By Michael Murchie
There is nothing new under the sun – everyone is doing something that has been done before. I hear a lot of photographers claiming they were the first to do this or that but it’s a rare thing to find one that actually has. Most photographers are influenced by the work of another and then add their own creative bent to it. I do exactly the same.
When agents or clients book me they are generally looking for one style of image – raw, natural light, black and white and lots of skin. Unless it is specifically requested I rarely use hair stylists or make-up artists. I use Photoshop sparingly – generally, only to fix contrast, dodge and burn and occasionally the clone stamp to remove the latest break-out (yes models get pimples too!). I have no interest in changing body shape or features, only to highlight what is already there and remove temporary blemishes.
I learnt photography with film. Back when you had 24 -36 images on a $5 roll of 35mm film or even worse 12 images on a $10 roll of 120 (medium format) film! You couldn’t afford to waste film – you had to get it right inside the camera. There was no Photoshop in the darkroom! There was, however, dodging and burning. To this day I still try and compose and light every shot as if there was no such thing as photo editing software, as if I was still shooting that $10 roll of film to get 1 perfect shot.
Since the days of Daguerre and Fox Talbot photographers have worked with available light and prevailing conditions, many of us still do it today. I love shooting in the raw whether indoors or outdoors, partly because I am too cheap to hire a creative team but mostly because I love the raw, natural results I get after working with the prevailing conditions. Photographers, try it – you will like it
Website: Michael Murchie
