How I Edit My Images- With Before + After!
Alright, so. For this blog post I wanted to try something different. Feelings are great but as of recently especially, ya girl has got a LOT of feelings. And I’ve been talkin’ about em. So, for once… I just want to shut up about my feelings for a second, if that’s cool with you.
I’ve been asked several times about my editing process- whether its been people straight up DM'-ing or messaging me asking about how I edit or telling me they wanna see behind the scenes editing on Instagram (which I’m working on doing)- so let’s talk about it! I’m an open book.
Also, if you’re into "Before + After” photos and witnessing things for the first time, boy do I have good news for you-
I’ve never done a before + after… until now. Lets do this.
To be honest, you guys. I don’t do a ton of editing. By which I mean- I mostly am doing edits to create stronger colors or encourage certain tones or color schemes- enhance the existing beauty of the photo rather than trying to make it into something completely different. That’s WHY it’s so easy for me to deliver a gazillion photos in your gallery. My workflow is fairly quick and I’ve learned through years of experience (aka doing something the hard way for a year, realizing that it can be easier and trying a different way for a year before I realize a better way) that what works for me is to spend the time and effort AT the session to get light, composition, etc as close to perfect as I can in camera and do minimal manipulation in post-processing. I assume that most photographers probably do this, because who wants to do more work while editing when you can literally just…get it to look like that in real life? Don’t get me wrong, This is not always possible. Some things NEED to be added or corrected during the editing process.
I have a specific editing workflow that I use:
-Upload to hard drive
-Backup- to an external hard drive… and another one. And also Google Drive. I would do this first if I could. This is so important.
-Import to Lightroom (LR) for Cull + First Edit (I have LR + PS through Adobe Creative Cloud. I pay like $10 monthly. So worth it. If you’re thinking about doing it as a beginner photographer, stop thinking. If you can swing it financially- do it.)
-Import to Photoshop (PS) for more controlled/specific edits aka Second Edit
-Final Inspection
…and that’s it! And its even easier than it sounds. Let’s get into it.
SO. Technically, before anything else can happen, I have to wait like 2 hours minimum while the images transfer from memory card to my hard drive. 1200-1400 photos taken is typical for a full session. The wait time used to be irritating to me- so much that I shot and edited JPEG files instead of RAW- I’ll probably go into detail in a later blog but you should not be shooting or editing JPEG files if you have the option to shoot RAW- but in my old age, my legs and I have found that waiting is super easy after you’ve just done a lot of running and squatting for 2 hours straight.
Then, after I’ve imported to Lightroom, I can cull- which means choosing the photos I’ll keep for the gallery- and do my first round of edits. Fortunately for me, it’s actually more convenient for my workflow to edit and cull at the same time rather than cull first and edit the final chosen images in a separate step.
First Edit:
(in LR) I apply an action from my set of trusty presets by dirtybootsandmessyhair (Check out the shop, Instagram page and hashtag! Tons of inspiration from talented photographers!)
Then, I simply bring the Highlights down and adjust the temperature to add a little warmth. Boom, done. Boom, roasted. (NBC’s The Office, anyone?)
Then, usually a day or two later, I’ll revisit the same gallery to start the finishing process. I’ll open each photo in Adobe Photoshop, adjust the Curves to make the contrast pop a bit and make the black tones more rich, use a selective saturation tool that I have downloaded from another preset bundle (although, I’m not sure what the bundle is called!) to get the good stuff (SUPER rich colors) apply sharpening to the appropriate details and do any skin/physical edits (**I will never edit anyone’s body without them explicitly asking, but when they ask, I edit out stretch marks or smooth out areas of the body within reason, although none of these examples show body edits)
Final Inspection.
I have anxiety, so I insist on double and triple…and quadruple checking. Rather than letting my anxiety take over my life, we’ve decided to compromise and do one final check. Basically, this is exactly what it sounds like. Specifically, I open my photos as HUGE as I can (my computer monitor is 32”, so that’s a fair amount of room for expansion from the condensed version of that in LR or PS) to make sure they’re nice and crisp and that my focus fell on the correct spot. I flip through each photo, essentially just scanning it with my eyes, making sure my editing is all consistent. Specifically, I look for:
-Skin edits consistency- Does this persons skin/body look the same in all of their images? Is their skin too warm? Does the skin tone look the same in each image? I’m also looking to make sure that if a body edit was requested, I did it in a way to honor the person’s body and self-esteem and did not completely make it into something different.
-Color/tone consistency- Did I overdo it on ONE image when I was doing all that contrast poppin’ and selective saturating? Overall, I’m just making sure the completed gallery will look cohesive!
-Sharpness- FUN FACT- I used to be an Ophthalmic Assistant (Photographer on the side) AND an Optician- aka I know a good amount about eyes, eyesight and how to fix it if its bad! LOL! I can also adjust and repair eyeglasses. Anyway, because of that, I was at the eye doctor regularly- about 40 hours a week, the usual amount of time you spend at the eye doctor- and was diagnosed with severe dry eye, an EXTREMELY uncomfortable condition which is intensified by cold air, hot air, the sun, the computer screen, wearing eye makeup, being awake, being asleep, breathing and/or having been born at any time and can definitely affect your vision. I’m not gonna lie, it super sucks. Either my eyes are desert dry and my eyelids are sticking together like I put on Elmer’s brand mascara or they’re leaking vehemently in a grand romantic gesture to create ANY source of moisture possible. It’s just as dramatic and annoying as it sounds.
Another fun fact! I will never tell you exactly how many photos are in your gallery before it’s delivered. The answer is “The guaranteed amount and likely waaaay more than that” or “Somewhere between ____ and ____”. I keep it vague because during the final inspection, I typically delete between 1 and 5 images that are lackluster or that look too similar to another photo.
and, there ya have it. That’s how the “magic” happens! If it seems easy, it’s because it kind of is! Not effortless, but not difficult! To be fair, I’ve also been doing it for the better part of 10 years. I’ve figured some stuff out.
If you have any questions- editing related, photo related or friendship related, click here, here or here to ask ‘em. While you’re at it, leave me a comment below and let me know what you wanna see in my next blog!
