A few weeks ago, I was speaking to a fellow photographer, about a photo shoot that I did. We discussed lighting and other topics, and then they brought up the point that the client had shown them the unedited images and asked about my lighting. The client asked because on a few shots the lighting was underexposed. The client had bright blonde hair, and we shot it in natural light because if we had used strobe lights the horse that was there at the shoot would have been spooked out and probably have done some damage, considering the horse was a juvenile. The other thing as I wrote in my last blog, you can always add light as long as the good details are in the image and it's slightly underexposed.
Luckily the photog is a friend and we discussed all the details of the shoot and their final words to me were, "Mike, I wasn't at the shoot, and I sure as hell don't know what settings you were using, and I have no idea on how you edit, so I'm just going to stay out of it my friend." To me, that was the smartest thing they could say. Bringing others into the one on one discussion with your photographer is not a great way to maintain a great relationship. There are millions of factors that go into a photo shoot (lighting, weather, editing techniques, settings, etc.), and when you create doubt, you create distrust.
Like many other professions (i.e. doctors, lawyers, etc.), there is the factor of privacy privilege. It'd be terribly wrong for me to take my client(s) photos and start sharing them with other photogs, or even other clients. They pay me to keep things private and confidential. If you truly want a second opinion of a photo, then do it once the final product is out of the box. A lot of fear comes from some folks who just can't see themselves in any other way than in a bad way, or they're always full of doubt. My takeaway is this...if you're paying someone to give you their best, then allow them to give their best. As my friend stated, you're never going to know everything that happened in that shoot because each photographer has their own way of doing things. So, be an adult, and talk to your photographer...communication...it's the key to success on both parts. Besides, it's always smart for one to just mind their own business and allow others to run theirs! ;)
