Before & After: How We Edit Your Wedding Photos

The editing process brings wedding photography to life! While all of the images shot in-camera look great when taken, there is something magical about the editing process and making those images look their finest (and creating quality, end-of- the-year photos). You will get a behind-the-scenes look at how I take the raw data shot in real-time and turn it into stunning wedding galleries for my brides and grooms to enjoy! This blog will walk you through the entire production process using an example of recent weddings

Why Editing Matters

Editing photos for wedding photography does not mean changing who you are or changing the reality of the day, it is simply enhancing what was there. Enhancing feelings of happiness, light, colourful, and tonality of all wedding celebrations (soft romantic indoor celebrations to large colourful south Asian celebrations) through editing will create cohesive collections of photographs that are full of life and feel very much like a dream.

The style I strive for is a light, airy, clean and naturally luminescent style. There’s much to be said about a photograph that is soft with vibrant, yet true-to-life colours, and has a fine-art look to them. Your photographs should be beautiful today and also look beautiful 20 years from now.

Before & After: What Actually Changes?

Here’s an example from the image above. The unedited version has so much potential: Amazing light, authentic facial expressions, amazing background. The final edit brings all of those qualities together in a beautiful way:

1. Exposure & Brightness:

The very first thing I do is adjust the exposure. I add more brightness to create a softer glow with more dimension. I strive to keep all my bright, airy images clean and bright.

2. Color Balancing:

Indoor lighting can sometimes create warm yellows or dark shadows on skin tones. I adjust the color balance of the entire image to remove that warm yellow and create more of the natural tone of a person’s skin. As a result, green slows down, white shadows become lighter, and people’s skin appears to have the same warmth as outside light, instead of looking artificial or too pastel.

3. Contrast & Depth:

Higher contrast helps highlight and shadow the subject of the photograph, creating depth within an image. Increased contrast makes foliage “pop,” brightens whites, and separates subjects from background elements.

4. Skin Tones & Details:

I enhance the look of skin by keeping it redness-free and even-toned, creating a natural glow without making the skin look overly smoothed or “edited.” Skin should appear as skin; note that skin retouching helps improve the overall look of a photograph.

5. Clean-Up:

Sometimes, something as small as a dull reflection, uneven lighting, or an item in the background will draw away from the moment captured on camera. I clean these distractions; I want you to be able to focus on the emotional narrative captured within the image.

6. Fine Art:

The final step in the process is to add the signature finish: soft luminosity, a delicate glow, refined and elegant color palettes. Each photo is given a magazine cover-style feel, yet will have an organic base and be true to the day of the shoot.

Gallery-wide Consistency is Key

When it comes to photo editing, there is no greater priority than consistency. Whether your wedding was a white, airy ballroom event or a vivid, colorful South Asian celebration or crimson red garden ceremony, all of the photographs in your gallery will blend beautifully and be cohesive throughout.

No photograph will have that “out of place” look and feel; Each photo will flow together naturally just as the wedding day story did.

My Approach to Editing: Timeless Rather Than Trendy

I do not use overly aggressive presets, over-edited images, or trendy filters, all of which may look dated in a few years. I have developed a process that results in:

• Skin Tone Accuracy
• Whites Soft/Pure and Bright Highlights
• Natural Looking Greens (Not Neon or Muddy)
• Contrast that is Elegant/Not Harsh Shadows
• Clean and Timeless Tones for Your Wedding Photos.

Your Wedding Photos Are Timeless!

Speedy Delivery and Top Quality Photos

While most photographers deliver their complete galleries within 2 to 3 months, I will provide complete galleries to clients within one week of receiving their deposit. After 12 years of working in the photography industry, it has enabled me to have a perfected workflow that produces exceptional quality images and rapid processing times, without sacrificing quality.