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behind the computer (part one)

I have had a lot of photographers ask me about my editing process lately so I thought that might be a good little post to put up during my break.  First I would like to say that I edit every image completely different and the way that I edit this image is not how I edit every other image.   Each image is truly unique and should be treated as so.  For software I edit with Lightroom 3 and Photoshop 2 (yep I am old school and proud of it).

In this first image, above, you can see the SOOC (straight out of camera) version of the image as well as all the settings my camera was on (to the right).  It was shot with my Canon 7D and a 85mm at 1.8, an ISO of 500 and shutter speed of 1/640th of a second.  As a side note I usually have my ISO at 200 but since this was shot in studio with two little continuous lights I had to change it to 500.  Thank goodness the 7D does not start showing noise till over 1000.  As you can tell the images white balance is way off so that would be the first thing I would fix and tweak.

For this second image all I did was change the white balance from ‘as shot’ to ‘auto’ (as you can see to the right).  Rarely do I ever accept Lightroom’s version of auto white balance but it’s a good starting point.

From my starting point of Lightroom’s ‘auto’ white balance I tweaked the temperature and tint of the image till I got it where I wanted it.  When comparing the setting from Lightroom’s ‘auto’ to mine I took the temperature of the image from 4450 to 5608, to warm it up, and the tint from +21 to +48, to take the green out.  You can see this on the right side of the images right next to the little dropper icon.  I personally like my images a little warmer then most.

After I have my white balance corrected I always take most of the contrast out of my image.  For this particular image I took it from +25 to -31.  I also brightened the image a little, from +50 to +73.  I always brighten and never change exposure unless I really have to.   And since I know I want this image to be black and white I added a little more black to add depth.   When comparing the image before and the image above you may not be able to see a big change but these changes do make a huge difference for me.

Here is a quick comparison of the OOC image (left) and the final Lightroom edited image (right).  That’s pretty much all I do in Lightroom and when I am finished I export my file as a 300dpi JPG image.   Now I have a Lightroom edited JPG and a RAW file of the image.  I always keep my original RAW file in case I want to go back and re-edit something and my Lightroom JPG in case I want to start over in Photoshop with the file.  I then open the JPG file in CS2.

The first thing I always do first in Photoshop is use the spot healer to clean up blemishes etc…  Obviously on my beautiful model, Cydney, I didn’t have much of that to do.  Next I used the clone tool to add more glitter under her eyes and chest.  I know it’s really subtle but I feel like the image needed it since the glitter was not sticking during the shoot.   I also used the clone tool at 15% to brighten up under her eyes.  I then use my burn tool to darken up her make up, the black paint and some of the shadows.  Always be careful when using the burn and dodge tools because it’s so easy to get carried away.  I always keep mine at 15% so I don’t over use it.   I used it a little more on this image then normal because I wanted to create a huge contrast between the light and dark parts of the image because I’m eventually going to make it black and white.  I then used the dodge tool on her eyes,  the light parts of her make up (the inner eye) and on the glitter to make it pop a little more.  You can see a before (left) and after (right) above.  I think this step is one of the most important in my editing because it really cleans up and preps an image.

Next I run one of two actions.  Since this is a black and white image I run Florabella’s ‘Black and White film’ from their Luxe II collection.   If it was a color image I would have run ‘Classics Film’ from their Classic Collection.  I swear by Florabella Actions and have actually tried creating my own only to go back to hers.  If you are in the market for some life changing actions defiantly check hers out.  You can visit her website by clicking here.   I have all of her actions but for the last few months have only use the Luxe II’s ‘Black and White film’ and The Classic Collections ‘Classc film’ on my images.  Above you can see what the action looks like after run on my image.

Obviously I am not done yet and I don’t think anyone should just run an action and declare the image to be finished.   Again every image is unique and should be treated as so.  After running the action I unchecked the soft center light box and the blur box.  I didn’t really need the extra light in the middle and I just don’t like the blur box.  I also took the tone down from 40% to 20% because it was a little too vintage/creamy looking for my taste.   I then took the dark up to 20% and the the lighten from 50% to 40% to add more depth to the image.  Lastly I took the contrast from 75% to 70%.   I always play around with the percents till I get what I want for a particular image.  I don’t have a certain recipe I use each time it’s always different.

After I am happy with the way my image looks with that action I finish by adjusting my curves to get the contrast I want then finish by saving my files as a PSD file.  That way I end up with the OOC RAW image, a Lightroom editing JPD and a fully edited PSD file that I use to create prints or web images from.

And that’s it!  From the beginning to the end this image took me about 20 minutes, which is actually a long time.  I think it might have been because I was taking notes at the same time.  Most images take me 10-15 minutes to fully edit.  You have to note though that I know my style of editing so I can edit a lot faster then someone still trying to find their style and playing around with Photoshop.
I actually had a lot of fun putting together this post and would love to do a part two with a color image if I get enough requests.  Just as a side note though… don’t be afraid to use Photoshop and all it has to offer.  Photography is an art and an SOOC image is just the beginning to your masterpiece.  It makes me sad to see photographers take an image, fix the white balance in Lightroom then throw an action on it in Photoshop and that’s it.  Remember every image is unique and should be treated as so.   I know if you play around with different things like liquify, dodge and burn and curves you will find that you can take an awesome image and make it extraordinary.   Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments below and I would be more then happy to answer them.

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