Photo Editing

Every Photographer has their own process for editing photos. I picked the following examples to showcase multiple different parts of my editing process. Some of these examples aren’t edited completely (you may see things that still need fixing), they are simply to serve as examples of individual aspects of my process.

Exposure Correction

Exposure is important for your photographs. I oftentimes purposefully underexpose my photos slightly in order to make sure that any highlights in my images retain detail.

Color Grading and Correction

Color is also very important. Our eyes can oftentimes recognize when colors are incorrect on certain things.

In the first example below it is very easily recognized that the subjects skin tone is off. The color of things such as the grass or dress in the picture below can be changed artistically to suit the palette of the photo or series of photos.

The example below is another interesting example in color grading/correction. This Event’s venue was lit with lights that were unable to be corrected with white balance while shooting. This extreme orange lighting made it so that the Raw image’s color is almost only orange or black. I was able to add other colors back into the photo to create more contrast between colors, and ultimately create a much more natural looking color palette.

Detailed Corrections & Distraction Removal

Taking photos with the least amount of elements distracting from my subject is usually my goal. That being said some distractions aren’t always avoidable.

In the example below, I was dealing with a lot of shadows, reflections, grime, and the odd construction on the edge of the upper layer of that building. Some distractions can be removed easily with computer software , but for this photo most of the car’s reflections and shadows had to be painstakingly painted and blended out in photoshop.

Finished Image w/ Detailed Car Subject Correction and Background distraction removal

Digitally Painted out blemishes and unwanted perfections for a clean finished look.

Without Detailed corrections

With Detailed Corrections

Masking

My favorite part of editing photos is masking. In this process I select certain areas in the photo to edit separate from the rest of the photo.

As you can see in the 2nd image, the subject’s exposure is being increased separately from the rest of the image. The 3rd image shows how, by masking different parts of the photo, I can dynamically change the lighting, colors, and detail of this image to create a much more intriguing photo.

Masking of an area around the subject: increasing exposure and contrast

Multiple Masks: Top Left, Subject, Bottom Right

Other steps

My process for editing photos oftentimes require more steps and adjustments than the examples above. There are countless ways to create an edit and every photograph requires a little something different from the rest.