Creativity: Where does it start?

We are all familiar with the chicken and egg concept…which came first?  In photography we are faced with a similar dilemma, do our creative ideas come when the photograph is taken or afterwards in post-processing?

There are times when an image is photographed with an end result in mind. Then there are times during post-processing when an idea emerges on how to create a special image.

Take this palm leaf for example:

Palm leaf as shot

It is a nice image, but it is not “special”.  How about if the perspective is changed?

Changing the perspective of an image can give more interest

A diagonal line forces the eye to move up through the photograph. While it is an acceptable image, what else can be done to make it more interesting?

Colorization and the addition of textures

By changing the color and adding textures to the image it changed the look all the way around. A tilt-shift was added on a diagonal to give a soft blur to the edges. On1 Effects is an easy way to make these changes. After the changes were made and tweaked, the images were then saved back into Lightroom.

After a few changes in Lightroom

Once the image was imported back into Lightroom, the Trey Ratcliff HDR Romance Soft  pre-set was applied and the image was cropped.

Using Lightroom and On1 together is simple. If On1 is set up as a plug-in program to Lightroom, you right click on your image and choose <Edit in> and select the module you need.  It will save a copy in Lightroom with your initial edits and then when you are finished in On1 it will save those changes in Lightroom so you can make additional edits if necessary.

Enjoy being creative!