
Interestingly, for this image, I had to touch up the swimwear to make it suitable for distribution. Of course I prefer the original, but I was pleased, not only by how well, technically, the rework turned out, but aesthetically how well the 'new' swimsuit looked.

I started digital image processing in the late nineties and went exclusively digital as soon as I bought one of the first ever Canon 1Ds cameras sold in the UK in Feb 02. However, immediately I got it, I realised I could no longer just consider what I had in front of me to create the image i.e. model, make up, clothing, location, lighting and camera. I had to plan for and consider post production too. Now, I shoot knowing how I am going to be processing and retouching in post production. If I want to treat an image in a certain way in PhotoShop, then it had to be shot to allow that. Moreover, if I am looking at producing a series of images, then what I do during a shoot must be consistent to allow consistent post processing. Small variations in shooting conditions can cause unpredictable effects in post. While you can't always be in control of the light on your subject, when shooting multiple locations and outdoors, say, you have to know what effects these lighting changes are going to have, and be able to correct or work with them. Shooting blind aiming to correct everything in PhotoShop, has never, and will be an option for me.

Although attitudes are gradually changing, I do find it ironic that while photographers are often trying to class themselves as artists, and many traditional artists try to claim they are not, when a photographer produces an PhotoShopped image (which has a great deal more artistic input than the original photograph), they are accused by some of cheating. The image for them is somehow devalued or tainted by the post production. Thankfully, those attitudes are changing, and as a photographer who has never been able to divorce the process of image taking from the process of retouching, that is refreshing to see. What's more, I do enjoy pointing out that since the advent of digital photography, the whole industry has become much more artistic, not less.
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