Randy Kepple Photographs Blog

Dennis…glad you like that image! That particular image was actually pretty straightforward. Part of what I was trying to say about getting it right “in camera”. I started by setting up my RAW file conversion in Lightroom to give me all the detail that I wanted in the image. Make sure I had good shadow detail and that I retained detail information in my highlights. I’m kind of old school that way. It was the way I was trained to shoot and process my images.

When I brought the image into Photoshop, the first thing I did was a curves adjustment. This snaps in my color and gives me a slight contrast boost. The final contrast adjustments will come later. The next thing I did was retouch any blemishes on their faces and any skin that was showing. Then I used a wonderful plug-in for Photoshop called Portraiture to smooth out the skin without removing the details, such as pores. We don’t want a bride and groom who look like they are barbie dolls!

Once the skin is finished, I usually go back one step in the history palette and set my history brush to sample from the portraiture step that just finished. Setting the history brush opacity to 60%, I start to paint in the retouched skin until I’m happy with the way it looks. The next step is to use the Warp tool and Liquify to shape and correct things in the image. In this particular image, one of the things I did (at the request of the bride) was to reduce the size of her arm facing the camera. This is an easy thing to do and the groom had a little double chin action going since he as looking down at the bride.

Next, to boost the color and contrast a bit, I used one of my custom actions called Urban Color. This increases the saturation without distorting the color tones. I selectively painted this in using layer masks. Next is one of my favorite TRA actions, Oh Snap!, which adds a nice final boost of contrast. I usually create a layer mask for the Oh Snap! layer group and paint it in as well. It’s a great action, but nothing is as simple as pushing a button. I always season to taste! I think that’s important to note.

The final step is to size the image (in this case, it was a 20×30 wall canvas) and sharpen AFTER sizing. Sharpening is always the final step as you should sharpen your print for the media. I sharpen web images differently than wall prints. TRA has a wonderful set of sharpening actions in the TRA set. I also use Nik Sharpener Pro. The new Smart Sharpen in Photoshop is a wonderful tool as you can adjust the sharpening differently for highlights AND shadows. Independent of each other. A very nice tool that’s relatively new to the Photoshop suite of tools.

Hope that helps!

Love the post, the last image is great. How did you do it, if you don’t mind me asking?

David,

Thanks for your comment and thoughtful questions. I’ll try and answer them quickly here, but if you want to contact me directly, feel free to do that as well.

First of all, your comment “I’m new to doing family shoots and needing to hand over MANY images versus a select few.” I disagree. One of the hardest things for me to discover and one of the hardest things for photographers just starting out is getting over this very issue.

Presenting a LOT of similar images actually dilutes the impact of your work. Ask any photo editor for a newspaper or magazine. Their job is to pick the absolute best and show that ONE image. Showing a number of variations just means that you don’t have the confidence to pick what you feel is the best image and stick with it.

I used to show 800+ images from a 7 hour wedding coverage. Two years ago, I decided to take that down to 400+. Why? Because I discovered that showing so many images actually dilutes the impact and value of my work. It was also overwhelming to my clients. They are not trained professional photographers. They had an even harder time picking out their favorites than I did getting rid of them.

A tight edit helps unify your work and strengthen the power of each individual shot. When you go to view the Mona Lisa, you don’t see 3 versions! A cross processed version, a black and white version, one where her expression is just a little different. You see the one, finished and selected Mona Lisa that Leonardo da Vinci wanted you to see. Period.

Secondly. Most post production actually happens when you shoot. What does this mean? Take the EXTRA time to slow down and manually set your exposure. Do custom white balances, make sure you are controlling your lighting. This will significantly speed up your post production and eliminate the need to Photoshop everything. Take the time to move things, pick up debris or use your legs and walk in closer and change your position. Don’t get into the habit of thinking you can fix things in post production. You’ll be a better shooter and have less back end time.

Lastly, I completely agree with you about workflow. I hope to post more about my personal workflow this winter when I have the time to compose a thoughtful post.

I rarely open images in Photoshop anymore. I have developed a workflow that gets me 98% there in Lightroom or Canon Digital Photo Professional. When a customer orders an album or a gallery wrap canvas print for display in their home—that’s when I’ll open the image in Photoshop and do a fine level of retouching and artistic enhancement. Not at the “proof” level of production.

The image should be about what you are shooting. The moment, the connection, the emotion… not about your post production technique.

Hope that helps!