Let me preface this post by stating that I'm not completely knowledgeable in photography. Nor am I proficient in editing. Or working under the hoods of cars. But I do have skills in motherhood. I think. Maybe my kids will tell you different.
Anyways, I get questions, emails, Facebook messages, and even some airplane notes about various topics pertaining to photography, the camera I use, and so forth. And I again, I will say that I'm not the go-to source to answer these questions. Far from it actually. However, I do want to let those of you who are interested to see how my work is accomplished. Sort of.
The following images are before and after shots. Before meaning "straight-out-of-the-camera" (SOOC) shots, and after meaning the editing I've done to achieve the look that is the final image. I mean, I know it's certainly not rocket scientist, but there is a technique or techniques each photographer uses to obtain the image they want. Of course, I'm still in the stages of experiementation, which leaves a lot to be desired, in my opinion. That's the perfectionist in me.
Each session is an hour or so long. But for me, the session goes far beyond the time I actually spend with a client. (This is how it goes; take a deep breath):
I upload images to my computer, sort through the ones I think are best(which can be anywhere from 200-300 images), edit each of those chosen images, upload the edited images to the slideshow from which the client will see later, write up a blog post about the session, upload images to the blog post, and send email to client about slideshow.
Theeeeeeen, I spend time working with the client about ordering. Sometimes this is quick, sometimes it's not. It makes me feel good when the client has a hard time deciding on images. It makes me think I did something good. I hope, anyway. Once the client has decided on the order, I spend time ordering each and every print from the lab. Then those images are uploaded to the lab. Phew! I'm still not done...
After the prints arrive, I check to make sure all images have been received. And most of the time, I deliver those images. But sometimes, my clients are kind enough (or maybe anxious to see their prints?) that they come to me to pick up their prints.
Okay, that's how it goes for me. Again, far beyond the hour or so I spend with each client at their session. Therefore, my pricing doesn't just reflect the prints you order, it's a lot about my time I spend on each session. After all is said and done, I could be looking at an investment of my time beyond 12 hours or more. Yes, you read that right. That's why I usually only take one session per week. It does take a lot of my time, mostly late evenings, but I have a 30 hour/week job, three kids and one on the way, and a life. Therefore, my pricing schedule reflects my time. Just to give you a heads up on it, I'm just saying...
And don't even get me started on the time I spend learning and communicating with others in this field about editing and business practices. It's an ongoing class in my world and I don't think I can ever learn enough!
Okay, on to my before and afters. The left side of each pair of images is the SOOC image and the one on the right is the final edited image. I'm going to try to give a little insight into what I did to achieve the final look. And again, it's not the gospel, it's just my style of editing. And I can only hope to learn more as I get more into this photography thing. Because I'm never satisfied. Oh, the tortures of perfectionism!
Well, if you're not asleep at your computer, thanks for taking the time to read all of this. I just wanted to give a little insight into what goes into producing the images that become the final images my clients see. I'm still new at this, so I'm sure there's a lot more that can be done to my final images that I didn't see. That's the beauty of this art--you can make it what you see and if someone else likes them, that's just icing on the cake. Oooh, icing, that sounds so good right now!
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