Know When You Don’t Know

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A portrait of juggler John Doyle, circa 1902, by Canadian-born photographer Joseph Pasonault in his photo studio in Cando, North Dakota, (US Library of Congress). Another photo by Pasonault was used in a previous blog post.

True professionals may not know what they don’t know but at least they know that they don’t know.

You may have heard of the Dunning-Kruger effect which affects almost everyone. It’s a cognitive bias where those with a low ability at a certain task are more likely to overestimate their ability at that task. But people with a high ability at a task know that they don’t know everything about that task and may underestimate their ability.
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Is Your Website Hurting Your Business?

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Ross Brothers Hardware (L) on Jasper Avenue at 98 Street in downtown Edmonton, Alberta, circa 1890 (Library and Archives Canada). The store was in operation until 1960 after which the hardware store and some of its neighbours were relocated to Fort Edmonton Park.

Today that downtown location of Jasper Avenue and (no longer existing) 98 Street is right across the street from the Edmonton Convention Centre which hosts all sorts of conventions and conferences.

What year is it, 2024? Web sites have been around for over 30 years. So why do some photographers not know how to make a decent web site?
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Retouching Business Groups

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Probably not the best pose for a group of businessmen, circa 1890s. (Charles Milton Bell / US Library of Congress)

Retouching Business Group Photos

A company last week sent me 22 group photos of its employees and asked for a retouching quote. The photos were shot by a professional photographer whose name was in the embedded Exif data. A quick look at this photographer’s web site showed that she specializes in actor headshots and fashion/entertainment events.
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Retouching Wedding Photos

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Textile conservators uncrate Lady Diana’s 1981 royal wedding gown in preparation for a celebration of her life in Toronto, 09 December 2003.

This is another view-from-my-office photo.

A large portion of my photo retouching is fixing and polishing business headshots so the person looks their best. I’ve done some commercial retouching where the work was more technical than creative. For examples: placing images onto TV screens and computer displays, changing a company’s logo in its marketing photos, and adding drop shadows to various products. I also retouch photos of completed house renovations.
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Photo Retouching To Fix Bad Photography

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I just finished retouching another batch of business headshots. The customer appears to have hired a professional photographer. I say this only because the Exif data embedded in the photos showed that a pro camera and pro lens were used. But the headshots looked like they were shot by an amateur:

• The photos were shot with an off-camera hotshoe flash in a white umbrella. I know this because the catchlights in everyone’s eyes clearly showed the reflection of a small, rectangular flash, the ribs of an umbrell, and a light stand.

• It was painfully obvious that no posing advice was given to anyone. Nothing but slouchy, sloppy, awkward poses along with some poor facial expressions. None of this could be fixed with retouching.

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Photo Retouching – Higher Rates Can Be Better

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During a long day of photographing the same thing over and over again, such as shooting five or six tennis matches in a day, it’s good to find something different to photograph. Often I will shoot the players’ shoes as they serve, their hands as they hold a cluster of tennis balls, or their towel-covered face as they wipe off the sweat.

This is another view-from-my-office photo.

Someone recently asked for a price to retouch two business headshots. I said my rate is $140 per hour but I would first need to see the photos. After reviewing the two pictures, I quoted them 20-minutes per photo or $93 total plus tax. They accepted the quote, I did the retouching, and they were happy with the results. Another normal day of photo retouching.
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Creating A Photo Estimate

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In BMX cycling, if you want to nail your landing, you first have to nail your launch. These cyclists were competing in the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, July 2015. This is another view-from-my-office photo.

If a photographer wants to properly complete a job, they first have to properly start the job with a well-written estimate.

(This post is for new photographers.)

A potential customer asks you for a price to photograph something. What do you do?
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