'We'll fix it in post.'
^ Famous last words of every photographer ever.
So after working in this field for over 10 years (4 of them working on production teams producing commercials for big brand names) I have come to appreciate EXACTLY what 'we'll fix it in post' means. Turns out sometimes you can't fix it in post, and you have to reshoot it.
Your wedding day isn't exactly a do-over kind of a thing. My experience in knowing what we can 'fix' in post and what we can't is really my secret super power as a photographer. Photoshop truly has no limits and if I wanted to turn you into a purple dragon...I could. But I won't. I want to be completely upfront when it comes to photoshop work. I don't alter anyone's body. I might smooth your skin, remove anything distracting in the background, and I might even add a few foreground objects into the photo to beef it up....but that's pretty much the majority of it. As stated before, my most treasured quality as the person behind the camera is authenticity, and I want to stick to that value.
I created a quick video to show you exactly the types of things I do...and also to demonstrate to you why I value my work the way I do. I know to my lovers out there, a couple thousand dollars seems like a lot; and it truly is. Especially in this economy. But I don't just show up, kick ass on your wedding day, and job's done. I take your images home and pour myself over them for a couple of days. I don't send my photos out to a lab and have some rando color correct them and send a fraction of them back. I cull out every single useable photo, and I treat it to the best of my ability. So until they create an AI software that can edit how I edit, that's the value that I put into the work, and I refuse to part with anything less then up to my standards.