Many people might be surprised by how much work goes into each session – people might have thought that it only takes an hour of taking pictures and that that is it. Nope! It takes quite a bit longer than an hour. :)
When you hire me you are really paying for more that just 1-2 hours of my time you are actually hiring me for 12-15 hours. Most of the work I do takes place after the session "developing" and fine tuning your images.
So, I wanted to showcase a cute, cute image I captured recently to show you how I take the image that comes out of my camera and process it so that the client gets a “perfectly processed image.
Why do I even need to process with Photoshop in the first place?
Well, one reason is that I shoot in RAW mode – the final image quality is higher. Raw images come out of camera looking- dull and grey – it needs processing before it can be turned into a jpeg that is prinable. Think "Digital Negative". Remember how film negatives have to be developed? Well, raw images are negatives that have to be "developed" too. This takes place in the digital darkroom.
Here is some of the steps:
BEFORE WE MEET:
1. Set up with client the day/time of the shoot, discuss with client location options, wardrobe styling
2. Check gear (camera body, lenses, battery, memory cards)
3. Clean gear (lenses, especially)
SHOOTING TIME:
4. Travel time to location (usually about 30-40 minutes roundtrip)
5. time spent with family/children newborn (1.5 – 2 hours for a family session and up to 4 hours for a newborn session)
AFTER THE SESSION:
6. download images from my camera into lightroom
7. back-up images
8. proofing images and selecting the 20-25 best images from approximately 350 images
9. post processing best images to present to client
10. converting the “Straight Out of the Camera” images from RAW to jpgs to present to client
11. uploading images to online gallery
12. contacting client with information on how to view images and how to order images for their portrait collection
13. creating a blog entry for the photo session
14. Discussing with client specifics about their order (images they’ve selected, products they are ordering, prints they are ordering)
15. placing print and product orders
16. packaging orders and sending them off to the client!
ARE YOU STILL THERE?! WHEW! That is a lot of steps! I would say that I spend about 12-15 hours from start to finish.
You are ready to see the picture right?
Here is the BEFORE and AFTER shot:
You probably want to know what i did right?
Remember RAW images are grey, lifeless and need processing.
Look at the histogram and you can see it is a well exposed image. Jpegs have color saturation and sharpening applied. Raw images don't so the photographer needs to add this, but it allows for more control.
First, i corrected white balance. This image was taken in "cloudy" conditions resulting in cool(blue) skin tones. Then I added contrast using a curves layer and brightened skin tones. I boosted the saturation of colors and darkened the background to make her really stand out. I brightened her eyes and diminished under eye circles. All the time making sure not to loose detail in the whites of her dress- aka blown highlights.
How long does post-processing take for one image? It depends on the image. Sometimes 10 minutes per image, sometimes 20-30 minutes – depending on how many Photoshop tricks I use.
And remember, I did all of this because RAW images come out of the camera looking a bit grey until they are processed. The client receives a high-quality image that will print out beautifully at a professional lab – one that knows how to handle professional processing.
