Let’s talk about the difference between editing and retouching. What do those terms mean and what should you expect in your finished photos? It all starts with the original photo.
Straight out of Camera
I started my professional photography career thirty years ago shooting film so I typically nail the basics in camera. This includes exposure (not too dark or too bright), color balance (not too warm or too cool), and composition (nice, flattering angles). Digital cameras give instant feedback so if I’m slightly off on something I can quickly adjust right in the moment; however, it’s rare that I will deliver “SOOC” Straight out of Camera photos to clients. Like most photographers, I want to do a bit of editing first.
Here is an example of a newborn photo. The exposure is in the ball park but I want it brighter so the whites really pop and cropping those corners will create a more uniform backdrop. I also want to warm up this image overall.
Editing
The editing software I use is Adobe Lightroom. This is where I tweak the image, adjusting exposure, color balance and composition (cropping) so everything looks great for you. When I’m finished I post them with in your online gallery. Yay! Always exciting!
In our newborn baby photo example you can see this is much a much better photo than the SOOC one with just a few simple adjustments.
Retouching
Retouching is the finishing touch! Once you order photos in either digital or printed format I go through them one more time to fine tune everything. Where editing works in broad strokes, retouching is individualized work. This is where I smooth skin, remove distracting background elements, fix flyway hairs and more. Think of it as a final “clean up”!
This baby had beautiful skin and did not need much done there but the background was still a bit distracting so I smoothed out the wrinkles in the fabric and brightened the whites just a bit more!
I want everything that you purchase from me to look it’s best so I include editing on all photos before I post them in your online gallery and basic retouching is complimentary on anything you order!
