Off the Wagon again.

i am a color freak. I just love pictures in color. It is so hard for me to convert once I see my image already on that digital screen... I guess it is because my specialty is child & family Photography... I have not gone over to Photoshop yet. I have recently played around with color and so on in post production on my computer's basic levels that it does, and going black and white or sepia, but beyond that, I am not a believer just yet.... My reasoning is because I want to remember my kiddos the way they really were.... I mean, I am a Photographer, not a painter, and I want to look back in years and know in my heart of hearts, that YES her eyes were that blue or had that much green in them or her hair was that exact shade of blondie colored.... I do not touch levels in the work I do for other people other than very very basic things they may want. I try my best to in camera edit and do the best job I know how to do with the knowledge I have of Photography, lighting, angles, my camera, and that person... I really try to pre-plan as I have to work quick quick when I work with kids... But I do like seeing the difference between color and going black and white and Sepia... there is a line of going over board witht he Photo editing, and I am not on a high horse, as I have gone over board with my own personal pictures trying to get the hang of it and see if I like it and see just what I could do.... But looking back, I am more please with all my un-touched portraits and the ones I only did basic things on.
So in the end, it is a personal thing. To retouch or not to. I was thinking it was the way to go with so many Photographers doing it these days just to keep up, but I really am off of that kick. Not to insult their work, it is great work for what they wan tto accomplish, but my clients know what they come to me for, and it is natural work... If a mom has some post baby blemishes she wants me to get rid of will I, sure, but I will not be touching kids unless there is a specific scare or personal reason. I want the skinned knees of my girls because that is who they were.. I dont want to forget these things and have a false sense of who they were when I am getting old and the fine details are blurry. My clients share my oppinion and see my work. They know I will work hard to get good shots.
Some people love the end result, and if it is what they really love, then to me, it was necessary for them to do. Photos to me are meant to spark emotion or thought and what is beautiful to one, may not be to another. I have noticed for my own eye that I truely prefer an image that has stayed more true to natural shot, weather it is in color, black and white, or sepia... (although I have a few favorites of my own that are cropped and shopped) This is very controversal in the Photography buisness, but I think only when one Photography is taking Pot shots on antoher's work does it become a hot botton subject. From previous posts, you already know I am not competetive in nature, only with myself. SO I truley am my own worst critic, and even if someone does something I do not, I can still find the beauty in their work and look at it from their perspective....
So I am laying it out there, you may see some altered portraits, but from this point out I am focusing on going on the most mild of post production editing that I see best for each portrait... I will keep you posted on that as I go along....