Do photographers edit or retouch their photos? Yes, they do. Shooting is only the first half of creating a good photograph, and it doesn’t end after you press the shutter button.
If you haven’t hired a professional portrait photographer before, you could be forgiven for wondering why professional portrait photographers edit their photographs. Common questions I have been asked by clients before include:
- Why do the images need editing – surely a skilled professional photographer creates the image in the camera itself, not on the computer?
- Why can’t I just be sent the digital images, on the day of my photoshoot?
- Why must I wait up to two weeks to view my images?
Once you have finished your photoshoot people are usually so relieved and excited that they really wish to see the images the next day or if not immediately.
The thing is, I don’t make you wait for your images just to tease you or provide some drama to the occasion. There is a valid reason why, and that is there is a final stage in the process after the photoshoot itself and that process is editing or retouching. It’s a critical step in the process.
Despite what you might think, there is much more to a photographer’s work than setting up a shot and then clicking the buttons on the camera.
- Lots of planning goes into it before you even turn up for your photoshoot
- And after the session, many more hours are spent finalizing the pictures so that they are ready for you to print.
This also explains why professional photography comes at a considerable cost. You aren’t just paying for the time I spend during your photoshoot – which is up to an hour for headshots/personal branding and two hours for a portrait session.
While I will always aim to get the portrait as good as I can in-camera, there is always some editing and retouching to be done afterward. I use digital editing techniques to finish each and every image that I include in your gallery. The editing process is often an indication of a photographer's personal taste and how they feel a photo needs to look. Much like artists have their signature elements – we do too. This is developed over time (with plenty of cringe-worthy trial and error episodes).
Without that editing, which is the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle so to speak, they simply aren’t finished Mike Evans Portraits images. If I have 100 Photos to edit each at 20 Mins a photo that means that it will take me 33 hours to complete the batch - hence the reason why my first step in the ‘editing’ process is to cull the photos. This means I go through all of the pictures that were taken and determine which pictures will be delivered, and not waste time editing photos that will not be delivered.
At the end of the day, the answer is fairly simple. I edit my photos:-
- To bring out their best elements
- To enhance the quality
- To add my personal touch/style
- To create the vision that I have for the photograph
- To ensure that your photos look great in print AND
- To make you look fabulous.
I hope that helps to explain why I and other professional photographers edit their photographs, and why there is a small delay in getting the images to you for viewing and ordering.
If you have any questions or concerns about the editing process, do always ask me your questions either in advance or during your photoshoot.
If you’ve yet to book but would like to, please complete this contact form. I look forward to hearing from you!
And if you know someone who may be interested in having professional portraits taken, please do share this article with them. Many Thanks!
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