Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever become a successful photographer. One able to earn his keep through photography.
Take technical excellence in post-processing for instance. To be commercially successful, professional photographers today must not only possess excellent photo-taking skills i.e. an eye for "pictures", but also be technically competent when it comes to Photoshop.
One only has to go through websites put up by local wedding photographers to see what I mean. Check out the better known ones who command high rates for wedding shoots. I have no doubt most possess good compositional skills.
But when it comes to technical competence in Photoshop, some are still lacking. I see :-
- colors that are off,
- white balance with a cast,
- unacceptable noise,
- too much or too little sharpening,
- and overall "clarity" is lacking.
I have seen better photos. In fact, I checked out a site by a young local photographer and was really impressed. His rates were nowhere near those charged by the better known photographers.
Yet I was intrigued by his pictures.
Pictures that were Impactful. Compelling. Captivating.
Above all, the guy knows what is a good skin tone. And how to get one. It hits you in his pictures.
Skin tone is what I look out for in photos. Especially in wedding shoots and portraits. Check out this guy's work and see if you agree with me. Better still, check out his blog.
Am I missing something?
Maybe the fault lies with me - with my eyes ?
Do I see what others see? Is it possible that somehow I see color differently from others? The same color may appear in different shades and tones to different people.
I may not appreciate the work of the $10k-per-shoot photographer. But his clients do. They see his work in the same shade and tone as the photographer's. And liked them enough to become his clients. That is all that matters, isn't it ?
Therefore the fault lies not with that photographer's. The problem lies with me.
Makes me wonder - are our eyes all the same? Do we see a certain shade of red, for example, exactly as seen by another person? If having a good eye is in the genes, there is nothing we can do about that. If that is the case, then maybe I will never make it as a commercial photographer.
Think about that. Do we have what is required to be a commercially successful photographer?
Take technical excellence in post-processing for instance. To be commercially successful, professional photographers today must not only possess excellent photo-taking skills i.e. an eye for "pictures", but also be technically competent when it comes to Photoshop.
One only has to go through websites put up by local wedding photographers to see what I mean. Check out the better known ones who command high rates for wedding shoots. I have no doubt most possess good compositional skills.
But when it comes to technical competence in Photoshop, some are still lacking. I see :-
- colors that are off,
- white balance with a cast,
- unacceptable noise,
- too much or too little sharpening,
- and overall "clarity" is lacking.
I have seen better photos. In fact, I checked out a site by a young local photographer and was really impressed. His rates were nowhere near those charged by the better known photographers.
Yet I was intrigued by his pictures.
Pictures that were Impactful. Compelling. Captivating.
Above all, the guy knows what is a good skin tone. And how to get one. It hits you in his pictures.
Skin tone is what I look out for in photos. Especially in wedding shoots and portraits. Check out this guy's work and see if you agree with me. Better still, check out his blog.
Am I missing something?
Maybe the fault lies with me - with my eyes ?
Do I see what others see? Is it possible that somehow I see color differently from others? The same color may appear in different shades and tones to different people.
I may not appreciate the work of the $10k-per-shoot photographer. But his clients do. They see his work in the same shade and tone as the photographer's. And liked them enough to become his clients. That is all that matters, isn't it ?
Therefore the fault lies not with that photographer's. The problem lies with me.
Makes me wonder - are our eyes all the same? Do we see a certain shade of red, for example, exactly as seen by another person? If having a good eye is in the genes, there is nothing we can do about that. If that is the case, then maybe I will never make it as a commercial photographer.
Think about that. Do we have what is required to be a commercially successful photographer?
