Get Creative!

Austin,Texas---A view from Auditorium Shores

A good photograph adds impact to a common scene. It's purpose is to provide a different or unusual perspective on places people pass by every day.

In taking pictures like these, you are limited only by your imagination. Some people may like your work, while others will not. If the photo is pleasing to you, and you feel it is representative of your best work, then you have done your job.

This adage is quite different in commercial photography, however. When you work for a client you have to meet their standards; the images they have in mind may not be the same as yours. You must be ready to adapt and be capable of offering a number of different views for your client's approval.

Digital photography offers a number of creative ways of doing this. Some were old darkroom tricks we used in the film days, while others can be done inside a good digital camera system. Becoming familiar with such software as Photoshop, Lightroom, Affinity, and Topaz can greatly improve your editing skills and get you results that can satisfy prospective clients as you develop your techniques.

Here are three more examples of the first image:

Black and White--Color Enhanced

Black and White

Vignette and Grayscale

Depending on what the images are used for, changes like these could be adapted to business cards, stationery, or pamphlets. Don't expect to sell big artsy prints to most commercial clients--they are simply looking for quality work that is adaptable to a specific project they need to get accomplished. Keeping them happy could mean repeat business and referrals.