Finishing an image through retouching can have many different meanings and methods, and for a lot of
different reasons. To give an example of my case-by-case basis, I’ll provide a few sample images
below that I’ve recently finished:
Perhaps I’m just trying to achieve the right contrast and color:

I could want more emphasis on the subject instead of the background:

Maybe I want to focus on a subject’s features, and minimize flaws:

Does the image just need a little boost?

…or do I want to tell a deeper story?

A common question I’m asked by clients and other photographers alike is, “What does your retouching
involve?” Although each and every image is assessed and retouched on a case-by-case basis, my answer
to this question is “My retouching involves whatever the image needs for me to feel that it’s
finished.”
“A photograph is not an accident, it is a concept” as well as, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”
- Ansel Adams
I love those quotes and I couldn’t agree more. After film photographers shoot a picture and bring the negative …