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The myth: A good camera is all you need.

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Why is that not true? Well………….I can tell you from first hand experience that my work from 14 years ago is NOT my work today. I knew pretty much nothing about proper lighting, color balance, posing and most definitely not a whole lot about editing.

Is she absolutely freaking adorable in the first photo? YES!!!! But, she isn’t lit properly, the color of the photo is off…..that backdrop was not quite that green tone in person for sure & there is a lot of color cast on her face from the surrounding area because I didn’t do proper white balance.

Does that mean you can’t get phenomenal pictures from an amazing camera using auto mode sometimes? No. Sometimes you get lucky and the light is perfect and the camera guesses the color and exposure correctly. I could take some pretty garbage photos today with my top of the line camera if I didn’t understand everything that goes into what it takes to make a good portrait……especially at my photography studio. I do not have much for natural light. I have florescent lights in the ceiling and the good light only comes in for an hour or two a day in one window & only in part of the studio.

Typically when I’m photographing people, I turn off the overhead lights so it doesn’t affect the color balance of my photos & only use my lighting gear. Otherwise I get a mix of light temperatures & it’s nearly impossible to fix.

Think of a chef using quality ingredients or a top of the line stove. Does that mean they are going to make the most phenomenal meal you’ve ever tasted? Not unless they know how to put it all together properly.