Brandt Photography

We’re starting to show off some editing Before & After shots. I thought I’d take a moment and go through what we actually do to photographs to make them look so good.

Every image we deliver goes through our digital enhancement service. Below is a walk through of an image that shows some of the things we do to make sure every image looks its best!

Click on the images below to see larger versions.

Original Image

Here is the original image as it was captured during the photo session. It’s a nice image, but there are a few things that (personally), I like to change.

The only things added to this original image is the logo branding and copyright notice.

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The first adjustment is a minor one. When the shot was taken, it was based more on the alignment of the tree and Brad’s position.

Once I had it displayed on my computer, I wanted to adjust the horizon. Sometimes, I may adjust the angle for artistic effect, but with this image, it was just the horizon being aligned.

Remove Distractions

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The next adjustment was to remove distractions. The branch near Brad’s head can take your eye away from the main subject (Brad), so I edited out the branch.

The other minor distractions are the warning signs posted in the background. This image has a more natural feel to it if we get rid of the signs in the background.

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When we photograph events, I’m usually editing out exit signs, fire alarm boxes, trash cans, and so on. The important thing is to make sure the image looks natural, just taking away things that will move your eye away from the central subject.

Adjust Color

The next adjustment was the color. I like the original color, but wanted this image to be a little warmer.

It is just a minor change, but when looking at color, I want to make sure we have the right tones (such as skin color, foliage, and so on).  I might even adjust one portion of the image to balance out the colors better.

Face & Skin

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The next step is to remove blemishes and facial touch-ups.

I like to keep a natural look to faces (not making them look plastic) while removing blemishes, softening wrinkles, possibly brightening eyes or whiten teeth, and possibly remove shine (perspiration is common on very hot days).

The face is the one of the most important focal points in an image.

Dodge & Burn

Our lighting made Brad stand out from the background. There were still some shadows across his face, so I did a little dodge & burn to soften them.

We’ll use dodge and burn techniques to help bring out features in an image. Maybe help with having someone/something stand out better, or darken something that might be a distraction.

Adjust Contrast

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The final step was adjusting the contrast. This makes Brad stand out a little more.

This is the image we include in the delivered proofs. Any prints, albums, and other items we produce are based off of this image. When digital files are purchased, this retouched image is what we deliver.

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Artistic Variation

After we’ve gone through all of the images, we will add a few artistic variations. These may include color enhancements, vignettes, different cropping (maybe displaying a square image) and so on.

Artistic variations show what we can do with any image. We can apply artistic effects to any ordered image. We just add the effects to a few of them as examples.

The only other changes we really do to images is cropping and sharpening. Those steps are usually done as a final step before posting the images on our website, or when creating prints. We also add a border to images we post in our blog, just to help the image stand out.

This whole process is a timely one. With weddings, we typically are delivering around 750 images, sometimes a lot more. We might not make the same exact adjustments to every single image, but we do go through every single one and make sure they look their best. We think it is well worth it!

Here is the image again, showing before and after retouching: