Two Edits, One Moment
Photography doesn’t end when the shutter clicks. In many ways, that’s when the real decisions begin.
With Lightroom, Photoshop and countless other tools at our fingertips, there are endless ways to shape an image. I love that freedom. It allows us to imprint our style and truly make a photograph our own.
The hardest part? The choices. Softer or stronger? Light and airy? Dark and dramatic? For a long time, I worried about getting it “right.”
But editing isn’t about right or wrong. It’s about interpretation. Pink hair and purple grass are perfectly valid — if that’s your intention.
As a wildlife photographer, realism matters to me. But even within realism, there’s room to move.
This kookaburra landed on our washing line one rainy afternoon — feathers mussed, beak dirty, staring straight at me before opening his mouth in what may have been a yawn or a challenge. I loved the raw character of the moment.
So I edited it two ways.
The first version is bright, luminous and natural — my signature style.
The second leans into the grit and drama of the scene.
Same bird. Same file. Two stories.
And that’s what excites me most — our images are canvases, and how we finish them is part of the art.
Below is the original raw file.
