Creating a Portrait ...

Of course every photographer is different. Different vision. Different mindset when it comes to photography. Different definition of art. 

On average I would say that I spend about 30-90 minutes on each image in post processing. This is the reason you don't receive dozens of images in  your gallery. I balance your price and my cost {in product, technology and time}. Wouldn't you rather receive 10 great portraits than 30 bad images?

My turn-around time for gallery deliver is usually between 2-3 weeks. I'm sure you know that 'something' is happening to the images during that time period. And so we are clear,  I'm definitely not just downloading the images to the computer and then burning them to a CD for you haha. #justsaynotoshootandburners

Photography for me is a way of expressing my creativity. It's a release for me. The canvas is prepped. The model is added. An outline of what I envision is created and captured  {in the camera}.

As most professional photographers do, I photograph in an NEF or RAW format. This means that my camera captures all of the data that it sees but it does not attempt to process it {like a JPEG file / camera mode does}. When I upload the image onto my computer I use special software that allows me to see that 'raw' image. It looks a little plain at first. Hense why I call it the 'outline'. Everything is generally in the placement that I want {the light, the model, the background/props} but the painting needs completed.

And so I go about painting my portrait. A little more light or darkness here. A little more contrast there. A pop of color. Maybe a sprinkle of fun. A little hand cramp and we are good.

Because creating a portrait is so personal and so much time is invested is the reason that I might jump on a soapbox {haha} in educating clients about printing at box stores, drug stores and popular online sites instead of through me. Those other places will change the color/contrast/saturation of an image {not to mention the terrible paper/inks they use}. It wastes the money you spent on a professional and my time in creating the portrait.

The manner in which I add or paint the portrait is often dependent on my mood or the vision I had from the beginning. Thus I don't recreate my work identically for another shoot. 

I don't often share a before and after but here we go. The sun was camera left. But it kept slipping in and out of the clouds. The weather report called for no wind {5mph} but it was kicking up to more like 15 mph. So things weren't ideal but we don't quit. While we were in a non-busy area, we had three adults watching for cars and keeping us safe. 

Image was created with my 85mm lens | ISO 125 | Aperture / F 2.2 | 1/800 second 

{and yes I could love reduced my shutter speed or increased my ISO but as stated the sun slipped behind the cloud and I quickly took the shot that just ended up being my favorite when I culled}