ERIC KIM

How to Edit Your Photos

Dear friend,

There is no right or wrong way to edit (I mean post-process) your photos.

Editing vs post processing

Portrait of my mom. Berkeley, 2014. Kodak Portra 400

Okay, so unfortunately, modern vocabulary is all screwed up in photography.

  • Editing: The art of choosing your best photos.
  • Post-processing: Cropping, contrast, filter, brightness, exposure, sharpening, etc.

Today when we say “editing”, we mean to say “post processing”.

Sydney, 2014

But I’m not gonna be a verbal nazi. Moving forward, let’s assume I mean “post processing” when I say “editing”.

What flavors do you like?

SF, 2015 / Ricoh GR Digital

What flavors or spices do you like in your food?

Spicy? Bland? Sweet?

Orange County, 2014 / Digital Ricoh GR x Eric Kim Preset

What herbs or spices do you like?

Tumeric, sake, paprika, black pepper, Jalapeños?

SF, 2014. Kodak Portra 400

What kind of oil do you like?

Olive oil, balsamic, avocado oil, or bacon fat?

Portrait of Josh White. Seoul, 2014

How much do you like to season your food?

Do you like to put in a lot of salty flavoring? Or do you prefer it less salty?

There is no good or bad taste.

Kyoto, 2014. Portra 400

Anyways, I’m not gonna go further about food.

Essentially there are who good or bad taste out there.

Shot on a digital Ricoh GR. SF, 2015

You make your own taste.

You have your own tastebuds. Even as some ancients have said:

To some men, even honey tastes bitter.

It isn’t your job to instruct others who flavors to like. Rather, your job is just to know your own taste. Your own flavor palette.

How do you like to season your food?

Downtown LA, 2014. Ricoh GR digital with ERIC KIM PRESET

Editing your photos: is how you season your food.

For me, I like fatty foods, with a lot of salt. I prefer animal fats, with little vegetable oils. I like spice– Paprika is a favorite. I like bacon grease. I like sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

Downtown LA, 2015. Processed with ERIC KIM MONOCHROME 1600

For my photos, I like high contrast monochrome. I like to “crush the blacks”– having little detail in shadows. I don’t like grey.

Downtown LA, 2014. ERIC KIM MONOCHROME 1600

For color, I like high saturation, contrast, and vibrancy.

Toronto, 2015. Digital Ricoh GR and VSCO KODAK PORTRA 800 HC PRESET

These are just the tastes of ERIC KIM. It will be different for you. That is why I designed the ERIC KIM PRESETS the way they are– to curate my own aesthetic taste.

Visual Variety & Consistency

Chicago, 2013. Digital RICOH GR

Anyways, whatever you like– you probably want variety in your diet.

Kyoto, 2014. Portra 400

Would you want to eat the same food with the same spices, day in and day out? Even the most delicious foods become disgusting if you eat the same thing everyday.

Kyoto, 2014. Portra 400

Also for optimal health, we need a variety of food.

Downtown LA, 2012. Leica M9 x SILVER EFEX PRO 2

But I suggest this:

Have visual consistency within a certain project of yours.

For example, if you do a photo project of your partner, do it all in black and white film, and keep it consistent.

Downtown LA, 2014. ERIC KIM NEOPAN 1600 preset.

Or for example, if you do a street portrait series, do it all on the same camera, lens, and use the same preset or editing on the photo.

Edit your photos intentionally

Downtown LA, 2013 Leica M9 x SILVER EFEX PRO 2

For example, if you were gonna serve a Korean meal, you might want to have consistent flavors. You probably wouldn’t want to mix a Korean meal with random Caribbean flavors.

Portrait of Sean Lotman. Kyoto, 2014. Portra 400

I’m also a fan of fusion cooking– but if you’re gonna make a Galbi taco, do it intentionally.

The same with your editing– however you decide to edit your photos, do it intentionally. And stay consistent to your artistic vision.

Istanbul, 2014. Portra 400

Never compromise.

I prefer presets or film.

Philly. Portra 400 and flash.

It don’t matter if you use presets, or edit your photos manually.

Some of us like to grind all our spices by hand. Others prefer pre-packaged.

For me, I prefer to use presets. Why? It is easier, faster, and your results will be more consistent.

Portra 400. Philly. Eric Rivera.

But if you’re like your grandmother, and prefer to measure your ingredients by your hands without measuring cups– that’s totally cool too.

Amsterdam, 2014. Portra 400

If you shoot film, I recommend sticking with the same film. I prefer Kodak Portra 400 for color and Kodak Tri-X for black and white.

Salt your food to your own taste.

Downtown LA, 2011. Canon 5D and jpeg.

In terms of editing photos, I recommend using Adobe Lightroom and the free ERIC KIM PRESETS, or the presets from VSCO.

For mobile, I recommend the mobile VSCO app, or Snapseed.

Portra 400 x Flash.

Above all, just have fun with your editing. There is no right and wrong.

There is only right and wrong for you.

Portra 400 x Flash.

Enjoy the visual feast of life.

BE STRONG,
ERIC

Tokyo, 2012. Tri-X pushed to 1600 x Flash.

PHOTOGRAPHY 101

Seoul, 2009

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Post-Processing

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Tokyo, 2012

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Prague, 1968. Josef Koudelka / Magnum Photos
Prague, 1968. Josef Koudelka / Magnum Photos

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Distilled information on street photography:

PHOTOGRAPHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP 101

ERIC KIM x HENRI NECK STRAP // Portrait by Benjamin Thompson

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