Retouching
Where Photographers Go Wrong in Photoshop
While the merit of Photoshop has long been debated by photographers, there’s little doubt that the decision is a personal choice. However, what is often overlooked from the conversation is the fact that photographers make mistakes which have the potential to undermine the impact of their work. So what are some of these mistakes? Continue reading to find out. Overprocessing Let’s talk about the elephant in the room first. Irrespective of whether you advocate for the use of Photoshop to edit your pictures, there is no bigger cardinal sin than overprocessing. One of the biggest areas concerns sharpness, where photographers seek to overcorrect for a very minor, and at times unnoticeable flaw. In turn, this often leads to the photo looking unrealistic. Other watchpoints concern adjustments to contrast, white balance and colours, plus poor bevel and emboss that again make the photo look less authentic. Not understanding layers… | Read the full article
The Blurred Line Between Photos and Illustrations
Just a couple weeks ago, the Australian Institute of Photography announced the winner of its annual photography contest, the Australian Professional Photography Awards. Almost immediately after the decision was broadcast, observers were up in arms, including prolific landscape photographer Ken Duncan. In particular, Ken took umbrage to the nature of the overall winner’s ‘photos’, which were representative of illustrations. In total, there were 18 category winners, including other photos representing illustrations. It was however, the fact that Lisa Saad’s entry won the award across all categories, which drew ire. While few are questioning the quality of the work in its own right, many have expressed disbelief with what seemingly appears to be a blurred line between photos and illustrations. There is little doubt that work of this nature encourages a great deal of engagement. Its progressive nature provokes the viewer to think, to examine, to question. And on that… | Read the full article
How Should You Respond When Clients Ask For Unedited Photos?
During every photographer’s career, it’s inevitable they’ll come across clients who ask for access to all the photos from a shoot – including the raw, unedited photos. The request might often be borne out of nothing more than curiosity – after all, that’s an inherent trait within many – and of course, the decision is always up to the parties involved. However, what should one consider in making such a decision, and ultimately, in the case of declining said request, is there a ‘best practice’ response? In coming to a decision and responding, one needs to establish what is driving the underlying curiosity of the client. While there’s every chance it is merely curiosity, delving a little bit deeper could help us understand if it involves concerns around: the number of photos provided; the desire for more shots from a certain scene or moment (e.g. the wedding reception); disappointment… | Read the full article
At What Point Does Creative Photography Become Misleading?
One of the stories we brought to you through our social media channels earlier this year was the case of a modest home in Penshurst NSW, which captured a lot more attention than it bargained for. At first, the thought of a residential home doesn’t sound very controversial, does it? However, the controversy was in the main photo used for the property’s advertising campaign (it was being advertised for sale). You see, the photo omitted one key feature – or more appropriately, one key eyesore – an enormous water tower located behind the property, which effectively dwarfed it. You would think that such an object would be hard to omit from a shot, given its size and all. As such, the first, and most reasonable, assumption one might make is that the water tower has been photoshopped out of the picture. Source: News.com.au What may come as… | Read the full article
Photoshop Tips
One of the great things about digital photography is that it gives the average photographer the ability to see an image through from its initial conception to its final display with a minimum of fuss and with a great degree of control. It is easy to take this for granted, but older photographers will still remember the long hours spent bent over trays of smelly chemicals in a tiny darkroom, or the long days or even weeks spent waiting for a roll of film to be processed by someone else before you could view the final image. And even then, if there was something awry with the colour temperature, contrast, or any other aspect of the image, the capacity to fix it was very limited. The development of photo-editing software like Photoshop has played a huge part in granting photographers great freedom to take full control of their images. Of… | Read the full article
