Heavy Lifting

If only it were as simple as pushing a button. You would think so, given what everyone can do with their cellphones these days.
But it’s not that simple.
If you are hiring a professional photographer, you are making some assumptions:
- They are shooting with professional gear
- They are capturing files with no physical limitation as to how they can be processed (meaning they are large files with no in-camera filtering that could adversely affect or limit an image’s usability).
- They have the skill and experience to use the gear
- They have access to any additional resources necessary (equipment and/or people)
- They are insured
- They have the hardware and software necessary to process the images
- They have the skill and experience to efficiently handle all aspects of digital workflow:
- Digital capture
- Digital post-production (basic)
- Enhanced post-production
- Preparation of contact sheets, slideshows, and/or online galleries
- Preparing files for delivery (print-ready and/or web-ready)
- They can deliver the files and make sure you receive them
- They can maintain an archive of your images. (While this might not be critical for everyone, it is absolutely critical for some.)
If you have the staff and resources to handle the heavy lifting of processing out-of-camera files in a timely manner, great! If not, you need to make sure you are hiring someone who can do as much as you need done. Otherwise, you stand the risk of winding up with less than optimal image files that do not necessarily represent you as well as you want.