I had a meeting today with a couple that is getting married next year and they asked me a question that has been asked many, many times… “Are the proofs touched up?”. Now, I have been asked this so many times, but this couple really made an impression on me and I thought maybe I should use my blog to show you all exactly what I mean since it’s difficult for me to put into words with no real example. There is original (straight out of the camera), proof (what you see in your online gallery and printed proofs) and final print quality, well, for me at least - I can’t speak for other photographers. Here are some examples of the originals, proof quality and the final print quality. Of course, on these small little blog photos it may be difficult to see all of the differences, but you get the idea.

Please note, if your monitor is not properly calibrated, the colors, contrast and vibrance may differ from what you would see in an actual print.

The first image - the original - is quite flat and dull looking. This is actually intentional. With pro cameras you want to make sure that YOU make the decisions on the contrast, sharpness, etc. Because the same settings don’t work on every photo, you don’t want the camera making these decisions for you as it can easily be overdone. You can always add more [contrast, saturation, sharpness, whatever] in post processing - you can’t always take away. Because these straight out of the camera shots are so lifeless looking and don’t really show you their true potential, I do make minor adjustments to all of the proofs. Every printed image (whether in the album or loose prints) gets some extra special attention. =)

I bought Jaedyn a butterfly kit - similar to an ant farm - last month. It came with a big netted “house” and a coupon to mail away for your caterpillars. We got 5 caterpillars in a little cup with their own food supply and watched them grow and grow and GROW! Man, those things get big quick! Finally we watched them as one by one, they attached themselves to the paper lining under the lid of the cup and each made their chrysalis. Once all of them were done, we took the paper liner out and pinned it to the inside of the netted house and waited for them to emerge. As of today we have 4 Painted Lady butterflies and one chrysalis - the last one is a stubborn little guy that was slacking in making the change to begin with! We also learned that they can’t eat - they can only drink - we put fresh flowers on the bottom of their home and a few times a day we use an eyedropper to drizzle sugar water on the flowers.

Jaedyn is loving this and we are too - it’s such a neat thing to watch. Of course, my cats are going crazy watching these butterflies flutter around in their home! Luckily, the butterfly home comes with a strap so you can hang it up - we hung it on a plant hook in the ceiling to keep them safe. The first two butterflies sure picked a great day to make their appearance - yesterday morning Jaedyn busted her bottom lip open pretty badly and we noticed the first two butterflies shortly after… at least she had something to be happy about yesterday! Poor baby - she’s so miserable! She was getting ready to jump down off of her bed and her feet got caught up in the blankets - WHAM! - she hit the floor with her face. She has a nice deep puncture wound, some scrapes and bruises, but she’s alright - no stitches, thank goodness! Through all of it - immediate care clinic and all - she kept asking if she could still go to school! Well, at least we know she likes it! Why can’t all kids have that attitude about school?

Here are a few photos - these were all taken with my point and shoot camera, so please excuse the quality: