I was recently asked: “Are you opposed to photographs of human emotion getting touched up so blatantly, rather than capturing a better natural shot? Does touching it up make the photo lose some value?”
We retouch all our images, but retouching is meant to look natural. Years ago, a Broadway theater would display its stars in a very glamorous photograph. You knew they were manipulated, but they were beautiful. People wear make up, for example. Women wear lipstick. I guess that lipstick could extend beyond the lips, or be very extreme in color, like green. But when applied naturally it is an effective enhancement not a distraction.
There are many steps to image enhancement. Some are time consuming and some can be done easily and quickly. Some can be batch processed and affects many images at a time. Some involve local adjustments, and others involve global image adjustment. Some are more a matter of personal taste, while others may be more universal. Some can be and should be done to the image that is presented as a proof. Some can only be done after the client orders a specific image because the work is just too time consuming. Ultimately any image can be improved after it has already been manipulated. The only limitation is time, and that usually should relate to investment and significance.
What are your thoughts on this question? Leave a comment below.
