Sorry, been really busy to get a chance to reply. June is Christmas around here.
You asked about how long it would take to get a properly exposed image ready for the lab. If you've done the job correctly behind the camera, you can easily treat the file identically as you would have film. Send it in and if you have a great lab, they'll do the rest. The advantage is no more courier costs to the lab, just email or ftp it. If the image is good, I might spend 3 minutes fussing with it. With my normal production stuff, I spend 10 seconds per image at the most.
The other replies are correct though and what I was alluding to is that photographers spend hours fiddling with images for the same reason crazy people climb Mt. Everest - because it's there. In the old film days, the lab did miracles taking badly exposed images and making them salable, now photographers have taken over that role. Switching faces, straightening clothing is pretty normal, partly because we can do it, partly because our customers have come to expect it.
Many of my customers own cracked versions of Photoshop and make a point of telling me how great they are at it. It certainly keeps me on my toes. I recently had a 4th year Graphic Arts grad in for a Grad portrait (he came to me after hating the one from my competitor) I spend 3 minutes cleaning up his complexion and replacing one eye lid that was slightly droopy. He was shocked how fast and easily I did it in front of him. I silently wondered what he had been doing for 4 years at college.
The other point brought up is that the standard studio style portrait is becoming a rare item anymore. It's limited to older generation folk who expect that style. Most portraits now are much more casual and honestly, easier in some respects but much more challenging in others. Cameras can now easily take fabulous portraits where film could never go. Creativity is king since the old restrictions on lighting, etc have been banished.
If you have the funds, I'd go for a Canon 5DM2. If you're not sure, get a used 5D or a Nikon and just start shooting. The one thing that has not changed (thank god) is that experience is still what your competition lacks. What you learned years ago for posing, lighting, customer service, etc. is still needed, just has to be tweaked a bit. Personally, I used to shoot 4x5, then 6x7, then 6x4.5, then 35, now digital for 8 years. In the beginning digital was rough and it was tough going. Now I would have no hesitation in telling you to forget MF unless you needed it for specific jobs (usually commercial). Save your money on pricey cameras and invest it in good glass. With the incredible quality of sensors now, cheaper lenses just won't do the job anymore. I think you'll find everyone on this forum will agree with that. A camera will be outdated (though still very usable) in 3 years, great glass will last decades.
I'd also take some Photoshop classes on-line. Lynda.com has some fabulous training sessions that are very cheap monthly. It's rare to find people that can learn PS on their own, it's so much easier to watch someone for the first while.
Don't get bogged down with raw vs jpg, too much software or too much techie computer stuff. Apart from Noel & Doug and a few others
, most of us really do not enjoy spending hours staring at at a computer screen. Go out and have fun.
Doug
Linear Mode
