Posts Tagged ‘toronto fashion photographer’

Hello! I’m doing well with these updates huh? :) So today I’m here to answer some questions I had about my editing process and I’ve had some people ask to see before and after examples. I wish I could do it America’s Next Top Model style with a video of the shoot then the final image. I’ll make it my next project!

Ok, so first off, yes I edit all my own work. The only time I don’t is when I’m booked out to shoot something for a client where they already have their own retouchers or graphic designers. Sometimes that’s good because then the work is done at the shoot and I all have to worry about is getting that money shot. Sometimes it’s bad because I love editing and half the fun in photography is being able to play around with the photos afterwards.  Some edits are more dramatic than others. It all depends on the final look I’m going for. For some photos, I like to keep as close to original as possible and would rather have it look like nothing was done to it at all.

I use Adobe Lightroom 3 for the majority of my work and for more intricate and detailed editing I use Photoshop. Lightroom is great because it lets me do simple edits and keeps all my stuff organized. The time it takes to edit a photo really depends on what has to be done. Some photos can be done in 5 minutes, others can take up to an hour or more.  Anything going to print I will always fully edit, meaning it gets Photoshop lovin’ with some touchups to skin, lighting, hair, LINT (the worst!) and any other details that might need retouching. It always helps to start off with a properly exposed image and work from there. When it comes to little details, I would always rather fix the little things that need fixing during the shoot, which would take 2mins, as opposed to leaving it for post production which usually requires much more work. Things like flyaways are the worst! I hate fixing those haha.

While I’m on the subject of time, I’d like to take a quick minute to address all those looking for wedding photographers. I’m not going to do a long post about why wedding photographers cost what they do etc. I just want to make a quick point about how much work really goes into your wedding day and the days before and the days that follow. The work is never done after the photographer leaves the venue. Editing is a HUGE part of the work. The time spent editing is at least 3x times more than the actual shooting time. All wedding photographers understand people have budgets and I really do believe there’s the right photographer for everyone, but honestly, in the wedding industry it’s true when they say, you get what you pay for. You don’t have to break the bank for great photos but you also shouldn’t settle for your uncle John/friend Jane who just got a new DSLR to photograph your wedding. So to all future newly weds planning your wedding, do your research, know what you want, know your budget, know they are working for you far beyond 8hrs, and keep in mind that these photos are what you will have to last you a lifetime and what you’ll be sharing with everyone along the way.

Back to business! Lighting is probably the most difficult part of photography, at least for me. How you light the picture makes a world of a difference. I always try to plan out and picture what I want the final image to look like so I can light accordingly. This makes editing and everything so much easier. I own some studio lights and flashes and their usage depends on the application and whether I have electrical outlets or not. For all the photos below I used one main light and a reflector. I know I still have tons to learn when it comes to different lighting setups and using different modifiers but I guess the only way to learn is to try. I’d like to take some time out soon to test some setups. So if you want to be my photographic subject, I’m always looking! :)

Anyhoo, hope you like getting a glimpse behind my work. Here are a few before & after samples of some of my work. The only thing I ask from you is this, the next time you’re having your photo taken by a professional photographer, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ZEUS, do not say “Oh you can just Photoshop that right?” :) Have a good weekend!

For this, you can see that I played around with the colours and saturation a bit. Cleaned up all the fly aways on the female model and removed the little shadow and white strap distraction on her shoulder. Dodged and burned to accentuate their features and define the male model’s muscles. Brightened up his eyes to make them pop a little. Their shirts were wet but it wasn’t sticking to them as well as I had planned so I played around with the shadows and highlights there to try to make it more obvious.

Tried to keep looking as natural as possible. Warmed up the tone of the photo by changing the colour temperature. Evened out her skin and retouched just under her eyes a little. Brightened up her eyes. Filled in the shadow on the right side a little and made her bling a little more blingy! Dodged and burn the purse to highlight the leather texture of it.

As you can see a major change from before and after. I wonder if you can spot the differences? :) Take a minute….

Time’s up. Besides the removal of the random things on the wall, I retouched any blemishes on the model’s face and smoothed out her skin tone and texture. I wanted a more high fashion look and wanted to bring out those windows and their reflections so I gave the photo a cooler blue tone with a touch of green. The simpler tones in the photo really makes her white dress pop.