Before & After | On Lightroom Presets, Salvaging an image, and Ethics…
Happy tax day! (Except it’s not really happy at all, especially not for us small business owners because today I have to write a check to the government bigger than I’ve ever written a check before and then I have to trek down to the post office and wish and hope and pray for short lines and I know it’s mostly my fault for waiting till the last minute but I can’t help it because my accountant just sent me the form I need the other day and I accidentally dismantled our office before realizing I’d be needing to print something but the office-turned-guest room looks amazing and Nate’s happy because I set up his drum set in there, or at least tried to but I put the bass drum in backwards, and now I need to call Guinness to see if I can apply for the award of longest run on sentence ever. Amen.)
Since most of you don’t have tons of extra time today, I’ll try to keep this short (but long enough to be a happy distraction, or procrastination, let’s just be honest here). When we sent out our spring blog survey a bit ago one of the overwhelming requests was that we post more before and afters. I’m hoping that’s because you like the way we edit and not because you’re wondering if we take horrible images and somehow with photoshop wizardry make them look good. I’ll keep hoping for the former either way.
Let me first begin this with a disclaimer: We are not claiming to be experts on editing. This is just what we do and what works for us so take it all with a grain of salt. Every photographer has a different style, a different mentality, and a different workflow with editing and all we are trying to do is show you ours in case it helps you with yours or inspires you in a new way. (Or in case you aren’t a photographer but just like to see the difference between before and afters. That’s okay too.) And of course we’d love to hear your thoughts or your favorite tricks as well so feel free to share in the comments section.
Image 1: Bridesmaids
This images was shot by me (Becka) durning the getting ready time. The room had a strange mix of natural and tungsten lighting (that’s like table lamp lightbulbs for you non-light-temperature-fluent friends). The image just needed a few simple tweaks and it was completely done in Adobe Lightroom. (We try and do as much as we can in Lightroom to help save time and only pull in our favorite images or ones that need a bit more TLC into Photoshop) Here’s what I did: Import> TRA Preset Golden Age > Exposure +.25 > Orange shift -6
Image 2: Groomsmen
This image was shot by Nate before the ceremony. It was taken outside on a sunny day in April. It was great, except a tad dark. So all we needed to do was basic adjustments, no tonings. Here’s what I did: TRA Preset Auto Tone > Temp +633 (warmed it up) > Highlight recovery +16
Image 3: Bridal Portrait
This image was taken by me in a room with all kinds of crazy lighting happening. I snapped it fast while the bride was looking away. I loved the shape her neck and shoulders made and the fact that her hair was being shown off. But, since I snapped it fast I didn’t have time to do much else other than snap the shutter. This photo needs more help than Lightroom can handle so this one had to be pulled into Photoshop. Here’s what I did: Import into Lightroom > White Balance: Custom (using the dropper to match from her dress) > Temp to 3.7K (to warm it up more) > Exposure +.25 > Highlight Recovery +16 > Post-crop vignette -21 > TRA Brightside Lite > export import to PS3 > Use the Stamp to clone out the chair, finished with a custom action of mine that adds just a bit of golden light and definition.
Lastly, I wanted to address something about the last photo. The bride has a tiny scar on her back right shoulder and no I did not remove it. It is my personal belief if it is permanent, I leave it. If it’s a scratch, scab, pimple, booger (are you grossed out yet?), etc… I’ll take it out. But things that are part of a person like a scar or a mole or freckles… those things stay. Those things make them beautiful and unique. There is an ethics issue at play here and while other people may disagree and think that you should Photoshop the hell out of people to make them look perfect (READ: plastic) I disagree. (Again, this is just my opinion.) To go even a step higher on this soapbox, I only Liquify things that aren’t normally there on my clients. For example, I don’t just arbitrarily Liquify my clients to look 15 pounds lighter, or to make a certain body part look smaller. But, if my client moves in a way that makes a certain part look bigger or different than it actually is in real life (like an arm being smooshed against a body, or a dress causing a bit of a bulge in a tight spot) I’ll fix that. Because that’s not what they normally look like, that’s just an unflattering pose. Does that make sense? I think it’s insulting for me to go in and photoshop them into being someone completely different. If I need to do that to make my photo look better, than I didn’t do a very good job taking it in the first place. *end scene*
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Discloser: We are part of an associates program with Get Totally Rad through which we earn a percentage based on purchases made after clicking through one of the links we post. We believe in the product and use it ourselves. So… it’s good for you, it’s good for Totally Rad, and it’s good for us. Triple win.
@Kayla Thanks so much!
I love B&A posts and this one is no different! What a great post covering some great topics – I also use Totally Rad Presets and I have cut down time spent after a shoot, more than in half. They are simply amazing. I also love your thoughts on re-touching :) Thanks so much for sharing!
Sooooo agree with you on the scar thing-so many people edit the skin to look plastic, and I believe that a well taken photograph can make anyone look good…naturally. Bravo!
I totally agree with the people that filled out the form. Definitely more before and afters would be muchly appreciated. I love seeing how people edit their images. It gives me ideas on how to tweak my editing.
I think making people look plastic is insulting as well. And really really fake. I want someone to see themselves when they look at a photo I take of them, not someone I think they should be.
@ESBlondie Thank you! :)
This post was awesome!! Thanks for the tips. I love seeing how the pros take amazing photos and then enhance them to make them even more amazing! Keep up the good work you 2. I love your blog and read it every day.
Love reading your editing posts. The worst part about editing is boogers!!!! Gross!!
@Robin That is very true, and one of the reasons why I hate strapless dresses. I only fix that if it’s pronounced and only in the artistic portraits or our favorite picks for the album.
Nicely worded post. However, with strapless gowns being worn my most brides, the back fat over the top edge is ever present. Bride’s hate it when they see their photos but what to do – liquify or not? It was there the whole wedding – in every shot but – they still hate it. A dilemna such as this drives me nuts. What do you guys do about that?
The TRA presets look great, we use the Photoshop actions but i try to do everything in lightroom as well. Great work and yes I love before/after posts. The recipes section on TRA are a constant source of new ideas and new ways to use Photoshop.
b&a rule!
Love seeing before and afters! Thanks for sharing :)
@Amanda What do you use? Bridge? Aperture? If you are only using PS, then you most definitely need to look into it! It will save you hours of your life!
@Tamara I agree that the ethics on boudoir are different because women come into a session like that with the expectation that there will be photoshop to cover sensitive issues. But in boudoir, you’re also photographing parts that are not normally shown. But, I still think there is a line between enhancing and changing a person completely. The presets in LR for Totally Rad are pretty awesome. I actually use the basic ones (like exposure, toning, sharpening) more than the fancy ones that change the colors but I like both. They have helped speed up our workflow tremendously as I don’t need to pull as many images into PS as I used to for fine tuning.
Thank you for this, Becka and Nate! I love learning more about other photographers’ work flow. I found TRA though you guys, but haven’t tried their Lightroom actions yet, they are on my list now!
Love your editing philosophy, I don’t think it should be any other way.
1st….You totally win for the longest run-on sentence and have successfully dethroned me. Congrats.
I totally agree with your views on editing, including tweaking an action to make it your own and leaving the “character” on a person. Things get a little trickier for me with boudoir, but that’s a whole other Oprah for a different season.
Hmmm, the more I see those Totally Rad Actions in Lightroom, the closer I get to exercising my bank account……
Your philosophy on editing is exactly like mine…if it’s permanent it stays. I told a bride the other day that her scars are beautiful and make her unique. ;) And, I say this all the time, but I really need to look into that whole Lightroom thing.
Excellent, excellent post! I feel the exact same way about liquify. I say that if it doesn’t normally look that way, but the camera captured it that way (arm smooshes, and a few other things as you mentioned), I’ll liquify. I actually used it on a client whose shirt was blowing crazily in the wind – because normally the shirt wouldn’t look like that. But otherwise, no.
I love your examples – and how they show that you aren’t using photoshop to fix a lousy photo – you’re using the tools to enhance what you’ve already captured. That bridal portrait is a great example – the light on her back and hair is beautiful!