Styles and effects

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Styles and effects.

The link to an interesting article was sent to me the other day by Julie Howell. (www.juliehowellpr.com )
It highlights the trend for photo applications such as Instagram, Hipstamatic, Camerabag and the ‘retro’ effect that we see in many photos at the moment.

I have to confess I have never used any of these applications as I use Photoshop and Lightroom.  I also tend not to add a specific effect to my pictures preferring to capture the day naturally and portray the spirit and character of the couple.
If a wedding I am covering is for example, ‘vintage’  I hope that quality will come across in my photographs,  but I may use warm toned black and whites and perhaps muted colours on a few of the pcitures, to add to the feel, but if a wedding is very modern or has a country house traditional, elegant style, that is how the photographs should feel.
I suppose what I am saying is that I don’t stick to one style.

I trained in film and many of my early pictures looked very similar to the retro style created using Instagram now.. Though this was not through design, but the camera I was using, the film type and very often mistakes I was making, flare, colour cast and bad processing, (ahh… I miss rocking developing trays back and forth and the smell of fixer!) . 
When I moved to digital I had already been taking pictures for many years and the knowledge learnt over that time, at college and through experience was and is all still relevant, most importantly the basics of light and how it is captured in your camera, but instead of chemicals,  masks and using your hand to dodge areas under the enlarger, there is the dodge tool and masks and clone stamps on the computer, or Plugin effects and applications.

I think anything that makes someone want to take a photograph and make it look as good as possible, is great, and I do love ‘retro’ style in the right place, but be creative, play around with syles, don’t copy them and make the syle relevant for the subject matter.

One thing I always have in mind when taking photos is that every good picture comes down to one basic (or not so basic) piece of equipment… your eye, and no amount of work in any application from phone apps to the latest Photoshop and it’s plugins can replace that.

Link to article.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17667891

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