Selecting the Right Style and Effects for Images

Many people view photography as simply as you take the picture and you print it. Done deal. However, photography is like a terrific recipe, there are a lot of ingredients that go into the perfect outcome. Taste is a subjective thing; so is the world of photo editing. You see, it is not just as simple as clicking the shutter. Post editing offers so many choices for both creativity and enhancement that can truly effect the outcome of a photo. So how do you go about selecting the right style and effects for images? How do you determine which choice is right for your customer?

As a photographer, you cannot possibly make the right choice without first getting to know your customer and what drew them to you in the first place. If it was merely the referral of a friend, then it is up to you to find out what photo styles they like. This can be accomplished by asking them questions about different sample images on your website or in your portfolio. Or if you have a group of actions that you typically like to use, perhaps you can take one image and show them different style choices for that photo. This may be something you may want to do yourself before editing a batch of photos from a session to determine which styles & effects best depict what you envisioned creatively. Let me show you an example of this...

You can see from the example above, how these simple changes to lighting & color can effect the overall tone and mood of a photograph. Now, the choice is up to you to match the imagery both the style of photography that you want associated with your name, and most importantly, creating a finished product that is what your customer desires. My tip is to really ask those questions before shooting so you know going into your shoot what look you are trying to achieve.

For more photo examples visit my website. I hope that this article inspires you to live life creatively both through your lens as well as through your post editing work!