Behind the Photo
Hello, in my blog today I am taking you behind the photo !
Surely its as easy as just taking a photo?
I wish!! I work really hard to get your photos up ASAP after a shoot, but there is always a delay - why? I know everyone is eager to see the pictures, I have been in your shoes many times wondering why its taking so long, surely you just have to load them onto the website? Whilst this would be great for me it sadly this isn't the case!
The actual shoot is such a small part of the job & my favourite part of any shoot. I love meeting you all, your dogs and photographing is such a joy 💖
Heading home with a card full of photos!
When I get home I begin the process of finalising the photo's so that they are the very best they can be.
I start by transferring the photographs to a hard drive which can take anywhere from an hour upwards, depending on the number of photo’s from the shoot, more photo's unsurprisingly mean it takes longer to upload!
Raw...... isn't that something to do with food?!?
I import the files into my editing software. This is because I shoot in a mode called ‘raw’ without boring anyone with the technicalities, this basically means that all the detail is photographed and saved to my memory cards, but are not processed automatically by the camera.
If this were a cake (!!) I've gathered all the ingredients I need and I have started to mix them together!
Why not just take a jpeg, that’s the file we need afterall?!
When you shoot in ‘jpeg' mode the camera records the information & automatically processes the picture for you, its a little like buying a store brought cake, the hard works been done for you!!
This is great & can produce lovely photographs but shooting in raw allows me to record significantly more information so there is as much detail as possible recorded when I take the photograph.
Shop brought cakes are never the same as homemade!
Why do you process the raw file?
I then need to process the image myself to bring out the detail that has been recorded. If I don't process the image the photo will look dull, lifeless and lacklustre! Its a little like making a cake but not baking it, you have all the ingredients mixed together but you need to bake it so that you have a usable image, or an edible cake!
Editing is cheating!
As already mentioned with a raw file you have to edit it to bring out the detail and balance the colours.
I only ever edit my images to bring out the detail recorded. I never remove things I don't like or change anything about the photo that was originally taken. I don't do anything to change what was there at the moment the photograph was taken. I am just doing what the camera does automatically for you in jpeg, but to get the best result I am controlling this process & not letting the camera make any assumptions for me.
How long does processing take?
I spend anywhere from 5 minutes upwards on each photo processing until I am happy with the final image before exporting the final version ready to be uploaded to my webshop.
I have to export as a jpeg file so that the file is usable and can be printed, or downloaded by the purchaser.
Surely it can't take long to upload to your webshop?
It's pretty quick to upload 1 photo, but when you have 200 odd photos, which all need to be uploaded 3 times, it can take a while!!
I have to build & prepare the webshop for each shoot adding each photo one by one. Each photo is uploaded 3 times to ensure you can buy digital or prints from my website.
That's a lot of work!
I spend as much time is needed on every photo, making sure each one I would be happy and proud to hang on my wall or put on my desk.
And you get all this for the bargain price of £8.00 for a digital download and £10.00 for a print!
I really appreciate every order, without them I couldn't do this as a job! Thank you for your support, I look forward to seeing you at an event in the future!