The last few years have been one forced change of pace after another. I won’t rehash all of that here because, in all honesty, my course has been far steadier than many people I know. I’m not only happy to be standing on my own two feet, but happy with where those feet are standing!
The Usual Pace
This time of year has always been interesting for photography. From mid-March to late-May, my work schedule keeps me pretty busy. This includes some portraits I get to capture in off-hour events. Finding time for any sessions can be quite the challenge. With my recent job change, I find this particular year to be even more so.
Still, I manage to find time to shoot. The last few sessions have actually been of the fun, releasing steam variety. I have a lot of images to go through and I realized that I have seriously changed my editing pace. While working on a few images last night, I began to wonder: Is it time to change?
I am an impatient person when it comes to photo edits. I want to get them done so I can move on to the next thing. Not enough to farm out what I do, but enough to keep thinking about the next set. When I do large groups of commercial portraits (a.k.a. “headshots”) or event photography, I tend to return edited images in a very short amount of time. Often, this is out of necessity, but also because these sort of images should not need much editing.
For my other clients; models, high school seniors, designers, etc; I tend to slow it down. I rip through a typical edit in a minute or two and typically provide proofs to models within a couple of hours of parting ways after a shoot. On average, I return fully edited image sets within a week.
A Change of Pace
Currently, I have two sessions in the queue. One was purely for my creative explorations so there is no rush. The other was a last-minute arrangement with a model with whom I have enjoyed working. I want to get through both, but I find myself moving rather slowly. Last night, while working up an edit, it occurred to me that this was not a bad thing. Looking at the last few images, I realize that a change of pace might be just what the doctor ordered.
I still aim to return images in my advertised 1-2 week time frame. However, I’m going to kick back and relax a bit and really think about how and why I edit the way I do.
Keep an eye out. Between family, work, and photography, I am also working on some much-needed website updates. There is so much I want to do and so little time…
I shot for s couple of years before I realized the value of taking your time. I used to be the guy that had to get something posted within 60 minutes of finishing a session. Now, I don’t even look at photos I took for a couple of days at least before I start to cull through them, picking out the ones I’ll deem usable. After that it might be another day or two before I actually work on them.
The value I believe is having fresh eyes and a fresh perspective. I might think a shot looks amazing during the shoot but looking at it a couple of days later it may not have been that great after all. Exceptions are still like you mentioned like high volume headshots. Do a once over with spot healing and you’re done.
It’s good to slow down. Your work will be better because of it.
Thanks for the comment, Charlie. I appreciate your insight. Not being sarcastic when I say that part of me needs the permission of my peers to rethink how I’m doing things.