vancouver fashion and portrait photography

The whole "Fix it in Photoshop" sentiment has been around since digital cameras and photoshop collided. My opinion on this has always been a very loud and clear, "NO!" There's so much more to taking good shots than uploading something that isn't so great onto your computer and changing it to become semi-okay. Rather than trying to articulate it all in my own words I'll share with you a great mini-article written by someone who really knows and sums up what I would have been trying to say anyways.

""Fix it in Photoshop" has become a mantra of the digital age. As the editor of Digital Photo Pro, I get to talk to many of the very best professional photographers in the world. One thing all of them have in common is that I've never heard any of them utter those words.
For years, we've heard detractors claim that digital technology marks the downfall of photography because the technology makes it easy to make good images. The reality is markedly different, though. Sure, RAW files and sophisticated software can help you get more out of an image file, but if you disregard the necessity of proper exposure, sharpness and compostition, you're never going to get a decent image. Early hype on RAW files was that they esentially allow people to blow the exposure and still get a perfect shot. It simply isn't true.
You'd think that if there was any class of photographer that would be apt to rely on software and post-processing it would be photojounalists. We spoke to one of the top photojournalists in the world, Lauren Greenfield of The VII Photo Agency , who dispelled that myth. Greenfield finds that all of the same rules apply today. Getting the shot right the first time isn't an option for her; it's a requirement.
I recently heard a story from a top-level pro who was having some work done by a hot-tub repairman )it's important to be able to relax and unwind after a day in the studio or on location). The repairman and the pro got to chatting, and it turned out that in addition to working out the issues with water jets and filters, the repairman was a photographer, too. In fact, he shot all of the images for his company's products and he owned the latest and most high-tech gear available. "As soon as photography became more about computers than photography, I knew I could make it," he said. While he knew comparatively little about composition, exposure, lighting and controlling depth of field, etc., the fact was that by using Photoshop and taking a lot of time, he was able to pull almost credible images from his files. Basically, no matter how bad off his images were, he could "fix it in Photoshop."
"Fix it in Photoshop" is a fallacy, of course, and traditional photography skills are at least as important now as they ever were in a film-based workflow. Technology offers us a bewildering array of tools that can be used to improve and enhance an image, but it isn't a crutch to lean on when the photo is lame. The technology is best used to bring a good image into the realm of a great image. Historically, technology is best used in this manner. Think of the steroid controversy in baseball. Using the "juice" didn't make every average Joe into a major-league hitting machine, but it made the most talented athletes into sports superstars, all ethical issues aside.
Sure, the hot tub repair-guy can bring up a credible image, but a blind squirrel can also find a nut. It's not my intention to sound like an elitist, here; however, to suggest that traditional photographic technique is somehow less relevant in the face of new technology simply isn't true.
The new version of Photoshop, CS2 is now on the market. It's bigger, better and more powerful than ever, and while the masters of the dark arts in San Jose have built some features like red-eye correction into this version, the most useful innovations are still aimed at improving an image that's already in good shape. Plenty of people will still "fix it in Photoshop," but for those who take the time to hone their phtographic technique, the program will rise to the occasion and offer tools to make solid photographs into superstars.
Working professionals know the value of efficiency while shooting and after the assignment is completed. Relying on a computer to fix a day's worth of sub-par images is about as efficient as pushing molasses uphill. And besides, wouldn't you really rather be out shooting and creating photographs instead of wrestling with your mouse?"
-Christopher Robins, Editor - Digital Photo Pro Magazine

The only thing I have left to add to this is, "YES!!!"