To Texture or Not to Texture? That is the Question.

It is a constant struggle dealing with the concept of editing. Editing was what you did to fix a mistake at the time of the capture, or so I thought. Anything other than basic color enhancements can truly change the theme and/or mood of a portrait in my opinion. That struggle with how much does a photographer have the right to change an original intensified when I determined that adding texture was a trendy trend!

What to do! After careful consideration I thought I would at least learn HOW to make and apply a texture. What harm could that do? Little did I know that texture is an addiction. Not only that, texture is a skill. Restraint is necessary as not every picture lends itself to the technique and not every texture lends itself to all photographs. I wonder if I am up to the challenge? You decide. I think this portrait is enhanced by the addition of several textures. And since the original is not posted you may have no choice but to agree with my artistic vision. (I have never been known to let the opinions of others dictate my choices!)

After much soul searching, and browsing the threads of flickr.com I finally found that "light bulb moment" that changed my entire thought process as far as artistic expression was concerned. When several professional photographers were asked this very question, whether digital enhancement was still the art of photography, one answered: "No, digital photography is an art of it's own".

Look At Me Ma....

It's amazing what you can do out of both necessity and desire. Since Christmas I have made what could be called an early New Year's resolution to jump full force into this photography thing I have been calling a "business" for about 11 years now. In fact, I suppose what it has been is a dream not brought to fruitition, a past time with a little monetary gain, an excuse to stay at home with my young children yet still feel like I could contribute to the finances of our household.

Although I have been somewhat busy the past several years, my type-A personality insists I take on the challenge of becoming really good (if not great!) at both the artistic and business sides of photography. Now with an arsenal of professional cameras, lenses, equipment, and studio gear at my disposal it is time to actively search out new horizons...

Since this "great revelation" almost 3 months ago, I have learned how to use photoshop, lightroom, and Nikon Capture. I now can operate the many features and functions of my camera with my eyes closed. I have created my own website with NO web design experience (and thank you to my one and only sister-in-law on my side) I have managed to even get it online. I have moved into the world of brushes, presets, actions, and textures. And lo and behold I hope that when I click "publish post" I will also have started my very own personal/business blog!

Wish me luck! To my friends Lori and Wendy who have been a great source of support (carrying the load of my volunteer obligations until I get solidly into the technical world)... THANK YOU!! To my clients who have supported my art over the years.... watch out for amazing things to come. To those sour lemons in my life... I am soon to be toasting you with the best tasting lemonade ever made.