You’ve probably heard the question “does that look ‘shopped to you?” at some point in your life. However, the best edits in Photoshop on a photo are the ones you’ll never notice. As a photographer or a client of a photographer, it’s important to know what Photoshop and other image editing software can do, but it’s also important to know what edits you should do.
Don’t Shoot Thinking “I Can Fix This in Photoshop”
Never set yourself up for Photoshop failure by taking photos that have glaring issues. In our blog, Great Photography with Unfinished Landscaping and Construction, we talked about how to shoot around obstacles like unfinished construction. Always try and capture the best angles at the best time of the day with the best lighting and environments.
Look at Subtraction over Addition
When you are making edits to photography, you should be looking at removing elements that subtract from the photo. This could be elements that subtract from the focus of the photo, like cracked pavement. But it can also be used to enhance a photo, like using the Dehaze feature in Lightroom to help make the photo all the more vibrant.
Getting a Photo in Line with a Theme
Sometimes photos need to be taken during the off-season but need to match up with on-season photos. An example of this would be in our blog, Photography in Winter: Making Lemons into Lemonade, where we had to do a rush shoot for a sea-side apartment complex when there was still snow in the surf. Removing the snow, warming the lighting, and adding in subtle nudges like adding in a warm image to the TV, all helped sell this without overdoing it.
Don’t Make Too Many Edits to a Photo
This is the biggest obstacle to overcome when you’re using Photoshop: the urge to tweak every element until it’s perfect. Too much editing produces that “uncanny valley” effect where people start asking if the image has been manipulated. Great photography doesn’t say this, because great photography doesn’t start at the computer, but the eye of the photographer.
If you’re a client looking for photography and wondering what photoshop can and cannot do when it come to your architectural project, then it’s time to contact Shupe Studios. We provide photography to the businesses of Boston and beyond.