Why I Edit Photos

I know that there are some people who prefer not to use photo-editing software.
If it’s not “right” in camera, then you’re just out of luck.
But I see this software as an easier-to-use-and-less-chemical-ly dark room.
I don’t do a lot of editing out spots or fixing blemishes (but you can do so fairly easily).
But I certainly crop and I do play with color, exposure and saturation .

For example, this is a picture of Carter SOOC (straight ouf of camera):

It’s just fine but it’s not what I actually saw when I was looking at him.

What I actually saw was this:

I bumped up the exposure a little, gave it a little more yellow glow, and brought out the black a little.
All minor adjustments, but I think they made a big impact.

But I’m not always going for the exact look that I saw in real life.
Sometimes I want it in black and white or to give the picture a certain feel or tone, like this:

I use Lightroom for almost all of my editing, because it is so user friendly,
but if you are just wanting to do a few adjustments on your own photos?
I would suggest using picnik.com.

I edit photos just like I edit my writing.
What you see here in this space isn’t the rough draft or the original shot,
I edit because I want to share the best I can.
But, with writing or with photography, sometimes you get everything right and there’s nothing to edit.
That always feels good.
(But it doesn’t happen often!)

Do you edit your photos?
Why or why not?

*This is not a paid review post nor are those affiliate links.
I just really love Lightroom and I think that Picnik is a great option for everyday kinds of pictures.*