Abilash & Chitra

Abilash & Chitra | December 10, 2022 | The Joyden Hall, Singapore

Capturing an image is only the beginning of creating a great image. A skilled photographer should not only be able to take a good RAW image, he or she should also have a knack in editing. Whether it’s just a touch of a button or using a myriad of techniques to create a stunning final photo, editing is an equally important skill.

Being in this industry, I’ve made friends with fellow photographers, both local and beyond the borders. As a person who appreciates a good photograph, I look through their work to understand their thought processes. By doing so, I realised that not only does the photographic styles differ, but every successful photographer has his or her own editing style. Whether it’s naturalistic, cinematic, high contrast, vintage, matte, or a personal favourite, black-and-white, we all adopt a style that is distinctively ours. In fact, one of the elements that make a photographer’s work instantly recognisable, besides their watermark, is their editing technique.

Back in the day, when I was a beginner and still learning the ropes, I was basically experimenting with various processing approaches. However, with years of practise, learning from some of the best in the industry and fine-tuning my skills, I found myself toggling between two specific styles, giving Jacob’s Artography photographs its signature look.

So, what’s the signature look, you may ask. Well, I’m a simply guy and I believe in keeping things real. Basically, with me, what you see is what you get. I prefer to keep photographs natural with a pop of colours. However, if an image calls for attention to detail such as the person/people, object or emotion, I do not hesitate to switch from colours to a black and white edit. In my view, a photographer needs to know and understand why they are editing what they are editing. When it comes to editing my photographs, I’m extremely particular and I do not use black-and-white for the fun of it. While colours are aesthetically beautiful, they can be disruptive, especially when you are trying to convey a story. A monochrome image draws viewers’ attention to detail like bees to honey.

In a nutshell, editing is an integral part of photography. It is so much more than just cropping an image and putting a filter over it. It requires practice, patience and a passion for a good photograph.

Cheers!