One of the things that differentiate one photographer from another is the way they edit their photos. Just as each artist has their favorite medium, utensils, and color palette, each photographer has a preferred editing style. For me, I prefer to keep my photos light and natural-looking, enhancing the natural colors in each scene, and keeping the focus on the individual. However, there have been times when I've had to adjust my personal preferences to work around obstacles or recognize that a certain scene or event may be better suited for a different style of editing.
To show the impact editing has on a photo, I've chosen 4 different photos from this year and attributed 3 drastically different editing styles to each. Each photo represents a different kind of portrait: back-lit still photo, scenic landscape, motion and movement, and a darker set photo. You'll see the same three edits made on each, with an explanation of what I think each edit does to the overall mood of the photo.
Sarah: Back-Lit Portrait
For this first photo, we have Sarah standing on a sidewalk lined with buildings, with the sun directly behind her head. When looking at the edits, pay special attention to what each does to the haziness of the photo, the hue of the sun, and the colors of the scene.
Original
This original shot of Sarah paints everything in a pretty even light. You can tell the sun is behind her from the light hue on her hair, and by the lightness of the sky. The colors are more muted because of the haziness of the light, making the photo less focused/clear. This gives a more ethereal mood to the overall shot.
Dark
This first edit focuses on bringing out the warmth of the scene and enhancing its shapes. By bumping the contrast and incorporating more shadows, Sarah stands out more and appears clearer and less hazy. The sun behind her hair is emphasized through the enhanced warmth, and the colors seem more vibrant and pronounced. Making these edits, however, results in an overall darker image, making the mood of the shot seem slightly more dramatic.
Light
This photo is notably lighter than the original, due to its enhanced exposure. Because of the light, however, the colors are muted and drained slightly. Sarah doesn't stand out any more than she does in the original, but the mood becomes much more angelic and nostalgic. Because of the increased highlights and slight contrast, Sarah still appears clearer than the original.
Black and White
This shot has a very different feeling than the others and is the most drastic change from the original photo. Because of the lack of color, the overall image appears flatter. However, this edit also enhances the details of the scene, such as her necklace, earrings, and expression, because the eye is drawn to look at something else besides color. The whole scene instantly becomes more dramatic and timeless.
Mary: Scenic Landscape
This candid photo of Mary was taken during golden hour, with a Florida swamp in the background. When looking at the edits, pay special attention to the vibrance of the colors, her depth with the background, and the landscape behind her.
Original
This photo of Mary is just as much about the background as it is about her. Her bright red shirt and blue jeans make her stand out, and the light in the scene is very soft. You can tell it's golden hour through the orange hues on the trees, and you can even see different shades of green varying from the type of foliage.
Dark
This is a more dramatic play on the scene, enhancing the shadows and bringing down the exposure. The warmth is increased as well, which gives the impression the sun is further down. While this increases the potency of the orange colors, it decreases the vibrance of the red and blue, making Mary blend a bit more into the background.
Light
In this lighter rendition, the golden hour glow is almost entirely taken out, caused by the increased exposure and whites. While this makes Mary's clothes pop even more, it decreases the glow of the landscape. This puts more depth between Mary and the background and conveys a dreamier feeling.
Black and White
Similar to Sarah's B&W edit, the lack of color reduces the depth between Mary and the background. In this case, a color rendition may be better, since there are a variety of statement colors that entertain the eye. However, this edit does bear a more dramatic look, which could be useful in a portfolio or project featured around shadows.
Natalie: Motion and Movement
This photo of Natalie was taken mid-twirl in front of a wooden pergola, draped with bright pink flowers. When looking at the edits, pay special attention to the pinks and greens, portrayal of movement, and details such as the flowers on her dress.
Original
In this original shot of Natalie, there are a couple of different things portraying motion: the movement of her hair, dress, and the blur of the background. This photo also has bright pink flowers in the background, which bring out the pink flowers on her dress. The depth Natalie has against the background is very important here, because it points out the fact that the focus is on her, and on her movement.
Dark
This darker edit has more warmth to it, but also a slightly greener hue. The light strip on the concrete wall is more prominent, and Natalie doesn't seem to stand out as much as she does in the original, which could diminish her apparent motion. The pinks are still brought out in her dress, but just overall seem a bit darker and more intense. Her expression is also slightly hindered because there's more of a shadow on her face.
Light
The lighter edit reduces the saturation of the colors, just as they did in the photos above, decreasing the connection between the pink flowers and Natalie's dress. The light does enhance her expression, however, and the whites on her dress and sun on her hair. She seems to stand out from the background even more than the original, due to the increased contrast.
Black and White
The B&W edit gives this whole scene a much more artistic look, and both enhance and diminish the motion in the photo. By increasing the whites and shadows slightly, the eye is drawn more to the flowers on her dress and the sun on her hair, which is one of the key signs she is twirling in the picture. However, the flatness from the lack of color decreases the focus on Natalie as the subject and sacrifices one of the main details of the photos, which is her dress and the flowers behind her.
Sarah: Darker Set Photo
This photo of Sarah was taken out of direct sunlight, under the shade of an archway. When looking at the edits, pay special attention to the light on Sarah herself, the portrayal of mood, and the flowers behind her.
Original
In this photo of Sarah, she is now out of the sun and in the shade. The darker features around her make her skin and hair seem brighter, and the shade provides more vibrant colors, especially with the contrast of her seafoam green jumpsuit against the bright pink flowers. Her expression is also heightened against the green shrub behind her, and the whole photo appears very composed and classic.
Dark
This edit doesn't contrast too much with the original but has a noticeably stronger warmth to it. Colors like the orange on the wall and the seafoam green jumpsuit pop a bit more, while the pink flowers and the green shrubs are dulled slightly. Sarah's rich skin tone pairs a bit better with the background, and the blonde highlights in her hair stand out more.
Light
This edit illuminates Sarah quite a bit, making her appear closer to the background. The decreased shadows make the pink pop much more but diminish the different shades of Sarah's hair. Also, the area where the most light is hitting (Sarah herself) is more washing out, making her not stand out as much as she did in the other two edits. Her expression though is an obvious focal point since it has the most light.
Black and White
With Sarah's expression and the darkness of the frame, this shot reads much more dramatic than any of the other B&W edits. The increased shadows and contrast give the scene a lot of depth and make Sarah as the subject the focal point of attention. The vibrance of color is lost in the edit (no one would ever know those pink flowers were there) but serve as a nice contrast between the lights and darks of the scene.
What Was Your Favorite?
Even though each photo had different lighting structures, poses, backdrops, and details, the edits across all trials did similar things to the mood of the photo and highlighted certain details that went unnoticed in the previous edit. Editing isn't meant to fix mistakes or change the reality of the moment, but to allow each photographer to express their unique vision, and enhance what draws their creative eye. Even if you're not a photographer, it's good to know which style of editing you prefer for your own photos, so that, when the time comes to get photos of your wedding, graduation, newborn, or even a headshot, you'll know which style you prefer.
And to the photographers reading this, I encourage you to branch out into different editing styles and try your hand at them! It's good for us to be as well equipped in different editing visions as we can, so we can better serve more people, giving them memories they can look fondly upon for years to come.
