What happens to my photos after the session?

All images are edited for color correction & toning, lighting & exposure adjustment, sharpening, and teeth whitening. Any close up portraits (from the torso up) also include basic skin enhancement and blemish removal.

Blemish Removal & Gentle Enhancement is applied to all final headshot selections and close-up portraits (torso up) from all session & wedding types (except general/special event photography, such as cocktail hour, receptions, etc).

This includes: lightening under the eyes, reduction of "crows feet" when needed, removal of "a strand of hair across face", zits, minor cuts/scrapes/bruises (anything that would not normally be on your face or arms).

I will take care of you! I have been a professional photographer for nearly 10 years, so I know that things like zits, beads of sweat, smudged makeup, that tiny strand of hair that blew across your loved one’s face, etc need to be removed.

Any additional editing or digital manipulation can be provided for an additional charge. Please see below for details under "Photo Manipulation".

 

Photo Manipulation

  • Convert to Black / White                                                 $4 per photo
  • Remove unwanted items (veins, sweat, signs, text, etc)  $12 per item per photo
  • Remove unwanted people from background                   $12-$22 per photo depending on amount of people
  • Switch faces (when possible)                                          $15
  • Slim down face/neck                                                       $8 per face per photo
  • Slim down excess bulging (arms, stomach, etc)               $8 per body part per photo
  • Fix eye(s), nose, mouth, or ear size/shape                      $10 per body part per photo
  • Fix chipped nail polish                                                    $8 per finger per photo
  • Remove a person from a group photo                             $35 per person per photo, when possible

Please inquire about any specific requests not listed here. Photos will be edited once per request. A second round of edits is billed separately.
Payments may be made via Venmo or check. Manipulation orders will not be fulfilled until payment has been received. All orders are final. Due to the nature of the work, the payment may not be refunded.

 

Retouching is not simply a matter of clicking a button and waiting for software to do the work, or just increasing the saturation and contrast. It involves time and thinking about what color and tone settings will best suit the mood of each photo, as well as aesthetic adjustments and the removal of unwanted items. If you remove something from a photograph, you have to replace it with whatever was behind it.

For instance, if a strand or two of hair are out of place (normally we try to catch these things during the photography session), it can be removed, but during the process, details such as the eyebrow, eyelid, eyelashes, iris, nostrils, lips, and teeth must be rebuilt in the spot where the hair was. Likewise with blemishes. Even though hair strands are thin, careless removal of them will leave a noticeable line across the face. Shine and beads of sweat are also removed from faces, but again, each spot corrected individually. If there are more than a couple of strands, the entire face would need to be rebuilt in that area, and your work would be sent to a contract professional digital manipulator.

Many people hire professional makeup artists before having their portrait taken. This includes headshots, brides, and engagement photos. If the makeup artist doesn't do a great job blending the foundation with the skin color and covering part of the neck as well, once adjustments have been made to a photograph, any uncovered skin (neck, collarbones, shoulders) may look slightly different from the made up skin, and will need to be retouched. Skin smoothing must be done to each section of skin, and areas of detail need to be avoided and cannot be brushed over quickly.

If we take photos on a sidewalk or street, cars cannot be removed. For photos in a public area with lots of people walking around, people who are far into the background are not removed as part of the standard retouching process. During the session in a public place (cherry blossom festival, National Mall, Dupont Circle, etc), we will do our best to avoid people. This is usually not a problem. As a professional photographer I will take care to compose your photos so these elements aren't included, or they aren't distracting. Please reference my portfolios by using the "Galleries" tab (top left).