"Good Enough"

Left: Original, Middle: Old Editing, Right: New Editing
(and yes, the middle one is a different photo, but burst mode makes it almost all the same)

So this is strange post... but hey, it's about photography and I enjoy photography.

I've done portraits for a year or so, and I've always done them the same way. Shoot RAW, import to Photoshop, adjust white balance, blacks, whites, shadows, highlights, as needed, boost contrast and vibrance, then export to JPEG. Easy, simple, done.

Well, today, I figured that I could really still improve. So I sat down, watched a 23 min long YouTube video, and spent the next few hours tackling old portraits and honing my skills.

Above, you see Savanna, one of the people from my prom group. When I did my first edit a couple of months ago, I wasn't SUPER happy with how it turned out. It wasn't bad per say, but the lighting on her face was off (she was under some branches which gave in unfavorable shadowing). Yet, at the time, I didn't really know how to change it, so I called it good, and moved on.

But now onto the new editing style: It involves doing masks and layers on EVERYTHING. Hair, face, eyes, lips, dress, background, etc. You select off each part, and edit those separate of everything else, using curves and vibrance (and some other things as needed). It takes a decent amount of time, and a lot more care, but the results are a lot cleaner.

In order to really get better at anything, it takes time and effort. It takes time and effort to do a good job. Ask ANYBODY. Yet, many times, we're okay with "good enough". The old edits were "good enough". My violin or viola concerto was "good enough". It was "good enough" that I only knew only C, D, Em, A, and G on the guitar.

I think this world is plagued by this mentality of mediocrity. You do enough to get the passing grade, then you move on. After all, you save your time, energy, money, etc.

The thing is, as Christians, we're not called to a life of mediocrity. We're called to a life of hard work, a life of excelling, or at least putting the effort in to excel. Proverbs 10:4 states "Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth." (NIV, yes you may shudder if you like). In the beginning (literally), God made humans to work. Work was never part of the curse. Yes, work got tougher because of it, but God had Adam take care of the Garden before sin. God Himself does good work; just read Genesis 1.

So just remember, God never just does "good enough", and neither should we. It will take time, effort, and won't always be fun, but by going beyond the passing, we show to the World another aspect of our Father: a Father who never lets His children be "good enough".

Philippians 1:6 (ESV)
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

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