Because I Like to Keep Things Real | Evie Curley, Greensboro, NC Photographer

I don’t like to put up a front.  It’s just not in my nature to do that.  I’m all about “keeping it real” and in that spirit, today I’d like to share with you a before and after of a couple of photos.  Certainly, most people know that we photographers use Photoshop to edit and enhance our images.  Every photographer has a different editing style with some leaning towards romantic and dreamy, others are clean and straight editors, and then there are those who get really artistic and funky with their edits.  I tend to be more in the clean and straight category, though I admire many other photographers whose work falls under the other categories I listed.  All that to say, I try not to do too much with my images.  I want them to be as *right* as possible when I shoot them because I like capturing things as they are.  Here is an example.  This is the “Before” shot.  It’s not bad, but it can certainly use a little help.

Inherently with all digital images, they all need a little something, whether it’s a slight boost  of color or maybe contrast or a tad bit more sharpening.  Rare is the digital photographer who does NOTHING with an image.  You can see that this image is a little dull and hazy, another digital file issue.  This needs to be rectified before it can be shown to a client.  You will also notice that, while the subjects are nicely exposed, the background is a bit bright and some of the lovely Fall color has been affected by that.  Since these folks specifically wanted some Fall color in their photos, this simply won’t do!

Here is the image after I made some adjustments to the background, bringing back the color that was lost.  I really didn’t do much else to it except a minor color pop and sharpened the image somewhat but you can see what a difference there is between the before and the after.

Here you can see the images side by side. The adjustments are subtle but very powerful.

In addition to showing you what I did to one of my images, I wanted to show you what else we photographers do in order to improve the visual appeal of our photos so I asked my very dear friend, Amber Wiseman, of Amber Wiseman Photography in Marion, NC to share a couple of images as well.  I often tease her about being the “cloning queen” because she can take something in an image that would otherwise be a distraction and make it disappear.  In fact she often helps me when I come across something particularly challenging.  She is a very talented photographer as well, which you will see for yourself from the two examples I am about to show you.

The first example is from a wedding that I was actually lucky enough to second shoot with her.  This was my favorite shot that she took and she generously agreed to share her before and after of it with us.  One thing that can be very challenging for photographers is getting the sky and one’s subjects on the ground properly exposed in the same shot.  Especially for wedding photographers.  Because the bride is wearing a bright white gown it becomes important to slightly underexpose the shot and then take another shot that is a little brighter so you get all the good details in the gown and the sky, it’s just a matter of combining the two images adeptly which Amber has done here.

You can see that in the edited image, the gorgeous details of the sky with the rays of light beaming down are brought back out while keeping the details of the dress in tact at the same time.  Amber also cropped the image so it would have a more pleasing composition and lead your eye along a more interesting path in the image.  I really, really love this shot!!  Also, just so you know those rays of light are not artificial.  Those were actually present that day though it is possible to add things like that to images as well.

Here is another one of Amber’s images, one that demonstrates her prowess as the cloning queen.  See if you can tell what is different about the boy in the before versus the after:

While his expression is totally adorable, Amber felt that his left arm made the image feel off kilter so, she fixed it!!  She is SO good!!  Amber also artfully used a vintage edit along with a texture to give a really artistic take on this image.  I’m still working on bringing my artistic vision to my photos like that.  Not every image is right for texture but Amber has done a great job using it here.

Well, I hope that you have found this post informative.  I think it’s important to share with you the fact that, even though we are shooting with digital cameras, there is more to what we do than just clicking the shutter.  We use our expertise to further enhance the image to make into the art that you eventually purchase and enjoy.  This takes time and education.  Good professional photographers are always looking for ways to further hone their skills and are constantly trying new techniques.  Sometimes people question the investment that a photographer asks the client to make in their work and these are just a couple of examples of why we charge what we do.  I really invest a lot of time and energy into my portraits to make sure they look their best, and that my clients look their best.   Look for more posts like these in the future as I continue to add new skills to my Photoshop arsenal!