on Summer Beach Getaways and Processing Portraits

Photography is like cooking, when you overcook something it wouldn't taste good. But leaving it raw can be a good thing.

We had our annual summer beach overnight with photographer, model and makeup artist friends in Talicud Island last weekend. It was yet another fun-filled stay in a beach where there is no electricity or running water and can only be accessed by boat. And of course we still had the usual sunset beach shoot. But this year we weren't so lucky because the sunset was shorter than what we normally expect during the summer months.

I decided to go against the norm for summer beach shoots and aim for black and white. I knew most photos from my photographer friends would come out in color because it is in the beach and around sunset plus you have a lovely model with nice skin tone. Well, going against the grain is what I am known for anyways so I might as well stay that way. And simple is always better for me. I don't need for it to be razor sharp or for the contrast to pack a punch. I just want my photo to retain the character of my model.

And I will never over process because I'd lose the essence of the portrait and get some sort of digital Frankenstein. It is a common mistake which photographers without their own personal styles make. They do all sorts of Dave Hill, Rarindra Prakarsa, Luko or Manny Librodo sharpening and stop only when they think its all there. For me HDR and portraits don't go well. And all those unnatural looking eyes and skin tone seem like they have been inspired by horror flicks. Funny thing is they spend hours and hours just to get THAT look. ** insert face palm here ** Experimenting is good but knowing how much post processing can be applied is what works best especially for portraits where you really have to retain the personality of the model.

A little color efex and totally rad action scripts here and there plus a bit of preset editing from lightroom and I am done. A good photo is a good photo even when it is unprocessed and no amount of post processing will make a bad photo look good. Just like a steak is good when it is rare or medium rare and ruined when it is well done.

Once again, thank you to Kate for being a fabulous model. To Karina Asetre and Kaye Garino for the makeup and styling. And to the Photobombers for another successful summer getaway.