I was troubled — recently more than ever — by the confusion
of many students when it comes to understanding elementary
notions and that alone perverts the thinking process — which
will show in their workflow, their understanding of softwares and
their respective tools, the chronology in the application of given
sequential tasks… all affecting the end goal: the final rendition.
What is, in simple words…
Processing
A process is a series of stages in time where the last stage is the
product, result or goal. ... It is a course of action, or a procedure,
to achieve a result, or an end-product.
A term reserved for operations on unalterable, un-editable, data
files, RAWs.
Editing
Editing an image is the process of selecting to convey informa-
tion. May it be compositional elements, tonal values, etc per-
formed on images.
THE SOUP
Yes soup… because I compare all these actions with cooking!
Processing a soup is just a series of steps that will produce an
end plate that is usually seen eaten with a spoon. There is no
recipe to making soup but a way to go so to end up with one.
Editing a soup recipe is to change the ingredients — and or their
proportion — in the soup… may it be chunky or liquid.
THE KITCHEN… this is where things get messy.
As marketing strategies ( and we are all eager to accept them )
software makers will slide in processing tools in editing programs
and editing tools will be present in converter in order to propose
similar effects though performed different ways.
THE COOK… yes, that’s you and me!
The mastery shows itself when workflow and artistic intent come
together in a mature way through a tasteful final rendition. Like it
was heard in the days: “It’s all in the print”!