The other day speaking with one of my Class of 2013 Senior Reps I was told that her friends didn’t believe several of the photos I’d done of her weren’t put through Photoshop. No matter how much she told her friends this image or that image was straight out of the camera, they just wouldn’t believe it.
I’ve heard it from other clients while on location too. “That looks like you’ve already used Photoshop.” When I show a client what the images are looking like on the back of the camera and hear that I know I’ve hit a home run.
So, if it’s not “shopped”, what is it? Well, it’s about the light, controlling the light, and getting it where you want it. Foreground and background light can be so different. And if you’re using off camera lighting you open up so many possibilities for yourself. The coolest part? This has nothing to do with shooting digital. This is how film photographers have done it forever!
Long time readers will know, I have nothing against Photoshop. Actually I love the program. And Adobe Photoshop Lightroom as well. They’re just part of my toolkit for photography. And there is nothing wrong with editing. But there’s also nothing wrong with getting it right in the camera too!
Long time readers will also know something else about me. For the longest time I did not do any portrait work. Why? Simple. I wasn’t there yet. I have spent years learning about off camera lighting, setting up for portrait work, and practicing portraiture. And we all know last year I started offering portraits. I wanted them to be as amazing as the landscape work I’ve done for years, and that meant an investment of time before I started asking clients to invest their dollars!
So, when somebody says my images right out of the camera look like Photoshop I take that as a compliment. But when they keep disbelieving it I can do nothing other than show them the file on my Lightroom setup, and point out the CR2 is the raw file.
Ah well, so long as what we produce is stunning does it really matter how you get there? 🙂