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Posted on July 27, 2010
You may have noticed I have not updated any portfolio galleries since I switched from a standard site to a blog site. I just wanted to let you know I do plan to update all galleries in August. I am also hoping to add a few other elements to the site as well. In the meantime, if you are considering me for Wedding Day Photography, please feel free to contact me regarding packages and pricing and I’d be happy to meet with you to review my portfolio not yet online.
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Posted on June 9, 2010
OK, so your session has taken place and you are patiently waiting for your photos. You are probably wondering why it takes the time it does to simply upload images to a gallery. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. Let’s take a child portrait session for example…
On average, I will take about 300 photos during a session. Since I shoot in continuous shooting mode and my camera is capable of 3.9 frames per second, the majority of exposures are essentially the same shot. This is helpful when dealing with a toddler who has learned they now have the ability to get up and run away. However, it leaves me with a lot of less than frame worthy images I then need to sort through.
Immediately after a session, I load every single image taken onto my computer AND external hard drive. I just recently began uploading to an online storage site as well. Once everything is backed-up, I begin culling images. I sort them into 3 folders – Yes, No & Maybe. Honestly, this probably takes just as much time as photoshop work for me. I’m a bit critical of my work, so I usually end up staring at the images for hours trying to decide which ones to purge and which ones to keep. It’s my least favorite part of the editing process.
Once my “YES” folder is filled with enough images, I begin to edit them in photoshop. Since I’m self taught in photoshop and far from a graphic artist, my images don’t have that artsy edge that I admire so much of other photographers. I generally just do some cropping, color correction, levels adjustments and very minor retouching. It takes me about 10- 15 minutes per image (without interruption from my children) to edit a photo.
Here is an example. This first photo is straight out of my camera. This is what you would get if I just simply plugged in my camera and uploaded the images I took.
I straightened it out, cropped it, adjusted levels, cloned out some random leaves and imperfections on the bench, bumped up contrast and vibrance and viola! You get this image.
Then I will usually convert to black & white (because I love the timeless beauty of a black & white photograph). Converting to black & white for me does not mean simply clicking on a “convert to BW” button. That just gets you a grey version of your image. I adjust levels and tones to get that almost over exposed brightness to the image. It takes more time, but I think it’s so worth it.
And there you have it…a glimpse into what it takes to edit your photos. Now onto creating the slideshow!