About Digital Retouching

We live in an age where names and nouns become verbs. We don't SEARCH for information on the internet, we "Google It". By the same token, the Adobe Program "Photoshop" has itself become a verb... we don't "Edit" or "Enhance" or "Manipulate" an image anymore, we "Photoshop It". I hear this every day... "Can you Photoshop Aunt Marge out of this picture?", or, " Can you Photoshop my brother into this Family Portrait?... he couldn't be there." This is a little misleading. Pros who know their stuff use many excellent programs in conjunction with Photoshop to do their magic. Don't get me wrong, Photoshop is a marvelous program. It's power comes from years of improvements and updates. Adobe listens to it's customers and comes out with a newer, more powerful version just about every year, sometimes twice a year. Photoshop is a terrific tool for the creative soul, but it comes with a lot of baggage. Like any tool, it is, at it's creative heart, just a tool. Some people use this tool to create wildly beautiful images and some people use this tool to butcher beautiful images. I spend a good part of every day working with Photoshop, and various other programs, because this is the core, the main engine of Digital Photography. For every project you work on, Photoshop has at least 10 different techniques to acheive the results you are looking for. The trick is to know which one is better than others. Photoshop is at it's best when it is used to enhance great photography, or employ great photography in a grander project. What photoshop cannot do is make great photography out of bad photography. It can improve things somewhat, but that's about it. Retouching the human face is an art. The end result should be a perfect image of the subject that still looks natural. That begins with the photography. Another thing to know about digital photography is that it is not the megapixels that matter, it's the Dynamic Range... it's just easier to sell MEGA(manly) stuff to men.

Just rambling today... any questions?

Wedding Photography Today

I spent some time on the Digital Wedding Forum this morning. The Digital Wedding Forum is a website for Professional Photographers... Primarily Wedding Photographers. The biggest thread ever is going on there now having to do with Denis Reggie (A Very Famous Photographer) throwing his hand in with Bella Photography(A National Wedding Mill). There are almost 1000 posts on this subject and the subject of Wedding Mills. In case you do not know what a Wedding Mill is, there are several in our area. They offer multiple services from one provider... but their true strength is that they are powerful marketing companys that operate on the theory that if they book the weddings the photographers, and other professionals will have to follow. They are large and powerful when it comes to resources and marketing. I know exactly how this works as I was employed for 22 years recruiting and training photographers for one of these companies. I am now an independant and enjoy photography again like I did when I first picked up a camera. A lot of my photographer friends used this company for volume, a stepping stone to their own businesses, or to fill in dates they were not booked. Many are out there now doing their own thing and being sucessful, many more did not and are completely dependant on the sub-wages they earn as contractors. One company I know of even requires contractors to cover company liabilities. I really can't say a lot of bad things about these companies, they provide work for some talented people who lack the ability or desire to market themselves, but I will say that the most important positions in them are in the sales and marketing departments. I leave you to draw your own conclusions.

Shannon and Nick

Shannon, Nick, and I spend a couple hours last Sunday doing their Engagement Photos at Wahby Park at the Blossom Heath. We had a great time. This couple is so nice, so sincere, and such a wonderful match that it is hard to describe. All 160 of their engagement photos are online, but you will need a paswsword to see them... so I am sharing the following images:

Back to the Blog

Well, I've been gone a long time. I must appologize. My website was looking more and more like a blog, so I have revamped it to a more professional, business look and will put all the Blog type posts here on the Blog where it belongs. I have no idea how I got so far off the track, but I am jumping back on and will build a business facebook page as well.

Nicole and Eric August 15th, 2009

Sometimes the news is so bad, and we get so caught up in it, that it's easy to forget that life is just an adventure. Young people are still falling in love, making commitments and looking to the future with confidence and joy. Nicole and Eric are a prime example. Last Sunday we spent a couple hours together talking wedding plans and taking engagement photos. These two are very much in love... if you can't see it in their faces, you're not looking.

We met at Good Shepard Lutheran Church, then proceded to Wahby Park at the Blossom Heath in St Clair Shores, then spent the last few minutes at the Gazebo on Lake St Clair... Behind Jefferson Marine. The weather was a little gray with a few sprinkles here and there, but the photos turned out very nice anyway.






The future of our country is still in good hands as long as wonderful people like Nicole and Eric continue to find each other. Congratulations you two! Nicole is going to be a Beautiful Bride in just a couple months, and Eric... I'm gonna keep making you put that chest out. August 15th will be a grand day to remember.

You can see more of Nicole and Eric's engagement photos in the Gallery section of my website by visiting www.indishphoto.com and clicking on the Gallery link.

Nichole and Matt April 25th, 2009

If you spend 30 years meeting and photographing Brides and Grooms, you can't help but develop a sense of good and bad relationships. Lately I've been blessed with some really incredible couples and Nichole and Matt are no exception. These two are positively giddy with each other. The sincerity and joy they felt with each other was almost blinding and it was hard to not get caught up in the pure excitement of this couple's relationship. They were married on a sweltering, stormy day, yet that did not bother them in the least little bit. I believe this couple will be celebrating their 50th anniversary in about 50 years. Good luck you two. Stay in Love, but more importantly... stay Best Friends.






You can see Nichole and Matt's Music Video on my website in the Music Video/Weddings section. Just go to www.indishphoto.com and enjoy this wonderful couple on their Wedding Day.
Randy

Kelsey and Chris March 20th, 2009

On the official first day of Spring, Kelsey and Chris were married at Heritage Park in Taylor.

Kelsey and Chris are a beautiful, young couple with strong family support and a terrific future ahead of them. Chis was one of the most patient grooms I've ever had, and Kelsey was the furthest thing from a Bridezilla you could ask for. As beautiful as Kelsey was, her little niece and flowergirl, Kylie, was more competition than a bride could want. This little show stopper is one of the stars of a new Music Video on my website... about Flowergirls.

You can see this Video now at http://www.indishphoto.com/ in the Music Video/Wedding section. I am delivering Kelsey and Chris's Music Video today and will wait to post that until they have seen it first. That is only fair, but I will say that this is one of the best Videos I have ever made. I used some photo's from their Engagement sitting last winter and mixed them with the Wedding photos. The engagement photo's and wedding photo's were shot in the same park which gave me some opportunities to mix the two in a very creative way. You can see some of their engagement shots elsewhere in this Blog. I hope they enjoy this Show as much as I enjoyed making it. I will let you know as soon as their Video is posted to my site... hopefully by tomorrow.


Great Wedding! You two look terrific together... When things get tough, and they do for everyone, pop your video in the DVD Player and remember all the feelings you had this day.
Randy