Lessons learned from software release notes in my photography

Hosted by Daniel j Gregory

August 24, 2020

Episode Number:

What the heck is this week's podcast about?

Episode 285

I was recently updating a lot of software on my computer. As some of the updates were installing, I took a look at the software release notes. If you have never looked at these notes, they tell you what is included in the update. Nearly all the release notes have the same basic information. They contain bug fixes, new features, and compatibility notes. As I looked at those, it got me thinking about how similar those notes are to editing and making photographs.


This week’s podcast dives into how to think about your photography and ideas to approach your editing using some of the concepts and sections you find in most software release notes. This release note template gives us an opportunity to create a plan, outline, and goals for editing. They can also serve as a to-do list when we need to make new work going forward. I am sure most of you will never dive deep into software release notes. Still, I think you can get something useful from the practice that industry has adopted.

Also, don’t forget that there are a couple of new workshops I am offering. Each workshop will run for 6-7 months and is limited to six participants. There is a foundation workshop about editing and workflow and an advanced workshop about finding more meaning in your work. You can get more information from the Workshops/Teaching menu above or using one of the links below.

Perceptive Photographer Foundation Workshop: The Developing Image

Perceptive Photographer Advanced Workshop: The Meaningful Image

 










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Gear used in the podcast

Rode Boom Arm
Rode PSM Shockmount
Rode Podcast Mic
Focusrite Scarlet 2i2
Adobe Audition (part of creative cloud subscription)
Macbook Pro
OWC Thunderbolt 3 dock
Headphones

Working With What the Photograph Wants

This episode explores the idea of working with what the photograph wants rather than forcing our intentions onto it. Once an image exists, it carries its own visual logic, weight, and rhythm. By slowing down, noticing what the photograph is already doing well, and letting accidents or imperfections remain, editing becomes a conversation instead of a correction. When we listen to the photograph’s internal voice, we discover a truer, more honest final image than the one we first imagined.

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Interpretation and translation

In this episode of the podcast I explore the idea of editing as translation. Rather than treating editing as technical cleanup, I look at how it becomes a way to interpret the lived moment of making a photograph. The camera captures facts but not the emotional truth, so editing bridges that gap. By shaping color, tone, and atmosphere, we translate experience into visual language and create images that feel honest, expressive, and connected to our intentions.

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What it means to share your work

In this episode of the podcast, we explore the quiet tension between the solitude of making photographs and the importance of sharing the work we create. Photography often begins in private moments of deep attention, yet that same solitude can drift into loneliness and self-doubt. We talk about why showing your images to others is a vital part of the creative cycle, how feedback and connection help clarify your voice, and why your work deserves to exist beyond your own hard drive. This episode invites you to embrace both the stillness of seeing and the community that completes the photograph.

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