Photographers who work with gray cards know how handy they can be. Even though there is some debate, of at which level gray (12%, 15%, 18%) will allow for perfect white balance adjustment, is perfect white balance ALWAYS what you want? I have a strong belief that when it comes to photography, that STYLE is more important than substance and quality. Our clients want photos that are different from everyone else's before they begin to look at the actual composition of the shot. Please, don't get me wrong, they want high quality images as well, but I have yet to have a client come to me and say "Leighton, I could not believe you were shooting at f/6.3 when that should have been f/4.5!" Right now, there are probably many of my clients, who did not even understand the previous statement. What they do understand is what they perceive to be a good shot.
Atlanta photographer, Tracey Brown, posted a sneak peek from a wedding that was so beautiful!
To many photographers, they will look at the high level of Tungsten lighting. And many photographers would have adjusted their WB to make the dress perfectly white, and the trees perfectly green, and other aspects. Would they have been wrong, I don't know, but what I do know is that this shot would probably not have the same feeling of regality, or look as heavenly if it was perfectly white balanced.
It is the emotion, and feeling of this shot which epitomizes what our clients demand and ask from each and everyone one of us base on our own shooting styles. They want something that identifies with us. For this very reason, I challenge clients and friends, when they are looking for a family or wedding photographer, while price will always be a component of a decision, it should rarely ever be the deciding factor as much as the budget constraint may be. For when it comes to once in a lifetime moments, you only have a once in a lifetime chance to get it right. And this shot I personally think, captures a once in a lifetime moment. I hope the bride and groom feels the same.
So when we go out there and shoot, remember that our jobs are much more than just recording information of what goes on, but we are artists, and we determine the final product that comes from our brush. Anyone can take a picture, but it is up to the photographer to create a memory from a moment.
