Enhanced Images • The process of enhancing and fine tuning your wedding photographs

My wedding photography is certainly not just ‘taking photos on the day’ but is actually the beginning of a long, carefully crafted process that I’ve built up and allowed to evolve over many years.

Archive & Catalogue

Once your photographs arrive back in studio, they’re immediately backed up and archived three times, loaded into Adobe Lightroom (batch processing and image manipulation/cataloguing software) ready for the following day.

Pre-Selection

The next process is sifting out any rogues which could be slightly out of focus, duplicates, the occassional missed composition etc, then comes the positive selection bit (this is more fun) whereby only the best are selected, re-indexed and ready for their first enhancement to bring out their intrinsic qualities.

Initial Enhancement

Images are processed via a semi-individual and batch method to crop, re-level, re-set any white balance issues together with tonal, contrast, highlight and shadow modifications, this procedure usually takes at least a full day. We now have between 400 and 600 images ready for final enhancement.

Final Enhancement

This is the most rewarding part of the process, where all the selected images are further enhanced on an absolutely individual basis, subtlety is key here… some photographers go too far with this stage and some completely miss it out, I view this stage as ‘icing on the cake’. On goes some music, coffee at my side followed by complete immersion in the task at hand, this is the artistic part of the process that I love, fine tuning – a subtle highlight here a slightly deeper shadow there, bring out a little more detail in the dress and maybe help the brides make-up a little with some very subtle and selective skin smooting. This process usually takes another full day – all the better with coffee and biscuits :)

Final Note

Image enhancement cannot fix bad photography, it can only bring out qualities that lie within, but never the less it is an intrinsic part of my work-flow… my photography is my thought but my final images are my creations, I see and photograph in terms of how I visualise this final outcome.

As you’ve no doubt realised, this whole enhancement process is a minimum of three solid days work (in all honesty, usually a little longer). It takes a lot of experience built up over many years and a very particular way of seeing an image from an artistic perspective.

I hope this has given you a better insight into the effort, time and dedication that goes into my wedding photography… coffee and biscuits help too! :)