Workout Selfies & Some New Portraits

Sometimes I like comparing what a cell phone photo, taken with no intent, vs a planned and edited portrait taken on my mirrorless camera.

They are both appreciated in my opinion. A selfie is more real and in the moment, but a planned shot can be used to really emphasis the emotion or feelings of a moment.

I am saving up for a new iphone to up my phone and selfie game as social media sometimes promotes content that comes directly from a phone vs an edited and compressed file I have airdropped for Steph to use on IG.

However, I never see myself giving up portrait work. The art is quickly fading, as we are leaving the DSLR/mirrorless boom we saw starting 10 years ago. 

Someone asked me what I do when I edit a photo.

For a standard portraits like you see above I always ask myself "what the photo needs?" I try to embrace the mood. In this case we were in downtown Richmond on a cold cloudy day. So I will edit with that in mind. Then went in our house where it was more of a warm and embracing feel. 

Moody portraits is a term used to emphasis the emotion, and usually has more of a darker connotation. You can see the colors are desaturated, and there are cooler tones or blues in the shadows. 

1. I first look at the composition and crop to a 4x5 or a 5x7 for more of a traditional ratio or for a social media story a 9x16.

2. I'll make basic exposure adjustments in Camera Raw (Photoshop)

3. Then I make masking adjustments in Photoshop as opposed to global adjustments which affect the whole photo, for example, I'll raise the exposure levels on Steph using a Curves Adjustment Layer and then paint that layer on just her leaving the background its original exposure (after basic adjustments). This gives her more of a pop in the photo.

4. I may remove blemishes that may distract the viewers attention. I typically like to leave blemishes on Steph for more of an authentic appearance. The idea is not to change the subject and who they are but just keep the viewers eye from immediately going to some blemish or other distraction. 

5. Sometimes I'll smooth skin using a technique called Separation Frequency. Or a new AI feature in Photoshop called Neural Filters that automatically apply a slight smoothening feature.

6. Lastly, I'll color grade.

There are more advanced edits such as composites where I am changing a sky or a background, but usually I only do that for more fantasy related projects. 

I hired our make up artist for Steph before going downtown so her skin look extra smooth in these photos (the portraits) we were attending an event, and I knew I would want to get photos of her. 

But that is a basic overview of the editing process. If traveling sometimes I will just edit on my phone using Lightroom or PS mobil. I try to avoid social media filters or phone filters at all costs.