Speaking of before and after...

Part of what I do, or try to do, is to educate people (clients) about how things work in my business. So with that in mind let's talk post processing. Post-processing in today's world is what the dark room was 30 years ago, which is why it's often referred to as the digital dark room. Many, if not all, of the same techniques used in a dark room are recreated digitally using software like Adobe's Photoshop Creative Suite. Software like this allows you to manipulate a photo as little or as much as you'd like. There's no right or wrong here. It's all a matter of preference.

My preference tends to depend on what I'm shooting. If I'm photographing a wedding my processing leans toward creating images that closely resemble the actual moment because that's what's important. Same thing, usually, if I'm doing a Lifestyle session. In these instances I'll often bring out the colors, sharpen the images or add a treatment that echoes the emotion in the image. Personal projects and Pillow Talk sessions usually take on a more artistic look. My style tends to be more romantic, and therefore most of my post-processing, whether heavy or light, usually reflects that.

So let's take a look at some examples of what I do in "post". First, here's an image of a couple that I really liked. His hand in the small of her back, the way he's caressing her arm, the beautiful scalloped lace on her dress. All of it screamed romance to me so I wanted to bring out that feeling in my processing. Here's the before, straight out of camera.


And here's the after. Warmer, softer, definitely a more romantic feel. Now you may not like this look and that's okay. That's why it's important to find a photographer whose style fits with what you're looking for in your images.



Here's another example. This was taken while shooting with the lovely Jessica Del Vecchio at Mill Creek Park here in Youngstown. This is the after version. Looks great, right?


Here's the before. Looks pretty flat, doesn't it?




Here's a side-by-side for comparison. I brightened the image and added some contrast. It was a beautiful Autumn scene so I popped the colors to make the leaves more pronounced. Take a look at the sky. You'd never know from the after image that it was actually raining and overcast that day. So, which image would you want hanging on your wall?



Here's an example where I was given more artistic liberty so I pushed the limits a bit. It's rough and grungy but that's why I like it.

So, that's what I do. If I made it sound easy, good. My job is to make this all look easy-peasy so you don't have anything to worry about. Your job is to hire me. ;-)

Cheers,

Before and after

So, over the new year my family went to Hilton Head for a little getaway. My mother-in-law has a timeshare there and goes almost every year. I decided, however, that I needed to stay here and tackle some projects around the house that I'd been putting off for way too long.

First was my kiddos room. It had been almost two years since I'd really gone through their stuff. The difference between three and five when you're talking about toys is vast. At three, there's still an interest in baby things, and at five, well, you're a big girl and have no room for anything babyish. Thankfully there's not such a huge difference between five and seven, so there were fewer things to sort through of my son's. He did, however, inform me that it was okay to get rid of his Brio trains since he was too old to play with them anymore :( It's a hard thing to realize your kids are growing up.

Second was my office. Somehow over the months my office became the dumping ground for anything that needed to be put away but didn't have a home. My space isn't that big to begin with, so it quickly became unmanageable. I literally, I'm embarrassed to say, had a path to my desk and that was it. You couldn't go anywhere else. About four months ago I decided to paint my office but never could seem to find the time (or the energy) to do it. Having the house to myself for a week was the perfect solution.

I decided 2009 is going to be a year to clean up and clear out. What I didn't expect was how clearing out all this junk also cleared out my head! So without further ado (and for all the world to see) here's my mess. I hope it inspires you to clean up and clear out a little too.



My kiddo's mess. To be fair, we had already started the process of going through some of their things before they left so this isn't a true representation of before.

This filled my car. 5 garbage bags, 2 tubs, 1 box, and a toy box filled with toys and books.

And after. The best part is that is still looks like this!

Um, yea, this is my mess. Wow. Hard to believe it looked like that.

My beautiful, new office freshly painted and almost finished. (I'm on the lookout for some new curtains.)



BTW...I also deleted over 4000 (not a typo) old emails. I'm on a roll!

Cheers,