Image Enhancement

So . . . do you really need digital enhancement? First, let’s clarify what we’re talking about. The most common – and frequently requested – type of enhancement is probably “selective color”. You know, a black and white image with a stunning colorful bouquet of flowers, for example. This type of enhancement first began appearing in television commercials and is now routinely used by professional photographers to create images with an impact. And this effect is uniquely digital. Doing the same thing in a dark room from a film negative was almost impossible. Those old photos you saw with selective color were usually hand painted black and white prints.

But there are many other kinds of enhancement that are also utilized by accomplished professionals to add impact and emotion to their work. Some of them are carried over from the days of film and others, like selective color, are a benefit of the digital era. Here’s a few examples:

• Cropping and straightening – No photographer can always get the picture framed exactly as she/he would prefer. So modifying the image to correct this can easily rescue a flawed shot and preserve an important memory.
• Retouching – Who knew that a zit would chose that moment to appear. In the digital age you can be blemish free if you so choose
• Object removal – Ever seen one of Uncle Bob’s photos where the candle appears to be growing out of Aunt Lucille’s head? No need to live with that result in this day of digital manipulation
• Color correction – Even with the best equipment in the most skillful hands, sometimes the color is just not as vibrant or not the shade that you remember. With the tools professionals use today colors can be removed, intensified, shifted or even changed completely.
• Lighting effects – How about a starburst of light, a shaft of light falling on your hair or elimination of a harsh glare
• Vignetting – A subtle darkening around the edges to focus attention on a particular point of interest
• Texturing – Fine art might have a cracked appearance (craquelure), exaggerated roughness, soft veiling or other visual elements applied to all or part of a photograph

These are just a few of the obvious and more common methods of image enhancement. None require you to take a pill before enjoying your photographs nor do you need to worry about enhancements lasting more than four hours. Image enhancement can be a very GOOD thing.

But beware of the overuse of these techniques. Some less accomplished photographers will use these techniques to distract you from the fact that the basic image is poor or has been poorly captured. As with any good thing, too much is generally a bad idea. Although the photos I’ve included with these thoughts have been chosen to make the effects obvious, many times the subtle application of multiple effects is unnoticeable to any but the most discriminating viewer. Yet the resulting images have “punch” and emotion that truly elevates the image to fine art. Don’t hesitate to let your photographer know what you think about her/his use of these techniques. And be sure that it’s your photographer and not some third party retouching service that is doing the work. Adjustments should be easy and your photographer should be willing and able to tune the work to please your eye.

Next – “my lens is bigger than your lens” and other thoughts on equipment.