Film photography is an incredibly rewarding artistic outlet. I have to be so careful and so precise and that makes the payoff so much more exciting and thrilling than digital photography. Film is also prettier than digital, but I'll save that thought for another post.
Once and a while (more like twice and a while for this sort of film newbie) I make an error-- a poor reading on the light meter, not rating the film accurately, forgetting to switch between spot and bulb metering etc.. I think even seasoned professionals make these same mistakes, the only difference between them and a newbie is they have the knowledge and ability to correct their mistakes in post via Photoshop. This kind of stuff isn't really taught. I mean Photoshop classes and tool how-to's are out there and are super helpful and some tips and hints make a difference but, experience is key and the more I photograph and play with my images, the more secrets of the trade I've been able to pick up. One sort of gets a feel for what an image needs, it becomes emotional and when you nail it you earn back that payoff that the poor exposure snagged away and a new skill up your sleeve.
I've been using Photoshop for four years now and I have a pretty healthy amount of skills up my sleeves. But it has taken time. I try to keep things clean and color true to what my eye saw the day of the image. I use just the tools provided to me in Photoshop. I don't use actions-- I used to use them, probably $1,000 worth of them, and I always felt disappointed with my work. It's a much more artistic approach to take when you hand edit everything and keep it true to your eye. Actions are someone else's vision.
This particular image I am sharing with you in the editing video below was underexposed and I worried I missed out on capturing this great moment with that care and precision needed for film. I decided to mess around with a Curves layer. I had typically stuck with using Levels but felt it wasn't doing the job so I jumped out of my comfort zone and taught myself how to "werk the Curves". Now I use a Curves layer on nearly every image I edit to fix any mishaps that happen occasionally when I photograph. This is sort of starting to sound like an advertisement for the Curves layer...oh well.
This is one of my favorite photographs. It's filled with emotion and personality My little guy didn't want to take a bath. Bath time means bedtime. He was pouty and turned off by the idea of his day ending. He was also still so young and small and squishy. His cheeks where still so chubby and saggy. His whole heart was on display in this image and I was super bummed when it came back so dark. I played around for a while and was able to get back that creaminess in his little toddler complexion and highlight his wispy blonde fine baby hair and shine some light back on to him in order to show off his mood. Kids don't always have to be smiling-- they aren't always smiling at home. They have so many emotions and moods that really tell a story of who they are. This image depicts his exact feelings about bedtime at this age and a new milestone-- he was starting to associated bath time with bedtime.
Have a watch. I love constructive feedback and tips so please comment but remember to always be kind. And as always, thanks for following along.
