There are so many benefits to digital imaging, but I think the main one is the removal of caution. When shooting with film it's always uppermost in my mind not to waste shots. With digital I can throw caution to the wind, take lots of shots, take creative chances and above all, be sure that I have plenty of really beautiful photographs for you to choose from. If you are uncomfortable in front of a camera, or always seem to be disappointed in photos of yourself, your'e going to love digital. Once you've seen the first few shots that you like, it's an amazing confidence booster, and the rest of the shoot actually becomes great fun.
Studio photographs are ready to be viewed straight away on the computer, so you can be sure that you are happy with the results, and choose the coloring you prefer for each photo. It leaves nothing to chance, and no disappointing surprises when you receive your prints.
digital enhancement and restoration
I think this is the most exciting aspect of digital photography, and with results like these you've just got to love modern technology. You may feel this is cheating, and well, it probably is. I personally think if you're going to be immortalized in a photograph you may as well look your very best. The media have been printing retouched photographs of famous people since the invention of photography itself. So why should we mere mortals feel guilty about removing the odd blemish or wrinkle?
Another miracle of digital enhancement is the ability to restore old and damaged photographs. During this procedure the original is scanned and then immediately returned to you, so you don't have to worry about it's safety. There are two samples of restored, very old photographs at the bottom of this page. Please have a look at the examples below.
All of the images will change as you roll your mouse over them. Some will reveal a third image if you click on them.
This is a very recent photo of me. Apart from the fact that I've had pimple issues since I hit puberty, some 20 years ago, I now have dark puffy eyes which I believe I can blame mostly on being a tired Mum.
I think despite all my faults this is still quite a nice photo, and worth a bit of digital enhancement. I don't like to go too overboard. (Though it's tempting) It's usually best to make sure it still looks believable.
I've included a black & white version of this photo to demonstrate just how much it can change the dynamics of a portrait. Just click on the image to see it in B&W.
This is my son, Edward, at 13 weeks old. As you can see he had pretty bad eczema on his face. We really wanted photos of him as a young baby, but this is not the way we wish to remember our sweet little boy.... covered with nasty, red rash.
Luckily it was only an infant faze, and by six months old his skin was absolutely perfect.
This is me at the end of my first pregnancy. The stretch marks were pretty awful, but I didn't want to miss my chance to capture this very important stage in my life just because of a few stupid red marks.
Alright, I'll admit it. This is me at the end of my second pregnancy. After carrying two very large baby boys, and allowing my weight to get away from me, I'm not exactly the 'body beautiful'.
I would normally never have a photo taken with so little to cover me, but I was very proud of my big pregnant belly, and wanted some nice portraits to remember how I looked, and to save for my sons. However reality was just a bit too much for me, and I made some adjustments to improve the end result.
This is a very old family portrait that I restored for a friend. Obviously it was pretty badly damaged, not to mention very faded. There's not much can be done about the loss of detail in the subjects faces, but at least the worst of the damage is repaired, and this irreplaceable family heirloom has been salvaged for future generations.
Here's another very old, very badly damaged photograph. This photo was actually disintegrating, and 'raining' little particles all over the place if I even moved it too quickly. Again quite a bit of detail had been permanently lost, but ultimately the great, great granddaughter of the man in this portrait was very pleased with this restoration, and very relieved that this important piece of her family history had been rescued.