight 2025-07-08 / 9:14 am

    Your examples all demonstrate the importance of editing. The reason I do very little is that my photographs are intended to illustrate a daily diary, so I tend to crop, brighten, or lighten shadows – otherwise show the weather conditions.

    • Sherry Felix 2025-07-08 / 3:04 pm

      Thanks Derrick. Editing helps with composition. Plus using light and color also helps navigate the eye.

  4. Eunice 2025-07-08 / 7:59 am

    There’s nothing wrong with a bit of editing if it enhances an otherwise dull photo one wouldn’t look twice at – that’s the beauty of digital photography and programmes like Photoshop. I’d been reading your blog for quite a while before I realised that some of your photos are edited as most of them look so natural. Your photos, your blog, you do it your way – keep up the good work 😊

    • Sherry Felix 2025-07-08 / 3:02 pm

      Thank you Eunice. Most of my edits are subtle. Changing the light helps navigate the viewer.

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