We wanted to shine a little light on what goes into editing an image to make it something we are completely proud to show. Now that doesn't mean that every photograph isn't art, we're not saying that. What we are saying is we take great pride in our work to try and make a photograph, more than a photograph. Let us explain :)
Here is a photo of one of our awesome seniors this year, and this image is STRAIGHT out of camera. Not a hint of adjustments were performed to it.
Honestly, we could have just edited out our softbox, pull down the highlights and call it a day. However, the amount of dynamic range that the cameras now a days is AMAZING and we wanted to pull as much color and detail out of this image as we could, along with adding our own artistic flare to it.
So the process starts there to eliminate the obvious distraction of the softbox. From there, it takes about 20 min or so to adjust highlights, shadows and brightness.
One step that can be a little lengthy is the attention to detail. In this instance everything was beautiful, except some of the wrinkles that the flash was able to accentuate. This process, to ensure attention was brought to make sure the fabric texture was consistent took about 45 min. Its a complex process that involves separating the image between color and texture and being able to manipulate both with absolute precision, and without affecting the other.
Next, is isolating and color grading specific colors and casts. The normal process involves three different programs where each play a specific role. You have your Raw converter to interpret the file out of the camera. From there, we import it into a photo manipulation program where we would say most of the heavy lifting is done, and then finally fine tuning the colors and truly isolating any color that we want to complete the color grade with.
The amount of effort is always worth it though...
Be sure to drop us a line with any more ideas and behind the scenes looks into what we do !