How stories are created
tHE pROCESS
PREperation
It all begins with an idea. When prepping for shoots, I take into consideration a number of factors that will impact the process long before I touch my camera.
From the subject, to weather conditions, necessary equipment, time of day, lighting conditions, and a number of other things. I come to each shoot with a vision for the day already prepared.
Planning the day from beginning to end upfront not only guarantees I get images to fall in love with, but it ensures a smooth photoshoot even when hiccups occur.
Approximate time: 1-2 hours
Photoshoot
The day is here! I arrive on location early to double-check my gear, the location, and generally make sure nothing has gone wrong.
Once everything is ready, photography begins! You will see me capturing a lot of images. My goal is to tell the story of the day and that requires constant shooting.
I come with shots already planned, but there are always spur-of-the-moment photos no matter how much planning I do upfront. Using a mix of planned and unplanned shots gets the best images possible.
Approximate time: 2-16+ hours
DATA MANAGEMENT
After the photo shoot ends, I immediately back up all the images just in case something goes wrong at any point in the process. While photographing, I get two copies of every photo in the camera before uploading them to a computer. After which, a second copy of every image is uploaded to an external secure hard drive so there are two physical copies.
Finally, I upload one last copy of each image into cloud storage so I have backups in a location completely independent from me. Just in case there are any freak accidents or failures on my end, a third-party company will be able to recover the photos.
Approximate time: 1-2 hours
CULLING
Culling /sorting is typically the longest part of the process. Oftentimes, I leave a photo shoot with upwards of 1000 images. Processing this many photos isn’t realistic on most projects. This is where I cut down sessions to the most important images.
I go through every photo captured and evaluate how important it is to telling the day’s story.
If an image doesn’t work, it is removed from the gallery. This initial process will see the photocount drop drastically. For photoshoots with 1000+ photos, this will typically go down to around 200 which is much more manageable.
Approximate time: 10-12 hours
POST-PROCESSING
Now that the best images have been selected, I then go through and process /edit each image taking into consideration several factors.
Editing will look different for every photographer, but my #1 philosophy is to enhance reality, not change it! It is a disservice to telling the day’s story to overtly modify images.
Using Capture One, I will individually adjust each photo using a number of tools. The most important factors I look into are color, light enhancement, and retaining accurate skin tones.
For my portrait sessions, very basic retouching will occur here (Removal of stray hairs, blemishes, teeth whitening, etc.). These are very slight enhancements to the photo to take away any small details that could distract from the moment.
Approximate time: 8-12 hours
RETOUCHING
For those of you interested in retouching, that happens here!
Retouching is where images get that glamorous look you see in magazines/celebrity photos as opposed to a more natural look.
I will not remove your natural beauty (moles, freckles, scars, body/face shape, etc.). I strongly believe changing any of these does not accurately represent the person. It’s disingenuous and destructive.
Generally, if there’s something on a face/body that will remain for 2+ weeks, I will not remove it, but pimples, stray cuts, or anything temporary is fair game for removal!
Approximate time: 1 hour per image
REVIEW
Before the images are delivered, I do one last check for each photo to make sure nothing slipped through the cracks.
If there needs to be any last-minute changes, edits, or recovery, this is the point in the process I will do so.
From there, I will begin compiling and sorting each of the photos into organized folders to make navigation easy. Finally, I will upload the images to the transfer portal.
Approximate time: 1-2 hours
DELIVERY
All of your images, beautifully edited, in your inbox.
One story at a time