(Day 26/30 of the 30 day blog challenge. Read more about it here!)
During my time as a professional photographer I've found that some of my potential clients believe that once I've finished the session or shooting the wedding that all I have to do is just burn the images to a CD and poof, I'm done!
I SURE WISH it were that easy! In reality, I spend a lot more time editing the photos than I do taking them! After each session/wedding, I carefully cull the images, choosing the ones that are the best, and then I edit each and every one to make sure the image is exactly how I envisioned it.
There are many photographers who will never show an unedited photo, and I totally understand why they choose not to, but, for education purposes, I decided to show a few photos straight out of the camera (the photos on the left) and what they looked like once I finished editing them. The only thing I've done to the before pictures is sharpen them for the web.
Not much was done to this adorable portrait from Erin and Keith's engagement session at the Cellardoor Winery. I added a little bit of fill light to bring out some details that were lost in shadow and slightly brightened it.
This portrait of Bria was a little dark for my taste, so I lifted the exposure a little and added a little fill light. By doing that, I was able to save some of the detail in her hair, which had been lost in the original capture. I also slightly brightened her eyes.
In this photo from a fashion shoot with Lydia, I slightly lifted the exposure, brightened the image, added a bit of saturation, and sharpened the eyes a bit. Her nose and fingers were a bit red due to the cold, so I desaturated them and I cleaned up a few stray pimples on her skin. Finally, I applied a black and white conversion.
I wanted this portrait of Kristina to feel a bit more airy, so I lifted the exposure a bit and added a bit of saturation to brighten those wonderful boots.
These descriptions of my edits may sound simple, but I take a long time deciding what each image needs to make it look its best. My goal is for each portrait to not look like it has been digitally enhanced, but for the subject(s) in that portrait to look like themselves on a particularly awesome day. The editing, in my opinion, is just as important as the shooting itself!
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