The world of photography has changed.
It wasn’t that long ago that before a photographer would hang a shingle, he or she would either spend several years in school studying the art, or they would spend countless years learning, honing and shooting to learn.
Digital cameras have changed that.
Does that make digital cameras bad – heavens no! But what it has done is allowed people who haven’t spend years training and learning to be able to go out and spend a paycheck or so on a camera that they know nothing about, passing themselves off as someone that does know photography and then selling (usually at a ridiculous price) prints from the local drug store or a disc filled with mediocre images at best.
There is a difference, and I think people are finally starting to realize it.
What people are realizing is QUALITY. What they get from a “soccer mom” photographer and someone who has studied the craft for decades is like comparing a cheap for to a really nice Lexus. They both do the same thing – it’s just that the Lexus looks so much better, and lasts a lot longer. (If your not sure what quality means – read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance ).
As you look at the following pages, please realize that I picked up my first camera in 1982 and shot my first wedding in 1984. Shortly after that I started taking High School Seniors and Family Portraits. In the late 1980′s I built my first studio in the basement of my home and expanded the number and quality of portraits that I was able to produce. Since that time I have worked for three different publishers as a photographer, worked for several studios shooting weddings and panoramic portraits (with as many as 700 people in the panoramas). I have taught photography and Photoshop classes and workshops for local and regional colleges and Educational Centers. Most of what I do both professionally and personally revolves around still or video photography or some aspect of photography. I have spent the last 28 years perfecting, honing and mastering my craft.
While I feel the way that I do about the “soccer mom” photographers, I have also trained many of them in this area both in the craft of photography and in utilizing Photoshop in their digital work flow.
Please think about why you are hiring a photographer and ask yourself who you best trust.