Archive: Arts & Entertainment

I thought I'd take this time and show you a few of the stages photos take in their life, from being taken, almost thrown away, played with, modified and eventually turned into a work of art.

Have you ever heard someone say "...but sure, look at the camera he has. I can't take photos like that with MY camera...."  I respectfully respond, "Horse Hockey".

The image I'm showing today was taken with a Canon 10D, a 6.3 mega pixel DSLR. Most people today have more firepower in their i-phones. 

So lets consider this photo taken at Disney's Port Orleans Resort.


As a professional, my job is to get the perfect photo at the exact moment. I didn't have the time to kick on the flash, adjust the white balance or any of the stuff I do when I expect to be taking a photo. He swept her, and I had to get the photo right then.

Lousy fluorescent lights.

Anyway, going through the photos after the wedding, I was sorely tempted to throw it away, but something within me said that there's something special here. So I reluctantly kept it in consideration.

I tried to rescue it by playing with the white balance and hue, exposure curves and many of the tools within photoshop.


Ok, they don't look like aliens any more. The expressions and action is good, but frankly, it is not technically worthy for anything.

At this point, my daughter and photographic partner Mindy Porter said very gently,

"Gimmeeit."

She turned it to black and white. Although it is still missing something, there is a real special image here somewhere.  Playing with the blue, red and orange channel mixers brought out the vest and tie where there had been a black blur before.

The special image is working its way to the surface now. It's close enough I can begin to taste it. So what do I do?  I say:

"Gimmeeit."

It looks like an old Clark Gable movie scene, so what was true about old movies?

Grain!!


Now, I'm starting to get excited. What we need to do is bring our subject to the front as if they're not there already. We do this by diminishing the background, both by subtly vignetting and cropping out the yukky stuff at the lower right.

What? You didn't notice it? That's ok, I did. It's my Job.

Now it's a matter of dressing the photo up a bit.

A couple strokes for framing, a black background to highlight their love, and we're all set.


This is what a professional photographer does, not just at the wedding or portrait session, but at every step along the line. These images are our babies. You may pay for them, but never forget that we invest ourselves in their creation. They matter to us. It's not just a job. It's a passion. And, it is my life.

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