Retouching
Options for Fine-Tuning Your PHotographs
Less is more. I prefer a more natural-looking aesthetic compared to an overdone made-up look. My style means that I deliver natural and authentic-looking wedding images vs doing extensive retouching.
While all of your photographs are adjusted for color, exposure, contrast, and cropping, retouching is kept to a minimum.
General Application
When the image represents the greater story, or as some would call a “hero image”, greater care is given to the image. This applies to photographs showcasing the couple, related wedding party members, and family. I often perform the following types of retouch corrections as part of my standard work.
- Fine-tune and calibrate color for consistency of look across all of the images
- Recover highlights (bright areas) to reveal details such as the beading and lace in the wedding party attire
- Darken bright areas of the image for consistency, such as bright flowers or leaves in a bouquet that are not the primary focus
- Enhance shadow details such as those in the dark apparel of the wedding couple or in the background objects or subjects
- Remove any singular skin blemish on the bride or groom’s face (acne requires advanced retouching)
- Reduce noise, which often appears in low-light photographs, if needed
- Remove sensor dust spots
Advanced Services
If you prefer more enhancements to your photographs, then consider retouching services. Retouching is an additional service and fees may apply. These range from $10 to $20 an image (and sometimes more), depending on the complexity of the edit and the related completion time. I work with professional retouchers to expedite the retouching process.
- Damaged cuticles and chipped nails in extreme hand closeups
- Double chin reduction or removal
- Large arm reduction
- Adjustment of the shape of the face and related parts (eyes, nose, lips, cheeks, ears)
- Skin color
- Lightening or darkening of the skin
- Reshaping eyebrows, mustaches, or beards
- Acne removal
- Scar or birthmark removal
- Reduction or removal of beard growth or stubble between shaves
- Digital hair replacement
- Clothing revisions such as wrinkles, wardrobe malfunctions, or uncut ribbon dress hangers showing
- Ponytail holder or watch removal
- Compression marks due to socks, bras, or other tight-fitting clothing worn before changing into wedding attire
- Body shape restructuring
- Cellulite
- Skin smoothing
- Digital makeup
- Discolored teeth or dentures
- Addition or removal of people from photographs
- Removal or minimizing of distracting objects behind a couple’s heads such as tree branches, utility poles, basketball hoops, or wires
How to Request Retouching
If you are interested in advanced retouching for selected images, create a favorites list in your gallery called “retouching.” Add notes to the images with your requested changes. Send the retouching list as an email to me and I will get back with an estimate and timeline for completion. Your retouched images will contain the letter “R” in the file name. These will then be uploaded and replace the original images in your gallery.
Related Reading
Helpful Tip: Be sure to bring scissors to your event to cut out the ribbon dress hangers that hold up your dress on the hanger. You may try to pin them, or tuck them inside your dress, but they have a way of getting loose and showing in your photos. Trust me, my dress hangers came out of my dress during my ceremony and no one told me until afterward!
