I’ve always loved the urban style of processing, but don’t think I’ve ever pushed my colors/edits quite to where I wanted them.  I was totally inspired by the wonderful Tiffany of Follow Your Art Photography to really work that processing.

We have an *amazing* location nearby, that is a real treasure trove of old rusty cars, old coke machines, ancient machinery, old buildings and nick knacks…a real photographer’s paradise!  I have no idea why it’s taken me so long to get my butt back out there, but I thought it would be the perfect spot to take some pictures to play around with in the digital darkroom.  As always, it’s best to start with a properly exposed, focused, composed (yes, I SO should have moved the trash can :P ), white balanced photo, and then let the artist in you take over from there.

Just one of Miss C today…I think I’ll be back at this place often in the future!

SOOC = straight out of the camera

And the edit…

And just for the heck of it, the b&w version.  I don’t really think b&w can compete with color in a shot like this, but here it is anyways. :)

One more example…

SOOC…

And the edit…

Just the edits this time. :)

I think it’s safe to say that most people who hire a professional photographer to do portraits of their loved ones are a bit in the dark as to what goes on behind the scenes.  This blog post is just a small sneak peek into what goes on AFTER your photos are taken.  :)

In general, people believe that I just come in for a few hours, take some snaps, and call it a day, right?  So, so wrong!  There is so much work that goes on behind the scenes.  90% of the time I spend working on someone’s portrait session is done right here on my computer, where I carefully and artistically touch up and edit each and every proof that I show them.  Some photos just need minor adjustments to lighting, contrast, or white balance and can be done rather quickly.  Others need a lot of in depth work to reach an artistic vision I have in mind for the photo.  Your photos won’t get this kind of attention at Wal-mart or Kiddie Candids. :)  Small details are also given careful attention.  Any acne, bruises, dark circles under the eyes, etc will be carefully fixed in post processing, so that you will look your absolute best in your portraits.

The ultimate goal of any good professional photographer is to get a photo right off of the camera with the exposure, lighting, and white balance just right to minimize the time spent in the editing ‘darkroom’.  This is where the skill and knowledge of ones’ equipment and photography in general comes into play.  Editing is a whole other ball of wax, and requires a completely different skill set to do well.

Without further ado, here are a few before vs. after examples so you can see the work and artistic vision that goes into each and every session.  *This* is a big part of the reason they call it custom photography. :)

For reference, SOOC = ‘straight out of the camera’ and the photos labeled with this are exactly as they came off of my camera, before I did any editing.

First, a recent newborn.  I envisioned this as a dramatic black and white.  Here is the before and after…

Next, we have an adorable baby girl.  Aside from the obvious adjustment to the white balance, I did a lot of artistic editing to this photo…from filling in open areas on the canvas, to contrast, to major color adjustments (just check out her hat and nappy!)

Up next is a photo of my own daughter.  I had wanted a colorful, urban look to these pictures.  This one definitely needed some spicing up!

Lastly, here is a beautiful senior girl that I did.  Again, an urban session that needed some more pop!