Image processing behind the scenes
What can you expect when you hire Vision Design to do a photo shoot? This post will provide an overview of the different forms of image processing we perform in order to deliver a high-quality final image for your project.
I admit it; my pictures do not always download off of the memory card in pristine condition ready for use in publication. That’s because there are a lot of factors that contribute to how I shoot a photo—did I opt to adjust images later for a faster photo shoot? Were there environmental or situational limitations to overcome while processing the images? Did I photograph subjects in a particular manner optimized for planned retouching or as graphic design elements in a website or print piece? The picture is taken for commercial use. How does that affect the way I shoot it?
We’ll break this post into three sections to show you the basic steps we take:
- Processing
- Retouching
- Graphic Design
Processing
Processing an image begins in camera before a photograph is even taken. Consider what a point-and-shoot camera achieves automatically. Even if you don’t know about it, your camera is analyzing incoming light and digitally adjusting so that white values appear white and color values are not tinted. The camera attempts to dissect the image into focal points and calibrates an exposure involving the machine’s aperture, shutter and ISO speeds. It may detect the room is too dark, and you can’t possibly hold the camera steady enough, so the flash pops up for some extra light.
These features are the tip of the iceberg. Needless to say, digital cameras become ever more sophisticated in their automatic functions and bring new possibilities to consumer-level photography. However, the sheer creative control one gains from manual settings on a robust SLR digital camera system elevates photography to a new level—the level required for commercial endeavors.
Processing occurs both before and after an image is taken. We consider any camera-based processing, before or after the photo shoot, to be basic processing. Vision Design will make these basic processing decisions for all client photo shoots; it is our most basic level of quality control.
Such processing includes:
- White Balance
- Exposure Control
- Sharpening
Processing a photo in a RAW file editor allows us to adjust the color values of the pixels in the image. In this photo, I was able to perfect white balance, exposure and sharpness after the image was shot.
More advanced processing is available within RAW file editing software. These advanced options include streamlined, time-saving methods to process many images at once or handle otherwise time-consuming retouching options (see next section).
Vision Design will make these adjustments to perfect photographed subject matter at the client’s request. Examples of advanced processing may include:
- Focused color adjustments
- Light & dark value adjustment
- Spot removal
- Cropping
- Lens artifact correction
- Graduated filtering
Retouching
Retouching begins where processing ends, because some methods for preparing photography for commercial use are simply impossible in camera or in the RAW editor. Sometimes there is no other option but to utilize a little retouching, a.k.a. airbrushing. Retouching can be clearly defined by the pixels making up a digital image. Processing adjusts only the color values of pixels, retouching actually rearranges the placement of pixels.
Click on the sample to view at full size. In this image, retouching included (1) removing some natural self-reflection caused by the shooting angle, and (2) correcting discoloration of the blue winch caused by the reflections of the red palette.
Areas considered to be retouching may include:
- Softening or blemish removal from a business portrait
- Removing a forklift ding in an industrial paint job, or a stray cord in an office setting
- Changing the color of one product to represent many
Graphic Design
When an image, retouched or not, escapes the boundaries of a rectangular crop for implementation into a printed piece or website, it must undergo some graphic design. This treatment is the furthest from what is possible in camera and generally consumes more time to execute. What was once justifiably a photograph is now a photo-illustration or graphic. The results are dynamic because they generally have to be for a particular design need.
In this sample, the photo was shot specifically to be isolated for cover art.
Areas considered to be graphic design may include:
- Isolating individual subjects within an image, either from the background or from each other
- Removal or rearrangement of whole subjects within an image
- Merging multiple images together (photo-merge)
- Merging multiple elements from separate images into one (image-composite)
