Hi,
How many of you work with retouching artists for fashion/beauty work ?
Do you think that it would be better to do it by yourself or to let somebody work with you for that ?
I have less and less time to retouch my images and am at a point where I can see myself paying someone to retouch my images.
What is your take about it ?
Romain
Romain, I would give you of course a very personal approach.
I'm absolutly for delegating the task but I think that the photographer has to also pass by the areas he delegates and that is an important point to me.
It's good to know the retouching and delegate it.
Pablo Picasso knew the etching craft, but he delegated the eching to a master. That is the knowledge of knowing where is your task and where lays others knowledge. This is cooperation.
Picasso was primary a painter and wised enough to understand that even if he could perfectly do the etchings, it is not the same as someone who does that every single day 9 hours.
Because there is something in the craft that in french we would call "le métier" and that means that one adquires habilities and a sort of 6th sense, tricks and maturity only when one does a job on a regular basis.
I'm for the team work. I like to trust the others and delegate as much as I can. This is a human adventure, not a one-man-show.
I'm sorry if that may hurts many people, but I never understand how a photographer can be a very good printer. That does not match at all with my experience.
Many photographers here think that the print is part of their job because they want to control the overall image to their touch.
This is more IMO an ego mystic because delegating does not mean that you do not control, in fact
you control even more because a real printer master will be able do give you more than you would do.
Then it is to know how to direct. Because once you delegate, you have to direct like a cheif orquestra and this part is truly creative and exciting, but I guess it depends on each person character.
How much time photographers spend in printing compare to a real master that does that all the day, and how much real knowledge those photographers have on the printing task?
Because I have never met so far a printer master that writes into the forums if the color profile is correct or whatever tech question.
A good printer just know how to do the job, and more than any photographer simply because that is what he does all the time.
Not delegating deprives ourselves from a great opportunity to a professional human experience and cooperation and have consequences on the results, and above all, the time and energy lost in doing things that belong basically to others more prepared.
I find really a better well used money, instead of investing in an expensive printer and loosing many many hours learning the profiles and softwares etc...(like if already we wouldn't have enough of hassles to deal with), the paper,
bla bla bla...going to see a good printer and ask him to print according to what I want. And generally you end having a beer or lunch somewhere in the area. This is human.
I would only have and learn art printing if I where giving workshops, because then it is part of the knowledge you can sell. Same with the retoucher except if your work is based on photoshop as art tool, then you have no choice.
But fashion do not enter in that need.
Do you imagine a make-up artist, a stylist asking internet "gear questions" about the make-up area? That makes no sense.
But that is what we see. Profiles problems, monitors issues etc rarelly anwsered...I never ever in my life met a real pro that does have these sort of anxiety.
If many wants to print, why don't they do the make-up then, why don't they fly the plane that brings one to that magnificent landscape area? And do at the same time the engine maintenance and the tower controler?
I'm ironic yes, but you have the idea. Why the arquitect is rarelly drawing the techs and has a team? Energy-time-relaibility and efficiency equation.
Even if you delegate and had a bad experience, it does not mean that this is not the right thing to do, it simply means that this was not the right person.
But yes, let a good retoucher do the work for you BUT keep always the control. You are the one who pays aren't you? And the one who decides what is your unique style.
Then, a great retoucher will enhance your work.
Best regards.