Yea I'm going to go there
I get it, you pick up a camera, learn the basics and you're off and running with a newfound passion for photography. It's a wonderful feeling, to say the least. What starts to happen - and yes I can attest to this because I fell victim to it as well. Like with any other creative industry we see trends. Ones that thankfully pass quickly, while others stick around longer than they should. Well, I'm here to call out one that needs to move right along.
Overly Edited Photographs
While as a photographer it might seem fun to add a ridiculous amount of muted tones in the shadows or pull out the highlights to flatten everything because everyone's doing it on Instagram and you feel like it sets you apart. It doesn't. Seriously. Back about 10 years ago the vintage look was running strong throughout the wedding scene and when I think back about the hundreds of images I slathered that crappy preset on, it breaks my heart. I mean the clients were happy, and at the time those images were oh so trendy. But fast forward to today. When or if my client pulls out that cherished album they get to see overly edited images with a heavy filter process run amuck throughout the whole dam gallery. Gross.
I was a bride once and I'm so grateful my photographer stuck to a clean, fresh look where all the colors and tones of the day were preserved with what they actually were to the naked eye. He didn't cave to some BS coloring that all the influencers were using lol.
Clean it up
After a couple of years and returning all my wedding images to a variety of clients with the same coloring (barf), something woke me up. Maybe it was one of the workshops I did with Dave Mecey - who is the ultimate guru when it comes to kickass lighting and color theory. Or maybe it was working with interns who were learning and going through the white balance guidelines that shook some damn sense into me. I chose to toss out my cherished trendy presets and focused on clean exposures that would only need slight editing if any unforeseen circumstances took place that I couldn't handle in-camera. If you're a photographer who has fallen victim to this trend I urge you to delete those presets, trust in your vision, and empower yourself to deliver timeless, high-quality work to the folks who hired you.
