I have been a photographer for over 28 years and it always amazes me how fast things change in this industry - new equipment, new methods, and most radically, new technology. I have not touched film in six years and while I miss the ease of use that film gave me (process and done!) - I thoroughly enjoy working with digital images. The computer allows me complete control over how the image looks. I can remove or replace an item I don't like, or simply change its color. I have total control over the color and contrast of the image as a whole or in localized areas. I can add streaming sunlight to a room photographed on a foggy day. I've learned subtle retouching techniques that can make a person look younger without that 'retouched look', and also to apply those techniques to architectural photography. Beauty is all about evening out the tones.
The most recent techniques I've mastered deal with 360ยบ panoramas and HDR photography. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range and is coming soon to your point and shoot. It's about photographing in a tough lighting situation where there are very bright highlights and dark shadows and you want all the detail throughout the entire spectral range. Normally you would have to sacrifice shadow or highlight detail - or both. But using the HDR method you can take a series of shots varying the exposure and then process to enhance the entire dynamic range of tones. I combine this process with panorama photography to create images that with film would have been impossible, or at least taken all day to light. HDR allows me to photograph interiors using minimal additional lighting. Setup time is greatly reduced while the look of the image is totally natural. The client is happy to not have to waste their time or their respective client's time during a shoot.
I am not secretive about the methods or software I use, I'm just running out of space here. If you are interested in learning anything about photography or how I do things, please contact me. I am more than happy to discuss the subject and even show you a few tips and tricks.