Wow-Your Camera Takes Really Good Pictures

"Wow, your camera takes really good pictures!" is a phrase that most photographers have heard before. And though my Sony A7iii is a great camera, it also has a lot to do with my operating ability as well as my editing techniques.

If you have ever owned a DSLR camera, you know that there's different settings you can use. I primarily utilize the manual mode setting. That means that I set my aperture, ISO, and my shutter speed. If I didn't understand how these three settings work, my photos could be completely black for an underexposed image or completely white for an overexposed image. By controlling the aperture, I choose the depth of field, or how much blur occurs in the background of the subject.

Portrait photographers utilize a shooting technique that is called RAW. Most hobbyist shoot in the JPG format. The benefit for shooting in the JPG format is that the camera chooses the best colors. This format is most frequently utilized when images need to be turned over quickly for publication--such as sports photographers. Matthew from Christian Photo

Portrait photographers, myself included, opt to shoot with RAW format. When I am photographing a session, I will frequently show my clients the back of the camera. The back of the camera is a JPG version of the shot. When I get home and upload the RAW files into my catalogue, they lack contrast and the punchy colors that you're used to seeing with my photos. A RAW file is also huge compared to a JPG file, so the benefit of shooting RAW is that is preserves so many more details than the JPG version. I am able to bring out the sparkle in people's eyes and the definition in the clouds. You cannot load a RAW file directly onto your computer's hard drive, it needs to be viewed and converted in a photo editing program before it can be sent to others.

This also means that photographers will not release their RAW images--at least not without a very heavy price tag involved. This is industry standard and the dozen or so photographers I personally know, will not release their RAW files at all. Why is that? Well, our name is imbedded into the metadata for each image we take. I wouldn't want someone to take the photo I shot and upload it--unedited. That is not a reflection of my work. Nor would I want someone to edit the photo in a way that isn't true to my style. That is a reflection of me as a photographer and that is a gamble that I am not willing to take.

I shared an example of an unedited RAW image last year in a blog post. But I'd also like to share a side-by-side view of a RAW image vs my edited version that I provided the family.

When you see the side-by-side photos of this extended family session, you can immediately see that the horizon was not straight and I was overdue for a chiropractic adjustment. In my edit, I straightened the lines, centered the family within the pillars of their front porch, removed the power cords, and touched up the paint on the siding.

I also brightened the photo and added contrast. The colors in the RAW image were very muted and almost muddy looking. In the edit, everyone's faces are brightened and clearly visible. The family would not be happy to receive the photo on the left and have it framed in their home. A RAW image must be edited because it lacks luster and vibrance.

Although photo editing technology has improved greatly from dodging and burning in a dark room, the removing of objects, like the extension cords for the Christmas lights, are best left to the professionals.

Sometimes I don't get it right in camera but I'm able to salvage an image. That was the case with Francesa's barn photos with her horse. A horse is a very large, very powerful animal that moves quickly. The lighting was changing rapidly as the sun was setting and my settings needed to be adjusted each step of the way. And I wasn't able to adjust fast enough, which resulted in an overexposed photo. Luckily, I was able to do some editing to bring it back to what our eye saw, plus pop the colors a bit more.

As you can see, my camera does take decent photos, but so much also has to do with my ability to dial in the correct settings as well as editing the photo in post-processing to achieve the desired look. My style is going to continue to change as I gain more knowledge and master more techniques,