26 Jul WHAT ARE POST PRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHS?
“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed”.
– Ansel Adams –
When I meet my couples for wedding photography services, and my clients in general, when it’s time to explain how they work and what they will get at the end, after my sentence “you will have a X number of post produced pictures” in their faces I always see the usual lost expression, often followed by questions like the inevitable:” Are the photographs that I’ll get printed? “
I always try to explain the concept of post produced photographs. In facts, despite the advent of digital has revolutionized our lives, people still use the same equation of photographer work = printed photos. I’d like to clarify this aspect. As it happens for all professions that have to do with creativity and intellect the customers are a little bit embarrassed to understand why they have to pay you when they receive nothing tangible as a printed photo. Often the client does not know how much and what work is actually behind the final photo you like and that you see on a web site or a social network profile (not to mention the classic commentary in front of a successful photo “ah, easy with photoshop! “). So, there is the need to distinguish between the photographic service and photographic products that can complete it.
Post production is a long process that takes time and patience and begins with setting photo values (sharpness, color saturation, lights and shadows, contrasts, white balance …).
Beyond the technicalities, about which I do not want to talk a lot, what I’m going to point out is that during the post production the photo undergoes a process of appreciating and interpreting it. The photographer, seeks a result dictated by feelings, moods and emotions that her wants to evoke. It is through this process that the photographer creates a personal image, distinct and recognizable by the others, because of its own recognizable impression.
I wanted to write this post also because it is fundamental that “those who hire me are completely aware of their choice.”
When I explain to my client how I use to work, I try to explain these details carefully; I show my works, the albums, and my style. Anyway, sometimes the spouses ask for some strange things, such as removing people from photos, adding landscapes that are not there, or even cloned someone into one or more images.
To be honest, these are things you cannot ask me. Not only because I want to deliver you an elegant job that does not annoy you over time, but also because I believe deeply in the documentary value of photography, because I do wedding reportage, and because I believe post production is a means of enhancing photos, and not a means to overthrow them.
Ultimately, the infinite possible post-production processes are merely the result of the artistic sense of the photographer and are made in total independence. It is up to the customer to understand if this kind of interpretation reflects their tastes and choose accordingly.
