A few weeks ago, I discussed how some brides are becoming Orphan Brides [Link], meaning that their photographer is not taking the time to edit, crop and print their wedding images and instead electing to provide the bride with the images burned onto a cd-rom, we call these photographers, “Shoot and Burners.”

Recently, I wanted a new profile picture for Facebook [Link] and so I grabbed my camera gear, set it up and went to work to create a self-portrait.  The picture below, is the one I selected and as you can see it has a lot of “stuff in the background.”  Stuff that would distract you from the subject, which is me!  Take a look:

After I captured the image, I went to my computer, the digital darkroom, and began editing the image, cropping out the background, framing me properly in the picture, and cleaning up the whites of my eyes.  These edits produced the image you see below.

Here is another example on the power of editing, the image below is a picture I took of Catina Mack, the National Anthem Performer [Link] during the Red, Hot, and Boom on July 3^rd [Link].  I like the image and selected it as a keeper for Catina’s use.  The only problem was she had that microphone and stand coming out of her shoulder.

When I took the picture, I saw the microphone and stand behind her and knew it was going to be an issue, but since it was in an area that it could easily be removed, I took it anyway and then edited it out in the digital darkroom. This edit gave me the image below, which I think is much better.

This new image, takes  away the distraction and allows you to focus on the subject.  If you are choosing a photographer who doesn’t edit the images and only provides them to you on a cd, you should remember, you get what you pay for.  Editing images is a very important part of the photography process and you are short changing yourself if you allow a photographer to shoot and burn.

What do you think, don’t you like the edited pictures better?