As I was editing this wedding, I thought the image below would be a great visual way to show what we do and why it is so important to invest in hiring a professional to capture your important memories. The first image shows what I started with and then what can be done to the image to take it from good to GREAT! When you get married, you don't see all the other people on the beach, all you see is each other and the beauty of your surroundings. A professional can help you remember your day just the way you felt, like you two were the only ones on the beach, strolling off into the golden sunset.....
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| Original image straight out of camera |
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| Edited version |
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| Custom black and white finish |
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| Artistic coloring |
8 comments
Wow...Karma! Your pictures and talent are amazing!
I am not a professional but have a great camera, Photoshop, and an amazing eye for good shots. Sadly, technology will likely put your peers out of work soon.....
Anonymous, yes I am sure you could take a photo, remove the people from the background and say you can do what a professional can do. But you saying that people with nice cameras and photoshop will put me and my peers out of business soon is like saying that quickbooks will put accountants out of business soon. There is no substitute for a true professional to cover an event. This is someone who does this work day in and day out and knows how to work every lighting situation that occurs from very bright light to an extremely overcast day. Someone who knows the shot is coming before it happens and captures it. Someone who knows how to pose people to show them in their best light. Someone who is knowledgeable on the latest trends, technology and how to use their "great camera" by shooting in manual and creating a work of art rather than putting in in auto and letting the camera decide what will look best. Someone who not only has a "great camera" but also a back up "great camera" thousands of dollars in "great lenses" and professional lighting set ups. Someone who invests money in furthering their education and thinks about how to get the best shot day and night because it is what their passion is. Someone who can create more than a few nice shots, but a collection that tells the story of a wedding day from captured moments to posed and perfectly lit portraits. It is actually the technology that you talk about that has enabled many people to be able to learn and enter the professional playing field and create a career that is not only fun, but fulfilling and profitable. I am glad that you have a "great camera" and that you are able to document your friends and family in a beautiful way, but it is still no replacement for a true professional.
I love the artistic coloring!!! And I am sooooooo happy we chose you to photograph this perfect day for us :) Cant wait to see the rest of them soon!
As Karma said, it's MUCH more than a nice camera, good eye and Photoshop. It takes much more to work as a professional and it takes much more to stay that way.
You have the tools, but you need to have the skills and creativity to use them. I would add, use them in the most difficult situations, during a wedding, with 50-100 people looking at you, with possible rain showers and demanding clients. You have to have thick skin, a warm personality, a commanding presence, a "MacGyver"-type intelligence and a sensitive, comforting ability. Not everyone can do this. Lots of professional photographers out there struggle with the many abilities you need to have as photographer. Think of all of the things we can do with the computer. Think of all of the careers associated with the computer. We still need humans and professionals with creative abilities and passion to capture something in a moment of time, in their own way.
True, digital photography has allowed more amateurs to get into the field of photography. True, some professional photographers have had to switch careers. This is all good. This challenges us to keep striving to improve our work. I think a better statement would have been, "Technology may put some of our peers out of work soon". On the other hand, my view is, technology will likely help our peers shine.
Keep the faith and keep shooting!
Well said Karma, we hired Jennifer Prater on Kauai for our wedding and my wedding portraits are simply amazing!
You tell 'em, Karma! No way I would have trusted an amateur for the most important event of my life!! You get what you pay for.
You do get what you pay for.