why I don’t like selling "digital negatives"

I just got back from an AWESOME shoot with a two-year-old. Yes. I never thought I would say that sentence…

But anyway, Kirsten, my V-day Giveaway winner, and I were discussing digital files after the shoot (she’s started her own little photography business) and I told her that I strongly discourage my clients from buying the negatives because I personally feel like (for my work in particular) they are an unfinished product. So as I was going through our shots I found this one and thought it would be an excellent case in point. Now I usually try to stray away from crappy lighting (i.e. some things are in the sun, some in the shade, and the shadows aren’t where you want them to be…) but when I saw this car I thought, “It’s worth a shot”.

I don’t like using flash (some would use a “fill” flash in this instance), so I try to make do with natural light, be it good or bad. You can agree or disagree with my methods. But I’m always thinking about what I shot “can” be once I’m done with it. And when it leaves my camera, it’s only half way. Take a look below.

Now you’re probably thinking, “I can take a picture that crappy to begin with”. Maybe you can. But the thing is, if all my pictures looked like this SOC I’d be editing for the rest of my life. So the moral of the story is, make the picture as good as you can in camera, BUT if you see a hot green car in crappy light, go for it. Just make sure you finish the job before you claim you’re a professional.

(More to come of this darling and her wonderful parents next week…)