When you're first starting out as a photographer, even after you've mastered the camera, there's a beast you must tackle before you really hit your stride - your style. Are you a light and airy photographer? Are you a fan of the dark and moody look? Or how hot is the film look right now, am I right??!!
Back in 2011 I wrote an article titled 3 Photos, 3 Ways. In the post I explored the impact processing can have on a photo. I used editing styles that were very popular at the time (and unfortunately also my noob "tilt" in almost every photo...) and applied them to each, including my edit of each image alongside. Looking back at that post now, it's interesting to see how dated those editing trends now look. Yup, just like really big hair or fanny packs, photographers go through trends just like everyone else.
I thought it would be fun to apply the same idea to images using trends for the past couple of years. Yes, the era of light and airy, dark and moody and film. The edit I delivered to the clients can be seen as the first in each series.
You know what's really tough? All of these edits work wonderfully on these images. I love the film trend right now with it's bright greens and man, can it really flatter the skin tones! On the flip side, sometimes when I'm editing, it's hard not to pull myself to a dark and moody edit. Some locations and some styling just really call to that look. In the end though, no matter how many times I experiment I always come back to my style that I consider a bold, colorful, classic edit.
Just as the post before this, this article is in no way meant to throw shade (gosh, let's see how this slang dates this in a few years...) on photographers who deliver images in any of the styles I have used. There are clients for every photographer and a photographer for every client. When choosing your photographer, it's important that you book that photographer because you like their work, you like their style and the end product is what you want to hang in your home. While it's possible for me to edit and mimic the style of other photographers, I want my clients to hire me because they love my work and my creative eye. Being on the same page before the session begins is a great way to find success with a photographer!
