Editing & Airbrushing by October James Photography
INTRO: The thousands of photos we take on your wedding day is just the start of the process. One absolutely crucial aspect of photography that is often underestimated is the post-production editing. Every professional photographer should edit their images but the competency with which this is done varies greatly. At October James Photography we do so much more than simply apply a preset software filter. The photos we show you as examples in our albums and online galleries are exactly the same as those delivered to our clients.
NERDY STUFF: When you take a photo with your phone or if you want quick, decent results with your camera, you'll shoot and save your images in JPEG. This widely used format compresses the image at the time of shooting and, most significantly, adds image processing to enhance the photo. Pictures shot in JEPG are "ready to use" the moment they are taken. However, experienced photographers using professional equipment should always set their cameras to save in a format called RAW. These files are typically 5x the size of a JEPG and, basically, contains the "raw" data from the camera without any image processing. Image editing software such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom allow you to manipulate hundreds of settings with precise control and, importantly, little if any image degradation. When you first open a RAW image it can look flat and lifeless but it is specifically designed to enable the photographer to adjust settings that will ultimately produce a photo the quality of which will far exceed what is possible with the JPEG format.
EXAMPLES:
In the first example below, the sun was shining brightly through the window into a dark room and because of this the image is unbalanced with the wedding dress and window "blowing out". If you shot in JPEG there would be little you could do to correct this but with a RAW image and the right experience you can pull the highlights back and return detail to the dress and the window area. Also, among other things, the vertical lines at the edges of the photo have been corrected, skin smoothing applied to the bride and the room darkened for a nicer feel.
In the exterior example below, the most dramatic change is to correct the perspective. When shooting up at a building the vertical lines will distort and look like they're falling away from you. We can correct for this resulting in a more natural and professional looking image. We also warmed and lightened the facade slightly as well as adding a nicer sky.
AIRBRUSHING: Airbrushing takes things to the next level. During this process we can remove anything distracting from the picture, maybe a rogue dustbin or signpost for example. Additionally, we run custom-designed skin smoothing, teeth whitening and eye brightening processes to show you at your absolute best! It shouldn’t be obvious that a photo has been airbrushed and this is what takes the skill - enhancing an image without it looking like you have! In the example below, Yasmin's eyes looked slightly sunken and dark so we brought them out with a bit of eye brightening as well as applying teeth whitening, skin smoothing.
WHAT WE DO:
Every single photo we provide is individually edited adjusting the wide range of parameters available to give each one “our look”. We have taken a considerable amount of time and called upon all our years of experience to create a unique editing process. Additionally, every photo that is in the "sneak peek" and each one that goes into your printed album will also be airbrushed. Once all the editing has been done, the RAW images will then be saved to JPEGs for compatibility.
The downside of all this manual editing is that it takes considerable time and experience but this is our job and ultimately the results are well worth all the effort.
OUR TIMESCALE:
We want to get your photos back to you quickly - we're enthusiastic about them and want you to see them as soon as possible. We regularly hear of wedding photographers taking at least 6 months to get their client's photos back to them and sometimes as long as a year! We like to move much faster. Within about a week of your wedding we will get you a "sneak peek" containing about 30 of your day's best photos, fully edited and airbrushed to perfection. The balance, also fully and individually edited, will be with you within approximately 4 weeks.
CONTACT: Email us any time at octoberjamesphotography@gmail.com
Web: www.octoberjames.com
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