About a year ago, I had a college senior reach out to me about a graduation photoshoot. It was a last minute photoshoot that she wanted done the next day, and luckily I had availability in my schedule to do so. Unfortunately the night before it had rained, so in the morning the area we wanted to shoot at was a bit foggy. Nonetheless, she wanted to power through instead of reschedule, and by the end of the shoot she seemed happy with the photos that she saw when I showed her via in camera.
Later that day, when I sent her the raw, unedited photos, she replied with “I don’t like them. They don’t look Instagram-y”. I explained to her that the conditions were subpar, so that’s why they look a bit “grainy” and offered to reshoot her grad session.
Two days later, I saw her graduation photos on Instagram, shot by a different photographer, with a preset filter on them.
Even though this was a year ago, it has still effected me to this date, which persuaded me to write this blog post. When I do a shoot (regardless of what it is), I send the unedited versions to my clients. If they want to edit the photo, they are welcome to do so. The way that I edit my photos can be different from someone else editing their photos. That is their stylistic choice.
I wanted to provide some examples of how people put preset filters on their photos and then “become Instagram worthy”.
With all this in mind:
- I know I am a good photographer. I am always learning on how to be a better photographer.
- “Instagram worthy” photos cannot be done in camera, unless you have a magical camera.
- The way I edit my photos can be very different from how other people edit their photos.
- Presets can be helpful, but you don’t have to conform to society and use them.
Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.