I don’t know how many of you are photographers, but if you are, and mean commercial photographers, then you know how I feel. When I took those cheerleader photos, I don’t just take one photo and switch to another pose. I take several. This is important, especially when I’m doing groups. In every group there’s always one person not doing what they’re supposed to be doing, or you catch someone in the middle of a blink, or there eyes are looking in a different direction, or they’re smiling when they shouldn’t be, or vice versa. So I take multiple shots, just to find that one perfect one.
This means that during the editing process I have to compare a lot of photos. Several hundred. I have to find the good ones in the first phase. They all look like the same photo but in this shot the wind blew the models hair in her face. That one someone walked into the shot. So a lot of comparing.
In the second phase I have to cut that number again because the ones I thought were good weren’t good enough. While I’m picking the good ones I also edit them; crop them to size, add some color, adjust the lighting, etc.
Now I’m in the third phase where I have to tweak the edits of the good ones, just a little fine tuning. What was once close to 400 photos went down to about 160 and now I’m at 80, and these numbers need to come down to 50 total. Then I’ll be done, but it’s a lot of work. Quite a few days have passed, but I’m almost there.
So if you’re wondering why I’m not blogging the way I should be, now you know. It’s what I get for being a photographer. But it’s fun, and it’s worth it. My specialty is in getting the model to smile. If I can do that then I’ve done my job. Laughs are good, because they really show off the laugh lines around the eyes. All I have to do now is get the family to pose, but they’re all like, “No, I don’t want my picture taken, I’m shy!” No they’re not.
Of course these are the same people that invite me to all of the events because they know I’m bringing my camera. It’s ok, for the most part. The bad part is that I’m not in any of the photos. No big deal, I’m still having fun.
So until next time, as soon as I finish these pix, stay safe.
Arid Testimony 