Commercial Photographer Mark LaMonica - Assignment and Stock Photography

Digital Photography

Digital Photography is an entirely different process from camera to printed page that requires a different approach
for the entire project.

Getting everyone on the same page and having an industry standard on image profiles would be a great start.
Every camera and brand specific digital back has their own raw file format and matched post production image
editing software. This creates problems for everyone, Many offset printers are still operating in the closed loop "old
school" technology where they receive color film and put it on a drum scanner which has been carefully set up and
calibrated to their press conditions. The scanner converts RGB to CMYK automatically and all the pre-press work is
done in CMYK. The system works well as long as that offset printer is not having to deal with RGB files generated
outside of the shop. Since they always work with the same scanner, there isn't a lot of difficulty getting original
image color to match up to their proofing printer and presses. They have the original film as a guide to go by, so life
is good . . . . Right? . . . . Well only if the method of capture was film.

Now we enter the world of Digital Photography where we no longer have the luxury of a piece of film to look at for
exposure and color accuracy.

Since everything is now data, one of the first things that has to be done is Profiling your monitor. This means that
you use a hardware calibration device with supporting software to optimize the monitor brightness and contrast,
neutralize the monitor's display of color, and provide an ICC profile, which will become the default monitor profile
used by color-savvy applications. The Default color settings when installed are for Web, which assumes sRGB color
space, and color management turned off. This needs to be changed to U.S. Prepress defaults — at least as a
starting point. This changes the working color space to the wider gamut Adobe 1998 color space, and turns color
management on. Your files if worked on and saved in this color space will now be "tagged" as Adobe 1998 files.
What this means is that each file will have the Adobe 1998 color space embedded as a profile. This is important,
because in color management, it is important that any profiled device should see that embedded color space profile
in order to properly display a file, and then to be able to accurately convert it to any other desired color space, such
as a specific CMYK space. Once profiled, the RGB numbers in a file are changed before they are sent to the video
card so that your monitor displays them accurately. Once your monitor has been profiled, you should then check
your Post capture software color settings. Although monitor calibration and profiling is the very least that everyone
needs to do far too few clients, agencies, designers and even photographers are taking this seriously.

Because of the current lack of RGB support by offset printers, photographers often have to handle color the
management, retouching and Prepress processes. Remember that additional fees apply to each project if the
photographer is taking on the additional workflow processes. If you don’t have the photographer do the additional
work, who ever does better have the proper programs to do this. A simple push of the levels and curves doesn't cut
it in the digital world.

With digital capture, the photographer must handle the "processing", formerly the domain of the lab and print shop.
We now process digital data after the capture in a post capture software, adjust, sharpen & color correct the
images, handling most all of the steps of final image preparation formerly the responsibility of the client. In many
cases the photographer will handle the entire production from brainstorming to final output. While clients have
always willingly paid for the various production costs associated with film capture -- from film, processing &
Polaroids, clip tests, contact sheets, scanning, color correction and couriers to handle transportation of film to
finished works and feel with digital they should only pay a fraction of those costs. Unfortunately some clients push
the belief that "since it's digital, it should be free." Be it digital capture or film, clients need to pay the production
charges associated with their projects.

Clients, please consider the substantial investment that photographers must make in equipment and training to
provide you with digital services, and recognize the huge savings in time and manpower, and ultimately money, that
digital capture provides to your projects, even when photographers are fairly compensated for digital production.
Clients have always compensated photographers for the production expenses on assignments, and there's no
legitimate reason for that to cease with the conversion to digital capture. Squeezing photographers on digital
production charges might look attractive in the short term, however, doing so will slow the adoption of this new
technology and ultimately risk driving the best and most experienced photographers from the industry. For the
people who are working under the umbrella of a corporation, the company covers all the operating expenses to do
business, supplies you with the equipment to your job, gives you a weekly paycheck, gives you health insurance,
paid sick days, paid vacation time, sometimes a company car, annual bonuses, retirement plans and a slew of other
perks. All the benefits people take for granted working for “a company” are added into the cost of doing business
with other companies. The same method is used when photographers do business. The photographer is the
company for which he/she works. This is why the rates are the way they are, it’s the cost of doing business and
anyone on this side of the bargaining table would see it the same way.

The Internet provides a wealth of information and articles by well respected photographers and organizations
detailing the dangerous trend of clients trying to put higher demands on photographers while trying to lower the
compensation.