When processing photos, sometimes there is work more than just playing with the sliders and running it through a filter or two. This post explains some of the guidelines I use when removing items during processing (while trying to keep true’ish to the photo).
Most photographs contain static and temporary elements. A static element is an element that is present anytime you take the photograph from that location, while a temporary element is only present in that location of a period of time.
Any temporary elements are fair game to be removed. The most common temporary elements I remove are cars, graffiti, people, shadows, and garbage. This doesn’t mean that all temporary elements should be removed. For instance, if there is a worker on the side of the train, they shouldn’t be removed since it adds a bit of story and scale to the image.
Image may be NSFW.
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My rules around nature lean more towards treating them as temporary elements. Common nature elements I remove include bushes, puddles, distracting vegetation, and the occasional tree. The fewer the trees, bushes, and weeds cluttering up the image, the more powerful the subject looks.
Image may be NSFW.
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Permanent elements typically shouldn’t be removed, but there are some notable exceptions. The first (and most important) is power lines. Power lines are like mosquitos, blood sucking insects that ruin everything and should be removed if they can be taken out in a reasonable amount of time. Most railway signs should be kept, with the exception of snowplow signs (which are fine to remove unless you are shooting a snowplow train). The best way to figure out which elements need to be removed is when you look at the image, is focus on the subject or are you distracted to another element.
Image may be NSFW.
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Temporary elements on permanent elements can be removed. If there is anything contained on a permanent element that was on there as part of its original construction, it can be removed. So, in the example above, the radio tower was removed since I’m assuming it wasn’t part of the original construction.
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It is important not to go overboard with this since you will end up with images that look to sterilized (and fake). These aren’t hard rules, but rather guidelines that I mentally review and follow when editing a photo.
…Running Extra…
I was able to knock another image (see below) off of my bucket list of locations I’ve yet to photograph trains in.
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There are only a couple of more on the list in the Ottawa’ish area that have public access and don’t require a plane or a boat.
