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Re: Chicago...my first...
Old 04-05-2006, 04:47 PM   #9 (permalink)
Driftwood
Lifetime Photographer

 
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Join Date: Jul 2005
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Location: Swansea, UK
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There are things that I was quite pleased with, but on the whole I'm not even sure that I like the whole "glamour" thing. I loved working in the studio, loved working with the places the light fell, and the models with whom I had the opportunity to work were wonderful. Even so, my aversion to the mandatory Photoshop "improvements" just makes the whole thing feel empty. I understand that photographers have always mananged their darkroom techniques to get the most out of a photograph, but to me it is starting to sound like a crutch. I guess it all depends on the individual using it, but it does suck some of the fun out of it for me.

If I need Photoshop to make Tiffany look beatiful or bring out Kat's sensuality than it's time to take up golf again.
Simply wanting to get the results you want without resorting to Photoshop is no reason to give up. Like many others, I shot most of my glamour work on 35mm or Medium Format transparency film. No photoshop options. Getting the exposure spot on in camera is the first requirement. Seeing the light and getting the lighting ratios right will take you the next step, and it can all be done in camera. That remains true even if you are now shooting digital.
Yes, Photoshop will allow you to recover from a lot of your mistakes (I use it all the time<img>), but that doesn't mean you can't get it right in camera.

Don't know why you are seeing such a big difference between your originals and what you posted, but I did open the images in Photoshop and checked the levels, and most appear to suggest some underexposure. I don't think the levels are altered in the jpeg compression (somebody correct me if I'm wrong please) so I assume the same is true of the original files.

My personal recommendation for honing exposure and lighting skills is transparency film. No interference from monitor calibrations, compression algorithms or anything else. You just look at the slide and you know immediately if you got it right or got it wrong.

Photoshop is a tool in the digital toolbox, don't let anyone convince you that you can't make great pictures without it.

Just realised something ........... I miss my Kodachrome. <img>
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Regards,
Kevin.
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