Creative Juices Flowing...

No, not really. I don't spend more than 10 minutes post processing my candid people images. But hey, some painters (like Ivan Albright) worked for years on just one painting. Among Albright's typically dark, mysterious works are some of the most meticulously executed paintings ever made, often requiring years to complete. Lace curtains or splintered wood would be recreated using brushes of a single hair. The amount of effort that went into his paintings made him quite possessive of them. Even during the Great Depression he charged 30 to 60 times what comparable artists were charging, with the result that sales were infrequent.

The nit-picking me just saw something I'm not liking and will have to correct... . Can't believe I didn't notice it before... I'm probably going to be correcting non-stop on this image. I've worked on some other images but, this one won't let me go.

Oh yes, often after working on multiple versions, I will go back to the original one because the others are no longer "fresh" and are overworked! I think the more experience I have I will be able to recognized when to stop.

At the same time it takes an effort to have an excellent image. Once in a while things will come together with minimum effort, I think we need those times to balance things out.

An image needs to sit for a couple of days before you call it finished because over that time your perspective can change and you will see things you didn't see before. A good photographer never gives the client his edited images unless they have have sat for several days.

Davina, you need to walk away for a week. Then look at it again. I really like it, but I'm not looking at it like you are.

Once you've not looked at it for a while, then look really quick, usually whatever bothers you will jump out.

I think you are so right, Suzanne. I went to bed with this image on my mind fresh from just working on it and waking up sometimes in the wee hours of the morning thinking about it to actually start working on it... again. I'll be glad when my experience finally allows me to know when to stop working on an image. I tend to fall in love with an image and I have to nurse it like a baby (I just caught that image in my mind... sorry guys) until it's strong enough on it's own. I lose so much sleep to those images... .

@Mary - I got it bad... just thinking about not looking at it for a week make me nervous. I can be such an overprotective parent... just ask my nephew... lol. I think I may be a Type-A person... not good. I tend to beat myself up when I get frustrated with an image, I don't do it as much because I think I'm getting better at creating what I envision.

Hi Davina, I agree with the others. I have so many unfinished pieces...paint and photographs...I used to do that...what you do...now I just put it away for awhile...a day or week some years...and come back to it later. After being away from a piece for awhile it is amazing how we see it so differently...sometimes I like it more, sometime a lot less ...but usually the "problem" we see is easier to tackle. I too really like this piece...not that that helps what you see.