| From Photoworkshop.com Photos to Inspire All images ©Mark Berndt | All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.
His primary interest is people. His environmental portraits celebrate people where they live and work, while his documentary narrative images capture the substance of human interaction. “As a director, I used to cast actors to play 'real people'. Today I love to meet REAL people, learn about who they are and what they do, and then work with them to make a meaningful and significant portrait”. His current corporate work concentrates on photographing people working in the arts, education, science and music. Embracing digital imaging in 1993—first with post-production in Photoshop and Iris prints of his work (working with Mac Holbert at Nash Editions)—his digital capture evolved with Canon: starting with the EOS D30, then the D60, and finally the 1Ds. “The 1Ds and the Epson 9600 were my turning points for digital photography. I could shoot full-frame digital that was superior to film, and I could make superb, large, archival prints—color and B&W—in my new 'darkroom.' There was no turning back.”
As with his traditional work, Berndt's digital photography is about creating the final image. Pre-visualizing an image still includes the contributions of processing and post-production that imprinted his film work. “Digital hasn't really changed what we DO to our images, but it has profoundly changed the order in which we do them. We spot and retouch before we print; we choose B&W or color after we shoot. I do some of my lighting in post rather than on location, because I have more control, and because it's a more cost-effective place to do that work.” The contribution made by nuanced post-production is often difficult for potential clients to recognize when they see a final image. That's a good thing, after all, since the success of the finished image should not involve any apparent effects, tricks or gimmicks. It should simply look right—and work. But without understanding its impact, clients often consider it an unnecessary or optional step rather than an integral part of the process. To help inform clients, Berndt offers “before & after” examples of finished images on his website. To See a Gallery of Mark Berndt's Images, Click Here “My 'darkroom' today is more of an asset in my creative process than ever before - because it's so much more powerful. And my images are better for it.”
To learn more about Mark Berndt's work, visit www.markberndt.com Inside Mark Berndt's Camera Bag:
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