Whew, I have been a bad blogger lately. I hope when I post this, a cloud of dust doesn’t emerge from my computer. Since I’ve been so absent and absent-minded these days, I thought I’d add a little extra to this post.
I recently took some headshots for a charming gal named Samin. So, so lovely. I thought I’d combine posting her pics with some before/after examples. Every now and then, I like to show folks how my editing works. I’m always saying things like, “I try to keep it subtle”, and “all the images will have ‘basic’ editing”, and “some images will have little extra tweaks”. There’s probably greater impact when I actually SHOW what the heck I’m talking about. Keep in mind that headshots involve a very specific type of photography and editing. There are certain rules that are followed to make sure that casting agents get what they’re looking for. Editing can be much more creative for weddings, boudoir shoots, or even family portraits. So, these examples are specific to how I edit headshots.
In this first set, the image on the left is straight out of the camera. The image on the right represents what I refer to as “basic” editing. For headshots, I do this to all the images we capture during a session. It involves adjustments to brightness, contrast, white balance (color), and those types of things. I do these to really make the photos “pop”.
For a headshot session, I let folks select up to five of their favorites for extra tweaking. This is where I try to really be light-handed with edits. I don’t like when images look overly touched up. So, below you can see the difference between the image on the left, which has had just “basic” editing, and the image on the right, which has has the extra tweaks. You might notice that I removed the purple button hole from the pic on the left. I thought it was a little bit distracting. For headshots, your eye should always be drawn to the face, This is also why the background is typically blurred.
This next set shows the same as above. The left image is straight from the camera. The right image has had basic editing.
The left image below has had basic editing, and the one on the right has had the extra tweaking.
Here are a few other shots from her session. Isn’t she adorable?!
Her sweet mom, Farrah, joined us for the shoot. Of course we had to get a photo of the two of them!
This shot was taken during a lighting check. I thought it was too pretty not to edit, so I gave it a washed vintage look. This is an example of how I would NOT edit a headshot, but how I would edit a portrait.
And, back to headshots….
Samin, thank you for being such a complete joy to work with! And, I hope y’all enjoyed the before/after stuff!
