One of my biggest pet peeves in the entire world is.. When people chew too loud and with their mouth open. I kid, I kid. As a photographer, one of the things that burns my bacon the most is when someone RE. EDITS. MY. PHOTOS.

When a photographer sends out galleries of their images, it’s because they’ve spent HOURS behind the scenes getting the images in a state that they are ready to present to their client. I know for me personally, when I send out a gallery, it’s almost like a natural high waiting on client’s reaction.

When the [hopefully] positive reviews start coming in, I usually celebrate with an iced almond milk latte and see what their friends and family are saying about the images. Now. It’s all fun and games until you come across a photo you took that’s been shared that’s fell victim to a ton of editing apps and filters slapped on it.

I sent out an album recently for a very, very special project that I was very fortunate to work on. After editing for a solid M O N T H and having to go back and forth and back and forth to get them just right, they were finally ready to be sent out. Now. I am very self deprecating and pessimistic by nature. So until I get that little bit of praise, I’m a constant ball of nerves (I’m basically Tinkerbell with hella anxiety). After sending out the gallery, talking with the bride and just swooning over the images from one of the most special days of both of our lives – i’m scrolling through Facebook only to realize that some of the images were completely changed and barely looked like the same image that i’d sent out, all because of filters, FaceTune and “personal preference.”

Now. I’m not a stranger to a little FaceTuning and slap on a filter every single time i’m on SnapChat. HOWEVER. Images that are professionally edited have taken time and effort out of someone’s day and work and dedication. They also serve as a sort-of digital business card because when people see the photo, which is typically linked to the Photographer that took it, they’re seeing examples of that photographer’s work.

From that point of view, you can see why it would be frustrating for said example of work, to have absolutely no similarity to the original image that the photographer worked on for an extended amount of time. Images that are out in the world are a photographer’s business card, billboard, first impression, etc. and if the image is not what the put out into the world – business could be driven away.

So PRO TIP: If you decide to put forth the time, energy and money to have your pictures taken by a professional – just remember that the final product is something that they’ve worked very hard on and spent hours completing before sending out to you. So don’t be a tool and ruin the product. To you, it may be just a wrinkle on your forehead, or a fake tan you wish you had, but to the photographer it could be extremely damaging to their reputation and work.