Ideas for artistic photo retouching. An example of artistic processing of a photograph. Troubles for wedding photographers

In the century modern technologies cameras are also at their best. An abundance of lenses for different genres of photography, filters and special lenses help you get a great shot almost on the first try. But here, too, there are those who wish to improve even more. Due to this, various programs for artistic processing photos. Even a child knows the name of the most common of them. Of course, we will talk about "Photoshop".

What is Photoshop?

Everyone who has a computer has come across this program at least once, which is the most advanced graphics editor. It can work with any digital image. The number of tools allows artists and photographers to express their imagination to the fullest. For a beginner, it may seem difficult to understand, but it is worth watching a couple of video tutorials, and everything will fall into place.

Benefits of the editor

How does artistic work in Photoshop differ from work in other programs?

• Availability. The demo version is completely free to download and easily installed on a user's computer.
• Versatility. Here, both amateurs and professional designers can create their masterpieces. There are tools for basic and artistic photo processing.
• A large number of functions. Huge selection of filters and brushes, backgrounds, and more.
• Free extensions. You can add the missing options by downloading the add-ons on the Internet.
• Ease of learning. If you use the program at an elementary level, it is easy to figure out the processing yourself.
• High image quality.

Disadvantages of the program

• Difficulty of mastering on professional level... It will take a long time for successful artistic processing of photos in Photoshop. But this can be done gradually, devoting at least an hour every day. For study, not only your own files are suitable, but also those taken from the Internet.
• The full version is paid. You will have to pay a certain amount once a month or buy a package Adobe programs... Usually you subscribe for an indefinite period. But it can be interrupted by contacting the company 14 days before the next debiting of money.

Opportunities for creativity

With the help of the "Photoshop" editor, in addition to processing photos in artistic style you can do other tasks: create your own drawings, posters on the wall, images from calendars, covers for magazines and more printed publications, postcards.

Basic working methods

There is a lot of photo processing. It is not necessary to use all of them, but it is better to know the capabilities of the program. Some techniques can be very helpful depending on the idea.

• Amplification of lighting. It will be needed to remove dark spots and shadows where it is not needed. To do this, on an additional layer, highlight the necessary places and superimpose the original image on it using the ColorDodge tool.
• Using levels when working with photography helps to soften tones, get rid of overexposed areas.
• Change in tone. You need to create an adjustment layer and experiment with the hue, saturation and brightness settings on it. You can also create several types of fill and superimpose them on top of each other.
• Enhanced contrast. Sometimes you want your photo to be clearer and more detailed. Then the contrast of the midtones is increased.
• Sunset. Usually, pictures of this part of the day are very beautiful and without additional processing. But sometimes the tones are too cold. To add warmth to the frame, a gradient map is used where appropriate colors are selected.
• Change in mood. It so happens that the face in the photograph lacks a smile. This can also be fixed using Puppet Warp.
• Skin tone correction is one of the most sought-after artistic photo enhancements. To prevent the person from getting lost in the retouched frame, you can change the hue with a separate soft brush, having previously adjusted the values ​​in the Hue / Saturation tab. The program also helps to give the skin an aristocratic pallor or, on the contrary, to emphasize an expressive relief.
• Reducing noise interference. This defect often irritates the eye, resembling small grains of sand that are unnecessary in the frame. It appears when there is a lack of natural light and when shooting indoors. To remove it, use the channel palette.
• Create a retro or sepia tone. Achieved with filters.
• Giving expressiveness to the eyes. The layer blending mode is "Brightness".

Troubles for wedding photographers

This day is very solemn and hectic at the same time. The person taking the photograph faces many difficulties, and only artistic processing of photographs will help to cope with them. Capricious weather will make the day gloomy and cloudy. Too bright sunlight can overexpose the pictures. "Extra" people will be included in the frame. Suddenly the wind will come, it will rain. The quick change of events does not provide an opportunity to properly debug the settings. A large number of people look at the photographer out of sync.

High quality holiday album

What will help to reanimate even the most lost frames? No professional can do without artistic processing of wedding photography. For a beginner in this area, it will be enough to master the rules of retouching, changing tones and working with color.

The main trends in the design of photographs from the day of the wedding are highlighted.

1. Retro style. From time to time, the fashion for aged romantic images reappears. But the process of working to achieve this effect is not easy. You need to be an advanced Photoshop user.
2. Bright colors, glare. Such pictures do not look very natural due to the saturation. More like posters or postcards.
3. Naturalness. The photographer uses only light from the window for shooting and does not add any additional effects during processing. The result is a very delicate look. Which suits the image of a girl getting married.
4. Classic. Calm colors are preferred, there are no unnecessary objects in the frame, the exposition is built from what is available at the wedding venue. Unreal backgrounds are not drawn, fairy tale characters etc. Attention is paid to emotional state the groom, the bride, their family and friends. At the same time, a very beautiful and mesmerizing shooting is obtained, requiring only a small placement of accents in "Photoshop".
5. Beauty retouching is used on almost all close-ups and portraits. A photographer telling a beautiful tale of love needs to make some reasonable adjustments to the flaws in his appearance. It can be slightly dripped or worn makeup, an unsuccessful pose that added an extra fold in an unnecessary place, or the most common pimple that jumped up at the wrong time in the most prominent place. Artistic processing of photos is exactly what is needed for such moments.

Do photographs of children need correction?

Images of babies often look very natural anyway. But with the advent of fashion, upload pictures in social networks quality requirements are increasing. To add expressiveness to the frames, artistic processing of a child's photograph in Photoshop is required. But here you have to be very careful, as busting, even a small one, will lead to unnatural doll faces and artificial eyes, which will repel, not cause tenderness.

How can you avoid retouching?

1. Choose a good location. It may be a completely normal meadow or a clearing in the park, but the children will be bored here. We need to interest them with something or treat them to make the photo session more fun. Or go where there is some entertainment. Cheerful children swinging on a swing or rolling down a slide will look perfect in the frame.
2. Reduce duration. Try to shoot as quickly as possible so that children don't get tired. Otherwise, they will start to be capricious and mischievous.
3. Make the most of everyone who came to the photo session.
4. Position yourself correctly in relation to the baby. In this case, sometimes you will have to sit down or even lie down, because the growth of the model can be very small.
5. Shooting is best in Sport mode without flash or aiming the flash to the side. The bright light will irritate the child's sensitive eyes and distract his or her attention. The resulting noise can be easily corrected using the editor.
6. You will need different lenses: for shooting near and at a distance.
7. Avoid unnecessary bright details and other children getting into the frame. But do not be upset if something still interferes with the idea. You can always remove interfering objects and use a fill.
8. Try not to endanger the technique, keep it away from children's hands.
9. Make contact with your baby. You can find out the name of the child and even play with him a little before the photo session. Then it will be easier for you to find a common language and the photos will turn out livelier and more joyful.
10. After filming, it is advisable to thank the model by presenting her with some kind of souvenir or sweetness.

Summing up

As a conclusion, it can be noted that expressive pictures can be taken without an editor. But this requires very good technology and auxiliary equipment: different lenses, backgrounds, filters, reflectors, flashes of different powers, artificial lighting and all other devices. professional photographers... What to do ordinary people and for those who simply feel uncomfortable with all these things, or rather, with their huge number - traveling photographers and amateurs cannot afford to carry all this with them. You should learn the basics of artistic processing of child and adult photography in Photoshop in order to compensate for the missing tools or skills. This is the secret of success: learn to use this program - get best shots, admire and enjoy.

What is artistic photo processing

Many people believe that the camera has magical properties and the photographer just needs to press the magic button "masterpiece" and that's it.) I want to disappoint you. The process of photographing itself is only half the work of a photographer. Post-processing takes a significant part in the process of work and turns the footage into a finished form, which is the result of the photo session.

I shoot all the shots in raw format. This is a "raw" format that requires further development and conversion into the jpg format you are used to. It can also be compared to the negative of photographic film.

So, first of all, the footage (and this is from 200-300-500 frames, depending on the shooting) is viewed by me on the camera itself, in order to remove the obvious defect - blur, defocus, unsuccessful emotion, and so on. The raw material is then pushed into the Lightroom graphics editor. This is where all the fun begins. Selection and primary processing of those very 30-40-50 frames that you will receive, depending on the service package that you have chosen. I do further retouching in Photoshop. My rule is to work for quality, not quantity. My clients receive best shots from the photo session - photographs that have undergone detailed photo processing.

I will list, what I mean by photo processing:

- color correction(improving the tone, brightness, contrast of the photo)

-cropping(finding the most correct compositional solution)

- retouching skin(I think does not need comment, improvement appearance, work on skin defects; I hasten to notice that I don't do plastic surgery and don't work as a hairdresser :)

- author's processing(and here we already mean the photographer's artistic vision, the author's "corporate" colors, that zest that distinguishes one photographer from another, just look at the portfolio)

- preparation for printing(adding sharpness, setting the desired parameters for printing).

Everything the best photos that you get through these stages is a very painstaking work, but my favorite. I do the selection and retouching of photos at my own discretion, and therefore, choosing me as your photographer, I ask you to confide in me in this part.
I am not giving away the original photographic material. If desired, all other photographs without defects in color correction can be ordered as an additional option - they are sold separately.
And yet, you get black and white options for processing photos as a gift!

Rarindra Prakarsa's favorite filming locations are close to his home as he appears on the “set” in the early morning. These places are found in Jakarta and West Java: Serpong, Kividea and Sukabumi. In West Java, high humidity and fog, which often suits him. Although he still prefers to shoot in good weather. When it's clear outside, he always wants to leave the house, due to the fact that he is obsessed with beautiful light. For a long time, he catches the moment, choosing the ideal angle of incidence of light on objects. He always selects the right surroundings, trees in this sense are his favorites.

"The Golden moment"

This photo was taken outside my house, located near a small lake in the western part of Jakarta. The weather was very nice and I thought it would be great if the net was golden and the background dark. But in reality, the background was not as dark as you can see in the photo.

I set the shutter speed to 1/500 second and the white balance “shade”.

Then I edited the image in Photoshop using the Burn tool to keep the top right part bright. I used Selective Color (Blue) for his clothes to get a richer blue and remove the yellow. Then I took the Dodge Tool to brighten some areas of the clothing. I tried to create a contrast of blue and yellow in this photo. All elements of this photo are natural, all I did was basically lighten / darken some areas.

"Togetherness # 2"

This photo was taken with a Canon Digital Rebel XT and Tamron 28-75. In Popular Photography Magazine, Rarindra shares the steps he used in artistic processing of photography in Photoshop:

• If you are shooting RAW, then use warm White Balance settings before transferring the image to Photoshop.
• Using your favorite selection method, select your main objects (in this case, people) and save the selection for later use. While the shapes are still selected, create a new adjustment layer of type Levels. Don't change anything, just click OK, then change the Blending Mode to Soft Light and lower the opacity of the layer to 50%.
• Make a new Solid Color Fill Layer.

Select Color: None and click Ok. Enter the following values ​​in the color selection dialog: R84, G66, B4. Click OK, then change the blend mode to Hue.

• Create a new adjustment layer of type Selective Color. Select Colors: Neutrals and set Yellow to 39% and Cyan to -8%.
• Create a new adjustment layer of type Color Balance. Set midtones to 0, -7, -13. Then set the highlights to 0, 0, -3.
• Create a new adjustment layer of type Levels, select the Blue channel, and change the output level from 255 to 200.
• Create a new empty layer and load the shape selection saved in step 2. Fill the selection with black, change the blending mode to Color, and reduce the opacity to 50%. This will make your shapes stand out better against the gold background.
• If the gold tone is too strong, reduce the opacity of your layers until the image looks more natural.

A lot of things happen in the works of Rarindra, and this is painstaking, intense work. This is probably why he doesn't post a new job every week.

His works contain notable specific traits... It separates the image into the foreground, the main subject of the image and the background, almost like on a theater stage. In this particular example, I suspect that he has cut out the foreground with the children and the tree and pasted into another image with the background. Why do I think so? The sun is shining very brightly, so much so that the boys' backs are almost overexposed. At the same time, the background is lit with a completely different light. If the light in the background was the same, we would see overexposed branches, leaves and tree trunks.

It also uses contrast, sharpness and color to further separate the foreground from the background. In the same image, for example, the background is slightly blurred and the contrast is reduced - this puts the background on a completely separate plane. It almost looks like a fake theatrical backdrop.

For backgrounds, it uses color gradients in Normal and Multiply modes and reduces the opacity. These modes are important because they don't increase contrast, they just dim the brightness a little, leaving the contrast low.

I've used some of these techniques in this image for an example:

After:

First, start with an image that is heavily backlit or side-lit - it will be easier to work with and the result will be more natural.

Secondly, clipping is very important to separate the foreground from the background. In this example, we only need to worry about creating a mask for the little girl:

I believe that gradients are the key to getting images like Rarindra's. The gradations in his work are very smooth, they do not look like brushwork. So in this example I only used gradients and did not use brushes in everything, including the masks.

When using gradients on your masks, remember to set your colors to the default black for the foreground and white for the background (press the D key to set them that way). Also don't forget to change the gradient mode to “foreground to transparent”. Click on the gradient in the toolbar and select the following settings:

I used linear gradients for large areas:

And round gradients for small areas:

So, let's go to the image. We'll start by adding some haze to separate the foreground from the background. Here's a starting image for comparison:

A little more for more depth. This layer was added in Multiply mode, with a lower opacity:

We take photos every day, especially selfies or portraits with the main camera. Some photos are perfect right away, and some still ask for revision. For example, pronounced problem areas of the skin in everyday life can be almost invisible, and in the photo they are striking. Also, in most cases, the photos are faded, and no longer seem as cool as we thought. In this article, we'll show you how to enhance your photography with retouching and color correction. For this we will use the Movavi photo editor program.

Salute to everyone, dear subscribers and readers of PhotoCASA magazine! My name is Pavel, in this article I want to talk about the principle of processing a "lamp" portrait indoors without using studio equipment. Before proceeding to the description of processing, I would like to say a little about the process of obtaining the source. The shooting took place in the library, where almost all the halls did not have the amount of natural light necessary for a portrait, which I prefer.

This photo was captured with a Nikon D610 camera. Sigma lens 35 mm f / 1.4 Art. This was the very first shooting after buying my first SLR camera... Before that I shot with a mirrorless Olympus OM-D E-M5. I use Adobe for cataloging and initial color grading of my photos.
Lightroom, then retouch and do more detailed color adjustments in Photoshop. I open the photo in Lightroom and get started.

Good afternoon friends! My name is Valentina Tsvirko and I am an amateur photographer from Belarus. Several years ago photography entered my life and enriched it with new colors! At first I shot landscapes and cityscapes, but about a year ago I tried my hand at portrait photography, and this shooting fascinated me a lot. I like to shoot close-up portraits more, to show the inner world of a person, his soul. I study from lessons from the Internet and books on photography and try very hard to improve my level of knowledge. Many thanks to PhotoCASA magazine for the opportunity to publish this article and I ask you not to judge me harshly: I am still just studying) ...

Thanks to digital photography we bring hundreds of pictures from our trips, but some of them are ruthlessly deleted due to their poor quality. They turn out to be blurry, with a blocked horizon, or simply not spectacular enough. And we usually discover this only after returning home.

Do not rush to get rid of seemingly damaged photos. They can still be saved in a simple photo editing program such as Movavi Photo Editor.

Greetings, dear readers of PhotoCASA magazine. In this article, I'll show you how to make a pretty interesting picture from the source, which most would move to the trash. Opening the source in Camera Raw. I do standard operations: exposure, calibration, sharpness (very minimum).
Next, open the photo in Photoshop. I set the black point and make the photo lighter with another layer of curves. Then I copy the layer (Ctrl + J), selecting the necessary areas on it with the Lasso Tool (L), and in several approaches I make a "fill in view of the content" (Shift + F5). Mainly I cleaned areas with gaps in the shadows.

Hello everyone, my name is Vlad Nelyubin. I am a wedding photographer and I want to tell you about a little trick that helps me in my work.
There are a lot of wedding photographers now, and you need to be able to always stay in the cage. Therefore, I give my clients small gifts that are inexpensive for me, and the newlyweds are given pleasant memories for a lifetime. This is the creation of a picture from a wedding or any other joint photograph.

Hello everyone! My name is Dima Begma, and today I will tell you about the processing of one of my photographs.
A little about the photo itself. For shooting were used Nikon camera D 610 and Nikkor 50 mm f / 1.8 lens. The picture was taken in Dnepropetrovsk in cloudy weather with strong winds. Since we were filming on the footbridge, random passers-by often got into the frame. As a result, when processing a photo, I will need to replace a part of the photo with people with a similar empty area from another photo. All photos
made with the same camera settings.

My name is Anton Montbrillant and I would like to share how I process my portrait photos.
I do the most natural processing without any complicated toning and painting, while trying to do it with fairly simple tools, which allows me to preserve beautiful and natural colors. So let's take a look at the original image. Photo taken with 645D and smc-D FA 645 55mm f / 2.8 AL

Let's see what the “High End Retouch” is. Retouching (fr. Retouch - paint on, touch up).
Modifying the original, editing the image. The purpose of editing is to correct defects, prepare for publication, and solve creative problems.

Hello everyone. My name is Ruslan Isinev. I'll show you how this photo was processed.
I am using Photoshop CC2014.
Opening the photo in Camera RAW. I do all the main work here, this for me is one of the most important tools in Photoshop.
We darken the background, lighten the model, thereby highlighting the object we need. On this photo I'm already satisfied with everything, we press "open".

Hello everyone! My name is Dima Begma and today I will tell you about the processing of this photo. I have quite a few 1: 1 aspect ratio photos in my portfolio and this one was no exception.
In order not to lose the quality and resolution of the picture when cropping, I prefer to take such photos by gluing two or three photos into one. All photos were taken with the same settings and with the same focal length, I just moved the camera along the axis.
The ultimate goal of processing is to get a picture that will maximize the atmosphere of a sunset.

Hello dear friends! My name is Dmitry Fevralev and I am fond of art photography. Most of all, I am interested in the atmosphere and subtext in the shot, which can prompt the viewer to thoughts, emotions, and possibly even ideas. That's why I love psychological facial portraits,
who are able to tell much more about ourselves than it might seem at first glance. I'll make a reservation that I'm self-taught in photography.

Hello dear readers! My name is Karina (Kerry Moore) and I work in art and fashion photography. These two styles were appropriated to me by the Internet audience. All my work was shot with Nikon D90 and Nikkor 50mm f / 1.4 G. Photography for me is both a job and a hobby. And today I will tell you about my most famous work - a series of photographs "Azure" specially for PhotoCASA magazine.

Hello dear readers of PhotoCASA magazine!
Today I am with you, Anna Zadvornova, with a new lesson in which I will tell you how to draw a portrait. So, let's begin!
First, open the original image.
We go to Curves.
Next, Selective color correction, set the values:
RED: Cyan +4, Magenta –9, Yellow +7, Black –2.
YELLOW: Cyan –13, Magenta –3, Yellow +3, Black +3.

Hello. Today I will tell you about the processing of one of my photographs.
This photo was taken with a Canon 6D and a 135mm lens, 1/1250 sec, f / 2 aperture and ISO100, just before sunset.
Initially, my task was to make the photo warmer, and the girl's dress to be blue, and also to emphasize soap bubbles and the rays of the sun.

Work started in Camera Raw. On the Hue-Saturation-Luminance (HSL) tab, the main task was to use color to make the picture more voluminous and change turquoise baby girl clothes on blue. To do this, in the Luminance tab, I moved the orange slider to the right, separating the girl from the background, and in the Hue tab, I changed the turquoise shade to blue.

Hello dear PhotoCASA readers!
My name is Maxim Guselnikov and I would like to tell you about how I process my photographs.
I prefer natural processing, without any complex special effects and collages, while trying to use fairly simple techniques that, nevertheless, make the photo more expressive.

Greetings, dear readers of PhotoCASA magazine! I want to tell you how the presented photo was processed.
1. Open the photo in Lightroom. Adjusting exposure, light and white balance.
2. Using the color correction tools, remove the redness on the face and hands.
3. We set the following parameters in the calibration

Good day, dear readers of PhotoCASA magazine!
This time I want to talk about the processing of one of my photos.
When processing, I use a single algorithm, but I never make the series identical, choosing my own colors for each shot and placing emphasis on the most significant elements of the image.
My processing is always divided into two parts: color correction in Lightroom and retouching in Photoshop.
First of all - the analysis of the source.

Hello dear readers of PhotoCASA magazine! My name is Marina Polyanskaya, in this article I will tell you about the processing of this photo.
This photo was taken during a trip to St. Petersburg in March. The inspiration and muse of the picture was the amazing model Anya Kubanova. It was decided to take the kitten to emphasize Ani's natural beauty. Early in the morning we went to shoot on one of the St. Petersburg rooftops. It was cloudy, very cold and windy, but both the model and the cat bravely held on, for which many thanks to them.
So, open your RAW file in Lightroom ...

Hello, dear readers of PhotoCASA magazine, I am Stanislav Starchenko, photographer and retoucher. My specialization is collages, photo manipulations, implementation of both my own ideas and orders from other photographers.
In this article, I want to show the main stages and some of the secrets of creating my photo story "Transitional age". The plot was based on a theme from the history of Spanish noble family Borgia period XII - XVIII centuries. The painting shows a girl. Or already a girl? Sensual
a modest portrait on the wall reminds us of her innocence and purity, the toys in the right corner remind us of her recent childhood and upbringing. But what about her gaze? What was she thinking about? Did she really feel the change and nostalgia for childhood?
Yes: she turned 16. Fire in the fireplace, sparks ... Transitional age!
The project of the work created in Photoshop includes more than 200 layers, so I will not dwell on each layer separately. I have divided all the work into 10 main parts.

Since I grew up in the countryside, this topic is very close to me.
I like everything old, imbued with the spirit of old age.
Before we start processing the photo, let's figure out what we want to do. Convey the atmosphere of the village and old age. Decide on the colorist of photography. There are many color combinations, but I prefer the harmony of the opposite. In our situation, the bright ones will be
in yellow-orange shades, and the shadows in blue-blue.
First, I open my RAW file in Lightroom.
Step 1. Basic settings
Since the photo is very dark and cold, we make it warmer. To do this, I adjust the white balance. Then I remove the contrast, bring the Highlights down, and increase the Whites. I draw out the shadows a bit and sharpen it (Clarity) to add volume to the photo.
Now I bring down the saturation (Saturation), and the vibration (Vibrance), on the contrary, increase it. Vibrance is a very useful feature when working with portraits: it protects skin tones from oversaturation and loss of tones.

Hello dear readers of PhotoCASA magazine, my name is Vladimir Shapkin. In a previous article, I described the basic steps I use for photo retouching.
However, this is not the only approach. Sometimes, in order to get a high-quality result, one has to abandon the frequency decomposition and carry out all the work using the Dodge and Burn technique.
I took the photo for this article on the website www.modelmayhem.com, where many photographers post high-quality sources for processing, and absolutely free. Photo courtesy of the photographer: Krzysztof Halaburda, Model: Maja C., make-up artist: Weronika Sikora.
After RAW converting with the Plastic tool, I tweaked the hair.

Use a Hue / Saturation adjustment layer to reduce the redness of the eyes and whiten the teeth a little.
Next, let's start cleaning using the Healing Brush and the Clone Stamp tools. This operation can be performed using frequency decomposition, but, as I said, this time I decided to do without this method at the initial stage.

Hello everyone! I'll tell you a little about how I process children's photos taken in the open air.
When shooting outdoors, I always try to shoot in the shade: firstly, there are no hard shadows on the face, and secondly, the child does not squint. It is advisable to find a place where the sun will light up a little in the background. This is, of course, the ideal. If the weather conditions do not allow, then it is always
can be painted on in Photoshop.

I open the photo (photo 1). Children's photos do not require deep retouching of the skin, so we remove only the main shortcomings of light and shadow on the face. In this case, these are small shadows under the eyes, I remove them with a stamp, the opacity and pressure are about 40%. I remove minor flaws with a healing brush. I lighten the nasolabial part a little, by about 30%, so as not to leave the face without emotions. Then I lighten the iris of the eyes, but not very much. I remove the earrings with a stamp, because I forgot to take them off during preparation, and they do not fit at all for this image.
Everything is with the face.

Why do many people do not know how to process photos or process them incorrectly, wasting a lot of time?

The problem lies in the approach, which is indirectly supported by rather harmful resources like a photo monster or lightroom ru.

Dozens of sites tell you how to process and which slider you need to move.

But does anyone say when to process and how to process?

Or why process? Where to stay in processing?

They don't talk about it.

All training in image processing comes down to a story about installing a preset or about how a certain photographer moved the lightroom sliders while processing his image.

But why he moved them and why, you will not know.

The article does not contain ready-made recipes or presets. But it does provide foundational points to help you understand what to process, when to process, and what to process.

How to learn to handle artistically

If we abstract from photography as a whole object and decompose it into its components, then it turns out that at the heart of any photograph there are two components:

• Tone component
• Component of color

The main task of processing comes down to understanding the problems of tone, problems of color and knowing what you want to see in the end.

Experienced retouchers or photographers process the tonal component first, then the color component. This reduces the risk of processing defects, the strength of their manifestation and allows you to keep the color cleaner.

It cannot be argued that only this sequence needs to be processed. There are always exceptions. But it's best to stick to this order of processing.

Where to start processing photos

Examine the selected photograph until you understand what you want to make of it.

No need to rush to move sliders or search for another collection of a thousand and one presets for beginners.

The main point of any processing is the artistic intention, which is embodied by the processing itself.

Not invented?

Leave this shot and consider another.

During my training, I noticed that I could not figure out how to handle simple walk-throughs.

After I realized that they were not interesting to me myself, I stopped wasting my time on them, eliminating processing.

Weed out uninteresting pictures. This is the second thing you must learn.

Don't waste time processing pictures that you know to be boring. It is better to remove the one that will be interesting and which will look after processing and retouching.

The essence of processing is underlining positive sides frame while hiding negative, and removing all unnecessary.

Fundamentals of tone processing

Have you decided how you see the image after processing?

If so, consider that you have already done most of the work. It remains to understand how to achieve the intended result.

What do you dislike about the tonal part of the photo?

Is it dark or too light? Is it too contrasting or is it dull?

Are there any areas that are lighter and draw attention away from the main objects of the frame?

So fix it.

Any photo editing software like Photoshop, Lightroom, Gimp or Capture One has tonal correction tools.

These are tools or adjustment layers:

• Curves
• Levels
• Exposure
• Brightness / Contrast

Curves are considered the most flexible and powerful tool. It is their work that needs to be studied first, since the curve can replace all the remaining tone correction tools.

In Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw, use the Basic tab and the Tone Curve tab to edit the tone.

How do you study them?

On YouTube, there are dozens of hours of videos and hundreds of videos on each tonal or color correction tool for Photoshop, Lightroom and others like them.

Get to know how each tool works.

Don't look for ready-made recipes.

Just learn and understand how the tonal range tools work.

Color Processing Basics

Too green grass hinders the implementation of your idea? Or did a blue reflex from clothes hit the model's face?

Color correction and saturation tools will help you.

The main color editing tools you'll come across most often are:

• Vibrance
• Hue / Saturation
• Color balance
• Chanel mixer

In Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw, the HSL tabs are used to edit colors along with the Saturation and Luminance tabs.

Color theory

To understand how color works and how colors harmonize, watch this video on color theory.

In my opinion, this is one of the best videos on this topic in the Russian-language segment of YouTube.

Working with color harmonization is unthinkable without understanding Itten's circle. Many people feel that it does not work or does not work the way they would like.

Either way, it's better than nothing.

Using the tools of Photoshop or Lightroom, the photographer simply adjusts the color component of the image to suit his artistic intent.

Author's processing

Many beginners try to replicate the processing of famous photographers by scouring for the presets of these photographers.

If you learn the tonal and color correction tools, then you won't need any presets.

You will see and understand what was done during the author's processing, how it was done and how it can be repeated.

Don't look for presets.

Better learn Photoshop or Lightroom

Ultimately, you will spend your time on something more rewarding than looking for a preset one time.

Will there be revelations and takedowns?

Undoubtedly.

In the meantime, since you have gone so deeply into this article, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with the popular processing and shooting errors. The article continues the topic of processing.