My commercial photography is all about capturing moments, emotions, and stories through a lens for businesses, brands, and people.
The icing on the ‘visual cake’ that makes the work come together requires an important final stage, known as post-editing. In this blog post, I want to share my post-editing process and help you understand what happens during this stage. I’ll also share why it commands just as much or more time and budget than the photography shoot itself, and why it’s so valuable.
role of post-editing
Post-editing is the process of enhancing and refining the RAW photographs straight out of my camera. A RAW file is simply a digital image file that is of the highest uncompressed quality and minimally processed/edited in camera. RAW images are then transferred from my camera to computer where I utilise professional editing software from Adobe called Lightroom and Photoshop to ‘develop’ the images, similar to the analog film days, but digitally. While the goal is always to achieve an authentic look, post-editing enables me to add ‘my style’ to images that I’ve developed over more than a decade. The post-editing process also removes visual distractions the scene.
post-editing process
After the photoshoot has finished, the first thing I do is transfer the images to my archive hard drive and then back them up to offsite drives too. I also keep all work on the memory cards until delivery just as a triple backup! The editing process then starts with the complete collection being looked through individually, and images that will not work are removed. Image collections range from a handful of images to thousands, and the ‘culling’ of images is vital. At this stage I often upload the set to a online gallery for the client to then choose the images they want me to then edit.
The second round then begins with every single image being edited individualy. I never “auto-adjust batch edit” any of my photographs with Lightroom because every image requires specific edits for colour balance and exposure. I never add preset colours either because, apart from looking awful, I like to keep colours and tones as natural as possible.
If I’m post editing portraits or headshots, this stage is where I tidy up stray hairs, whiten teeth and remove fluff and hairs on the clothing in Photoshop. I might also remove the subject and add to another background, or add lighting to the rear of the subject to create minor separation- depending upon the clients goals.
The final part of the process is more Photoshopping to add or remove larger and more complicated parts of the image such as people and vehicles. Replacing blown out or grey skies with blue fluffy clouds is also a very common step during this stage of post-editing. During the part of the process I will also often tidy up road surfaces, grassy sections that are worn, or larger elements within the scene that cause distraction and pull the eye away from the subject, such as bright colours or structures.
conclusion
As you can now see, post-editing can be a time-consuming process when done right. Even though I work diligently to deliver the best results within a reasonable timeframe and budget, this part of the process can incur costs similar to or greater than the actual photoshoot. The editing process is an integral part of my commercial photography services that transforms raw images into work that meets the brief’s target and style.
By understanding more about post-editing, I hope you can develop a deeper appreciation for the effort, time, and artistry that goes into creating the final images. Effective communication, realistic expectations, and understanding of my post-editing process are all essential elements of a successful photographer-client relationship post-photoshoot, yielding fantastic results.
While I try to keep post-editing time to a minimum, if the post-shoot timeline exceeds that of the shoot, it’s because the images require it to look their best. Ultimately, it’s the post-editing that sets our work apart from other images on the market, making it worth the investment for businesses and brands.
Below i’ve included some ‘before and after’ images that showcases the process from RAW files to finished image. I’ve published this post here too.
