Newlywed couple on Carmel Beach. January 3, 2022.
Salinas, CA- Before you put the memories of your wedding into just anyone’s hands, it’s important to know your photographer’s style before you book. Photography is a form of art. There is no right or wrong way to photograph a subject. There are better ways to photograph something that are more appealing to the eye, but like other forms of art, there is no wrong way. Each and every photographer is going to have their own style. It may not be very apparent as they are photographing you but it will be quite obvious when your final photos are delivered.
If you find yourself needing a photographer to photograph your family, engagement, or wedding, it’s in your best interest to know what their style is. I highly recommend you visit their online portfolio before booking so you know what to expect your final images to look like.
Some photographers like to produce black and white images, others will remove most of the color. A very popular style I see all the time on Instagram is this look where the photographer blows out the sky so there’s no detail, just white. Personally, I’m not a big fan of that look but I’ll get to this later. Photographers with a wide range can edit photos any way you like but they excel at their own, comfortable style.
If you like a photographer that shoots mostly in black and white but you want color photos, don’t go to them. Find a photographer that fits the style you’re looking for because that’s what separates them from the competition. If you’re paying $3,999 for wedding photos, you don’t want to be surprised when they are delivered to you.
So let’s dive into what kind of images you can expect from your photography session with High Orbit Media.
Making Your Photos Pop.
Carmel Valley, 2021.
I really like color. I want to make my subjects pop while catching their true character. The family in the above image helped me out a lot by nailing their fall outfits. Sometimes without even mentioning it, clients will tell me what kind of photos they are looking for. Because they showed up in colorful clothing, there’s no way they want their photos desaturated. They want color! They want to stand out! Now, in the below images, notice the difference in locations. Not where they are on the map, but look at the colors.
With very colorful locations I will enhance the color slightly while keeping it realistic.
In locations without much color, I will darken the background a bit making my colorful subjects pop against it.
The family on the left are in a very bright and colorful spot whereas the family on the right is in a gloomy, almost colorless location. In my opinion, both work extremely well. I really enjoy adding a spot of color on a bleak landscape. It draws your eye directly to your subject. Also, the second photo is another example of a family telling me they want color in their final images without telling me they want color in their final images. The bottom line is, if you show up in color I’m going to enhance it and make it pop.
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Adding Mood to YouR Photos.
Whether it’s a bright, sunny day or a dark, gloomy one, your photos with High Orbit Media are going to have MOOD. I am a natural light photographer which means I’m not bringing a big lighting set up to our shoot. We will use the power of the sun!
This was the sunrise on Feb 12, 2022 taken from Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz, CA.
If I could have it my way, we would always have cloudy days and clear nights. Not only am I a very light skinned person who doesn’t do well in direct sunlight, but clouds make for great texture in the sky. They also can add depth and create all sorts of moods depending on how they block the light. Clear blue skies, while bright and cheery, don’t add much to photos. Let’s take a look at some great cloudy day photos.
Notice how soft the light is with the overcast sky. There are no harsh shadows and the light is even across my subjects. Now let’s look at some sunny day photos.
You can see the difference between soft light and harsh light. These are still great shots, but if I could have it my way, we would throw some clouds in the sky.
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The Photo Editing Process
Let’s look at a couple photo examples with humans as our subject. So what did I do here? My goal when editing photos is to avoid making the final image look fake but I also what to enhance what was already provided. This happy mama told me without telling me that she wanted color in her photos. Not just color, but bright color.
This is the RAW image straight out of the camera…
…and this is the touched up final image.
Also, on the day we shot this maternity session, it was very bright with not a cloud in sight. So when I edited this, I wasn’t going to try and darken it. I’m going to enhance that bright, happy, cheerful look. Since the sun was coming from our left, I’ve brightened that side of the image and warmed it up a bit. I have also lightened the shadow on her face so her expression is clear. I’ve lightened her dress and added a bit of saturation to it to really make it pop. I have also enhanced the blue of the sky and ocean.
Lastly, I try to look for anything in the image that takes my eye away from my subject. Often times that can be seagulls, planes, sailboats, or anything that is bright on a dark background (or vise versa). In this image, I removed the gulls on the horizon as they just look like dark smudges that add nothing. This is the journey from raw to final. Here are a few more examples of taking a bland, raw image and making it awesome.
Raw image.
Final image.
Notice the removal of the distracting beach debris. The light is enhanced from the left, the shadows are lightened, and I’ve also made a few more minor adjustments.
It’s also important to know what I won’t edit. If you have birthmarks visible or scars I will not remove those. Those are part of you and tell your story. I will remove minor cuts, blemishes, or zits. Unless you tell me specifically you’d like certain things on your face or arms removed I will leave it.
I also will not add fake elements. I will not add a fake sky or background, and I will not add people in who weren’t there. If your uncle missed the wedding, I will not photoshop him into the the group photo. That’s on him, haha.
Posed vs. Candid Photography
While most of the photos in this blog were posed, I really enjoy the challenge of catching great candids. In my experience nothing brings out your true self better than a great candid photo. There have been so many times at weddings and events that I see a great candid moment happening and raise my camera to capture it and as I do so the people I was going to photograph stop doing what they were doing and pose and smile (or run for the hills).
Although the posed picture will be a good one, the moment I saw happening was the better photo because that was the TRUE moment. No matter how good everyone looks in a posed photo or how great the lighting is, there’s always something a little fake about posed photos.
I love those real, not posing for the camera smiles. Those are the real laughs. Those are the true reactions. There’s difficulty in capturing those moments because they’re very fleeting and you have to anticipate them. As a photographer, I welcome this challenge. Here are some great candid moments below.
In the above sequence the young woman on the right just announced that she and her husband were having a baby. The final image was taken right after he asked me if I was in on the secret (I wasn’t). Here are more good ones from various events below.
These are just a few selections of some of my best candid work but look at those smiles and emotions. Those are 100% real. That’s what I’m after when I’m working with you.
Overall
I hope this blog gave you a solid sense of what you can expect when booking with High Orbit Media. I’m going to set the mood, make that color pop, and catch those real moments. You’re going to look great!
Go ahead. How many times do you get to hit a LAUNCH button in your life?
John Ruddock is a professional photographer based in Salinas, CA. John grew up on the coast in Half Moon Bay and has spent over 30 years on the beautiful California central coast. He photographs weddings, engagements, families, sports, and landscapes from Half Moon Bay to Big Sur. Contact him today to book your session! You can also buy prints of his best images right here.
