Editing style different for each photographer

Photographers have different editing styles. You can get an idea of the style of a particular photographer by looking at his or her photos. I hope you get an idea of my style by my photos. My editing style has evolved over the years so you may see older photos that look different from newer photos.

As newly-engaged couples begin to search for their wedding photographer, I thought it appropriate for me to give an explanation of the editing process I use on my wedding photo editing.

It is not uncommon for me to come home from a wedding with more than 1,000 photos taken. The first step is to go through these photos and separate the ones that are keepers from the ones that are not. Be assured that all photographers throw out hundreds of photos they deem deliverable for various reasons.

Culling the first step

Once the photos are culled, I go through them one at a time to see what they need. In some cases, nothing is needed at all. But generally, some color correction, brightening or darkening, cropping or straightening is in order. These are the majority of my edits.

I would assume that most photographers don’t do extensive skin retouching unless an extra charge is paid. That is a lot of work and takes a lot of time. My rule for skin retouching is this: I will retouch the best formal portraits of the bride separately and bride and groom together.

Skin retouching rule of thumb

You may ask “what is retouching?” In the most simplest, retouching is smoothing of the skin and removal of blemishes. Sometimes I add more light to the face if I find it needed. After I retouch a bridal portrait, I am sometimes amazed at the improvement it makes.

I usually don’t retouch more than this. I don’t retouch the skin of the entire wedding party and I challenge you to find a wedding photographer that does. Sometimes I will retouch the skin of parents as they pose with their son or daughter – if I deem it important.

The best way for me to explain my editing process is that I enhance my photos without making any significant alterations. I used to do more significant alterations, such as tonal changes, sky changes and other background changes. I tend not to do this anymore as I believe most couples want real photos, not ones that are altered so they no longer look real.

If you have any questions about my wedding photo editing, just ask. I’m here for you!