Photoshop - How Much is Too Much?

Photoshop (or any number of other editing packages) is an essential tool for all photographers. There are many film purists who believe it's cheating, but it's really just a different development process. In the olden days you had your film and paper and dunked it in a series of chemicals. It's a skilled process and takes time and practice to get it right. You could also add variation to the chemicals, time and light modifiers to give special effects.

Today, with digital, it's exactly the same. You just do it on a computer! But you can take it further than you could with film. Exposure and white balance adjustments are easy and done all the time to correct a poor original, or just to enhance an already good picture. There is an argument that says it makes photographers lazy. "It's OK. I'll fix it in Photoshop!"  Well, yes. But if you take a lot of photos that need fixing you quickly learn to spend 5 minutes getting it right in-camera to avoid hours of staring at a computer screen... And don't forget, every edit you do in Photoshop degrades the original slightly.

I use Photoshop (or more often Lightroom) on all of my pictures. I'll improve the crop and boost the contrast and colour vibrancy. Occasionally I may need to get rid of a bit of red eye or brighten up a flash photo indoors. For studio photos I'll generally add a bit of punch and remove the background or clean up a dirty floor. I can also remove spots if you want me to.

Which brings me to my point. How much is too much? There are some excellent examples here of celebrity photos that have had 'work' done. But where is the line? My personal view is that I will get rid of anything that isn't permanent or that the camera has exaggerated. By this I mean I will remove spots, bruises, rashes, cuts and scrapes. I'll also remove baby dribble where I can. I can clean up fluff from clothes and even swap faces from one picture to another so everyone is smiling at once. I'll also remove ugly fire exit signs from the background in wedding photos. And I can reduce wrinkles and lines that look worse under the studio light.

What I won't do is give you longer legs or bigger boobs. I won't take 2 stone off you either! There's plenty of discussion about the damaging effects of Photoshopped celebrities to young girls (and boys) which I won't go into. But to me the issue is more fundamental. A photo is a memory captured forever. If the photo doesn't reflect the way you actually looked at that time, it's not really a memory, it's a fantasy. There is a place for fantasy, but that's not really my business. My job is to make you look your best. But importantly you are still you!

A Cautionary Tale...

I've had an interesting experience in the last couple of weeks. It leads to a couple of good pieces of advice as well...

Just before Christmas I was approached by someone who had recently got married and booked their photos with someone else. They were very unhappy with the photos they had received and wanted my opinion of them to help them with the arguments they were having. They gave me the edited photos, unedited originals and a selection of photos gathered from their guests. Their complaint was with the edited photos. Their opinion of them was that they were over exposed and made everyone's faces look very pale and 'dead' (their word...).  They were also unhappy with the photos the photographer had chosen to edit.

My personal opinion is actually that the photos are very good! They have been edited very well and are consistent throughout the collection. Poses and crops are creative and of a good standard. They have, however, been edited in a very specific style. Colour saturation is quite low and contrast is quite high. This gives very dark black tones and very bright light tones. It can give the impression of very bright faces and skin tones. This style is currently quite fashionable and modern, but is not to everyone’s personal taste.

But here lies the difficulty. She is a professional, but was also a friend of a friend. As such no Ts & Cs were agreed to and no booking form was signed. That means it was never recorded what was actually agreed. So it boils down to the photographer's word against the couple's. That's piece of advice number 1. Always make sure the paperwork is in place. That goes for the photographer as well as the client. As a photographer I have no comeback at all if the case goes to court and my professional indemnity insurance may be invalidated. As a customer you also really have little comeback. It just becomes a war of words...

The couple were also unhappy with the photos that were chosen to be edited.  Around 1000 photos were taken and around 200 edited. This is actually quite normal. I operate in a similar way. I'll probably select the best 300 though, but that's just me. The couple were surprised with this though as, again, it hadn't been discussed in advance that this would happen! So piece of advice number 2 - keep talking! Again, that goes for both parties. I'll spend as much time as necessary on email, by phone or in person to find out exactly what my couples want and explain to them why it's not possible if it's not. I manage their expectations about how many photos they'll see, how they'll be edited, my involvement and in-your-face-ness on the day, and the timings. Everyone knows what's going to happen so there are no nasty surprises.

The real complaint (and to me the real issue here) is that the photographer is refusing to fix it. In her opinion the photos are good and she doesn't need to do anything. The couple got what they paid for. Without paperwork this is hard to prove, but even with paperwork it shows terrible customer service! Apparently the photographer was almost hostile when the bride complained and made her feel like it was her fault she didn't like the photos! She may well have delivered exactly what was agreed but there is a reputation at stake here. I realise there are limits and there will always be difficult customers, but if it had been me, I would have bent over backwards to give them what they wanted. I would have re-edited the photos having discussed it and done it quickly! There's probably around 10-15 hours work involved in that, but in the end I have another happy customer. And a happy customer is one that will recommend me to their friends.

I know from the couple that this photographer has lost at least 1 wedding because of this and will not be recommended by them in future. I also know that one of their friends is coming to talk to me about their wedding because of the customer service I've given to someone who isn't even a customer! So piece of advice number 3 - make sure your customer service is up to scratch. People are actually more likely to recommend someone who has successfully fixed a problem than someone who has just done a good job in the first place! Reputation counts for a lot.

I hope you've learned something from this. I've banged on for a while so I'll stop now!

What Goes Into a Portrait Sitting?

I thought I'd explain the process.  Just to give you an insight into the work involved in producing the portraits you put on your wall and treasure forever.

Before the shoot
Before you book you'll want to have a chat.  It's natural.  I'll talk you through how it works and find out exactly what you want from the shoot.  Is it a family shoot?  Is it just the kids?  Will mum and dad be getting involved?  Is it an adult couple?  Or maybe you're feeling brave and fancy a bit more of a risque boudoir shoot!  You might want traditional pictures or something more relaxed and fun.  You might want to come into my studio or maybe go on location at the beach, in a park or even in your own home.  All are fine!

I'll also find out what sort of photos you'd like to take away from it.  Do you have a frame already and just want the prints?  Maybe you want me to supply a hand made top quality bespoke frame.  Or an acrylic.  Or a canvass wrap.  Again... all are fine!

I'll show you some samples and can take you through my portfolio.  If you like what you see you book!  All it costs is £25!

At the shoot
A couple of days before the shoot I'll ring just to confirm everything is still on.  And maybe give you some directions...  I'll also advise what sort of clothes to wear and what props to bring to keep the kids happy!

On the day it's show time!  When you arrive at the studio you will feel right at home.  There's a comfortable sofa, tea, coffee and soft drinks.  There's a bit of music playing as well which you can choose!  I'll already be set up for you so when you're comfortable we can get cracking.

A shoot lasts around 45 minutes to an hour and is a LOT of fun!  If it's your thing I'll get you running and jumping and enjoying yourself.  I have a massive list of poses for every situation and a good imagination so we'll never be short of ideas!  Boudoir shoots are a bit less manic but still a lot of fun.

It's natural for everyone to be a bit nervous before we start, but 5 minutes in and you'll forget the nerves and relax right into it.  People are often surprised at how comfortable and relaxed they feel during a shoot.  That's a massive compliment to me and something I work hard at!

After the shoot
As soon  as possible I get your photos downloaded onto my Mac.  As a safety measure I back your photos up onto a hard drive that's stored off site and also onto an online storage site.  So your photos are safe!

Then it's editing time.  I sort through all the photos from the shoot and select the best.  There's usually around 30 photos after the first cut.  I'll then edit all of them individually.  I'll make sure the background is clean, the exposure is correct, the colours look right and the contrast is good.  When that's done it's time to get creative...

There's a lot you can do in Photoshop.  I'll choose a few of the photos and enhance them so you look your absolute best.  I'll pick the best techniques for the mood of the pictures and the way you've chosen to present them.

Last, I create a slideshow for you to view when you come in to see them.  I also upload them to my website and give them a username and password for you to browse at your leisure.

At the viewing
About a week after the shoot I'll arrange for you to come back in and see your pictures.  There's the same sofa and drinks so you'll fee at home.  I'll dim the light and show you the slideshow.  You can see it as many times as you like so don't feel you have to take notes...

When you've seen it we'll go through the photos one by one and you can select your favourites.  This can take a long time so don't feel rushed.  There is no pressure to buy a lot.  Or really big ones!

When you've made your decision you'll choose a frame if you want one and the sizes.  And of course pay (sorry...).  And that's it.  Well from your point of view at least...

After the viewing
Now I have to order your pictures.  There may be more editing to do and some resizing or sharpening and then I send them off to a pro lab for printing.  When I get them back it's off to a local framer to get your frames hand made and your pictures mounted.

When that's done you van pick them up from me or I'll deliver them to you.

Then all that's left is for you to decide where to hang them.  And decide when you're coming in for your next shoot!!!