A Process Story
I stood in the woods, camera in hand, focusing on a single twisted tree, standing out among its taller, straighter neighbors. Framing the image in the view finder, I could see the tree’s bark was rough and weathered, and its branches reached skyward like a natural sculpture. A small break in the canopy above let the sunlight pour in, casting a warm glow on the tree. It was striking…magical, almost like it was marked for this moment.
I’m finding I see things differently when I’m in the moment. More often than not, the image I had in my head is not quite the same as what I was able to capture in camera. I get home and the image isn’t nearly as vivid a scene as I remember. The color isn’t as vibrant. The lighting isn’t as dramatic. Distracting elements that were unnoticed have become prominent.
I also work with raw files. This is the unprocessed data that was captured by the camera. Raw files are typically flat, lacking contrast and generally drab. The elements are there, they just need a little help to come out. This is where artistic license come into play. I start by examining the image. Why did I take this photo? What elements am I drawn to? What elements need less emphasis? Where is the light hitting? How are the shows falling? Are the colors where they need to be?
Then the editing begins, using tools like Lightroom and Photoshop. I start with global adjustments that effect the entire image. First, I’ll crop and straighten as needed. I’ll also remove distracting elements, like a patch of oddly colored leaves, or the odd branch poking into the frame. I’ll set the white balance, to ensure that white objects appear white, and colors in the image look natural to the eye. Then it’s on to exposure…adjusting highlights and shadows to bring the image closer to the mood I want to convey. The hue, saturation and luminance of individual colors are fine-tuned.
Next up are local adjustments. I use all the same tools I use in global adjustment, but now I’m targeting specific areas of the photo. I may want to brighten the side of the tree getting sunlight, or darken the shadows in the background, or warm up the light shining through the leaves. I’ll use masks to isolate these areas and apply my changes to them. I may also introduce some color grading, adding some warmth to the highlights while cooling the shadows a bit. Finally, I’ll add a slight vignette to darken the edges and pull the eye into the frame.
All of this is usually followed by an idle period. I give myself some time away from the photo, this can be a day, a week, a month…it varies. The point is to come back to the image with fresh eyes and re-evaluate. Did I push the exposure too far one way? Are the greens too green? I make any corrections I think are needed, and I repeat the process until I’ve done my best to bring out the image I envisioned when taking the photo.
This is the process I go through with every image I publish. It can take a lot of hours and be frustrating when I can’t seem to bring my vision to fruition. I’m still learning to work with the tools, and that less is more when it comes to processing. But it is incredibly satisfying when it all comes together in the final image.