A Little Post on Post Production

We don't usually go too much into what happens behind-the-scenes here, but I'd like to start changing that a little!

When you're on a shoot with us and we're showing you the back of the camera to give you an idea of what the images are going to look like you'll have a tendency to hear me add a little disclaimer. I will point out that this is just how it looks out of the camera. My goal for this post is to point out why I mention that.

Once we've had our fun on the shoot everything comes home, gets backed up, then it gets organized. That's when the magic of editing begins.

All that you need to do is grab the center button and drag it back and forth to see the before and after for each photo. Then you can see the difference editing can make, and why that little disclaimer means more than you think.  

This first one is an automotive photo from our shoot with Jayjay and his WRX. The light is pretty standard for a sunset here which really helped to make this one pop. I always make my global adjustments first in order to bring back some of that contrast and bright quality. After that I'll work on my local adjustments. This is where dodge and burn comes in, and it's where I try to bring as much focus to my subject as possible. After that I use curves in order to tone my photo. That's where a majority of the color comes in.

This next photo is from a shoot that we had with my friend Shane. This is a more typical portrait retouch. Again, we're assisted with some beautiful light which is something we try and take advantage of whenever possible, but this time it was coming from a strobe with a soft box on it. The technique is the same as previously: global adjustments, local adjustments, and then toning. Here we had to bring back a lot of the shadows in order to help Shane stand out.

Not all photographs require the same amount of work done to them. However, they do all get some kind of treatment. I'm looking to make the best possible image that I can, and this is what allows me to do it.

If you want to check out either of the full posts with these pictures in them you can find Jayjay and his car here, or Shane and his Beetle here!