Considering Image Editing
How savvy are your photo editing skills? How necessary is image editing talent anyway? Today’s cameras make taking great photos easier than ever before, and straight out of the camera these images can be stunning! But these images can be like an unfinished canvas with room for improvement. The layman may not realize the potential power postproduction has in the art of photography. In this episode, we will go beyond merely capturing photos, and explore image postproduction and why it’s a vital part of the photographic process.
Photography Quote of the Day
"A photograph is memory in the raw."
Pre-thought for Postproduction in Photography
Whether you’re a professional photographer or a hobbyist, understanding the significance of image editing is crucial to elevate your work. Even when camera settings, lighting, composition, and other variables are executed flawlessly, editing remains crucial”.
Read on to learn more about how both photographer and client can benefit from postproduction!
The Value of Photography Postproduction
By taking the best pictures you can while at a photoshoot, you will save yourself a lot of trouble in the editing stage. But it is unlikely that all of the conditions at the photoshoot will be perfect. This is a great reason for postproduction. Editing is just part of the process. This is even truer for photos taken as RAW files.
RAW files are uncompressed & unprocessed to preserve as much detail as possible. This gives photographers greater flexibility in the editing process and allows us to take the quality of our pictures further! On the other hand, JPEG photos are compressed files that have had much of the unnecessary data removed to save space.
What are we adjusting?
1. Exposure & Contrast
These are two of the most important adjustments you can make. Typically, editing software user interfaces provides sliders for adjusting elements like these to improve our images.
• Exposure in postproduction refers to the level of brightness our pictures have. Highlights (the brightest parts) & shadows (the darkest parts) can be considered a part of exposure.
• Contrast is the range, from lightest to darkest, of brightness in an image. Photographers may choose to use natural editing techniques to preserve how the scene looked originally, or to exaggerate details for more dramatic or artistic purposes.
2. Color
Originally, in old school photography, pictures and video were done without color. The 1939 movie: The Wizard of Oz gave audiences an impressive introduction to the world of color when Dorothy arrived in Oz, as the world she knew before was in black and white!
Color makes pictures vibrant and pop! They can even convey moods or direct our attention. People tend to associate cooler colors (such as blue) with calmness and serenity, or warmer colors (like red) with love and excitement.
3. Cropping
Cropping is one of the most basic and important tools available in most editing software platforms. The idea is simple: when you crop, you remove a portion of the edges of a picture you took or straighten the image by rotating it.
More about Color
There are 3 topics on color I want to mention: color spaces, color temperature, & monitor color calibration. I will be brief.
1. Color spaces
These define a device’s color range. sRGB is suitable for digital devices, while Adobe RGB (1998) is preferred for printing due to its broader color range. You’ll want to select a color space that works well with your intended use.
2. Color Temperature & White Balance
Different light sources have varying color temperatures. These temperatures can look orange, blue, or green depending on the light source.
You can match your camera’s white balance to your environment at a photoshoot or adjust the white balance later in postproduction.
The Kelvin scale is often used as a reference for this. Sunlight is in the 5,600k range, while incandescent lightbulbs are in the 3,200k range on the scale.
3. Monitor Color Calibration
By color calibrating the monitor you use in postproduction, you ensure that the colors you see while editing match your digital content accurately.
There are various methods for doing this, but I prefer using the Datacolor SpyderX Elite. This lens-based device connects to your computer to accurately calibrate your monitor.
Photo Retouching
Retouching (made famous by Adobe Photoshop) is a more advanced technique than mere exposure and color correction. This is where you use an image editor to digitally remove or add elements to a picture.
• As an editor, you may want to remove a trash can from the background of a photo taken at a park. You could also digitally add a person into that picture!
• In portrait photography, a lot of the work done is removing skin blemishes, stains on clothing, and stray hairs of the subject. Whitening teeth and brightening eyes is another option.
In my own workflow, I am conscious to retain the natural appearance of those I photograph. To achieve this, I apply minimal editing, careful to keep the desired details I want to preserve.
Continuity with Image Editing
Continuity (meaning the consistency of content) is vital for storytelling and branding, ensuring that images fit together and convey a cohesive message. Consistency of content helps prevent images seeming disjointed from each other.
This can be achieved by using consistent camera settings to begin with, and by matching values for things like exposure, contrast, and white balance consistently while in postproduction.
Precision Photography Editing
As it is true for photographers who use manual settings while shooting, going through the postproduction process gives us greater control and precision over the final appearance of the pictures we take.
Adobe Lightroom is an awesome software giving editors the ability to make mass adjustments simultaneously to multiple (hundreds or more) images at a time! I find Photoshop more suited for working on individual pictures. Of course, combining elements from other picture files and using layers (within the same project) is not uncommon.
Preserve Your Original Photo Files!
Keep the original RAW files for flexibility for future editing. JPEGs lack the depth of detail for adjustments that RAW files have.
Optimization for Intended Use
There are two most common uses for picture files: web sharing or printing. Consider resolution and PPI (pixels per inch: how densely packed the pixels are in a square inch) based on whether the image is for web sharing or printing. Web images need smaller sizes, while printing requires higher resolution and PPI.
Here are some recommended resolution & PPI sizes for web sharing:
• FHD (full high definition)
1920 x 1080 pixels (72 PPI)
• 4K (ultra-high definition)
3840 x 2160 pixels (72 PPI)
For printing, keep the original picture resolution (which will vary depending on which camera you use) and use 300 PPI or greater. I would recommend having a printing resolution of 4K equivalent or greater.
Afterthoughts of Image Editing
This overview doesn’t cover every aspect of postproduction, but it highlights its importance. Beginners can start by learning the basics of editing software, while experienced editors should focus on improving their weaker areas.
I recommend getting a subscription for the Adobe Suite (which includes several apps, currently starting at $54.99 per month). From there, you would want to learn the basics of the user interface and features for the type or work you’ll be primarily doing. It is unnecessary to learn every control available in these software platforms. It is more important to be adept with a handful you’ll use frequently.
Remember, postproduction skills take time to develop, and your unique style will set you apart. Stay patient and positive, and you can master the art of image editing.
