Firstly, I'd like to state that this post contains NO NEW PHOTOS, so if you came looking for an anecdotal mocumentary on my recent Tums addiction, or an editorial on the new garbage bins we've been given to guinea-pig, you'll have to wait for another day... Today's post is a series of "before and after editing" versions of a few photos from the last three years. I admit, its a little unsettling to post the befores - I feel very exposed!!!!
Post-processing is a topic I get asked a lot of questions about, by both my clients and photo students. While clients have a more personal interest in my answers, photo students usually want to know more specifics about editing software. I would like to make very clear at the outset: I do not claim to be a Post-processing Master, this is just me sharing what I've learned.
NB: All of the technical comments below are in reference to RAW files and NOT JPEG files. If you want to know more about shooting in RAW, I cheerfully encourage you to Google it :)
It's important to understand that ALL digital photos need some sort of editing. This is what we call "optimization". This does NOT mean an overhaul in Photoshop, simply that sometimes some tweaking can take your images from GOOD-photo status to FANTASTIC-photo status. ALL of the images we provide to our clients have been optimized. EVERY SINGLE ONE, ONE AT A TIME. The amount of processing we do to each photo depends on the image itself. Some photos just need more attention than others.
The fun thing about post-processing is that you've always got options - you can make the same photo look totally different, depending on your preference. Below is a photo from an engagement session we did, the top file is the untouched version, the second is a optimized colour version and the last one, obviously, a black & white version.
For all you photo-students: I know that a lot of people seem to have an understanding that editing software is neccessary, but they're not totally sure why. I'm not going to get into any software endorsements, so rather than talk about which programs are better than others, I'm going to mention some of the most basic things that need correcting
In the following three shots, basic optimization was all that was needed; things like contrast, brightness, levels/curves etc.
When editing portraits/headshots, you often need to be able to do skin correction, softening etc. as well as basic optimization.
Sometimes a photo in black & white is just better - it just is!
A huge issue in post-processing is correcting white-balance. In the photos below, you can see how very cool photos have been given a much more warm/cozy appearance.
Sometimes pesky backgrounds that you either missed or couldn't do anything about spoil a photo. Check out how the photo changes when you get rid of whatever was in the way...
Othertimes, you're in the right place at the right time and you quickly snap a shot. Unfortunately, (we've all done this) you COMPLETELY forget about changing your shooting settings and an important little thing called "correct exposure" goes out the window. I don't encourage you to relax your views on exposure, HOWEVER, sometimes a photo is worth salvaging. When you do this, the photo is nowhere near what it would have been if you'd gotten it right in the first place, but like I said, sometimes its worth it.
Photographers like to play with the colour in their photos to add drama or funkiness (or edginess, or romance, or whatever). It can be tricky though and is easy to go over the top. Proceed with caution when playing with white balance, split toning and overlays.
Happy Editing!
Othertimes, you're in the right place at the right time and you quickly snap a shot. Unfortunately, (we've all done this) you COMPLETELY forget about changing your shooting settings and an important little thing called "correct exposure" goes out the window. I don't encourage you to relax your views on exposure, HOWEVER, sometimes a photo is worth salvaging. When you do this, the photo is nowhere near what it would have been if you'd gotten it right in the first place, but like I said, sometimes its worth it.
