Another question that I sometimes get from prospective clients is whether I do my own post-processing of images, and if so what kind of look do I go for. Well this is one of my favourite questions because I looooooove editing images. This is not to say I cannot take technically proficient images and need to cover that up in post, but more so to add a personal touch to them. And it is also important to note that I shoot RAW format images, which tend to be bland and dull unless some work is done on them.
So below are some simple (and slightly exaggerated) examples of trends that I have noticed in the past and present. I am not judging anyone who uses these methods – photography is subjective as far as I am concerned – but the point here is that I do not use them and I much prefer going for a more natural representation of your day than make it look like something out of a Marvel movie (unless that’s your request and I am happy to oblige :))
This is closer to a normal representation of the day itself, with some enhancements.
More and more images tend to have a slight bluish tone to them. I did a quick edit to make a point, but I have seen masters do this with more finesse and their clients love it so that’s once again subjective. I am just not into it too much.
Black and white and a little washed out. More retro maybe?
You will notice the shadows are more burned in. This gives the image a more contrasty look.
Quite a popular one recently, where images are purposely de-saturated to give them the faded classic look.
I am guilty of this sometimes, but I have learned to dial it down a notch. This is an example of giving the image too much warmth. Of course this is justifiable in certain scenarios because human beings just look more natural with a warm skin tone, but not in this case.
Selective colour. I used to do this when I first learned to use image editing software. Never looked back since!
So there you have it. There are tons of other editing styles and trends floating around, but these are the prevalent ones in my opinion.
As a wedding photographer I think my job is not only to be there for my clients (if they have certain editing requests I am more than happy to oblige), but also to provide some value in terms of what I suggest might look better in different scenarios.
I just find natural images looking better more often than not and they prove to have that timeless quality to them. Have a look over here if you are keen on my style of photography during weddings 🙂
What are your thoughts?
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