Alicia Williams, a good friend of mine (and a great photographer!) asked me about a set of actions I used for retouching images. Because others have asked about the Boutwell’s Totally Rad Action Set, I thought I would post how I use these actions in my daily image workflow. I find that these actions are subtle but powerful, and because they simulate a lot of film looks and things that you could have done in a darkroom in the film days, I think they will stand the test of time and not make the images look dated. Disclaimer: To use these actions, you must first be able to create a well-exposed image- these actions will not fix bad images. You must also be comfortable using layer masks in photoshop.

Image 1- Here is the original, straight from raw, file. Well exposed, but lacking some oomph.

Image 2- For my first step, I wanted to do some non-destructive dodging and burning to draw attention to the bride and groom, glamorize the rocks, and lighten the shadows in the groom’s face (Yin/Yang). The difference is subtle with “save for web” files, but look at the groom’s face to see the most difference:

Image 3- For the step pictured below, I wanted to add a bit of glow and smooth out the skin of my bride (Prettyizer):

Image 4- For the step pictured below, I wanted to warm up the file a little (Warm it Up Kris!) and bring back some of the detail in the rocks (Boutwell’s Magic Glasses). I used my layer masks on both to back off the warming and sharpening filters on the faces of my bride and groom.

Image 5- And here is the finished file. I simply smoothed over some of the sand and some trash on the rocks and added contrast (+contrast-luma).

And here is the original file again for the sake of comparison- I think you’ll agree that the file above is much more attractive than the file below!

I photographed Erica and John’s engagement session in Boston last weekend. They were good sports not to wear their jackets- it was a cold cold spring day! Eric will be photographing their wedding in just a few months at Sandy Island in New Hampshire! Here are some of our favorite photographs from their session:

Adding texture to your photographs has become en vogue in the past few years. With the popularity of canvas gallery wraps, I am a big fan of adding some texture to a handful of photographs that may end up on canvas. I have had a few photographers ask about the textures I use, so I thought that I would post here.

First, you will need a texture file to use. I take a lot of photographs of interesting textures and create my own, but some of the time I am looking for something specific and I will turn to a set of actions that I purchased from Bruce Dorn and Maura Dutra. In order to use these actions (or to use a file of your own) you will need to understand layers and layer masks in photoshop. Basically I will add the texture as a layer on top of the photograph. Sometimes I change the layer style, and sometimes I leave it as is (it depends on the photograph). I adjust the textured layer and then I’ll use a layer mask to paint away the texture in certain areas of the photograph (the faces, for example).

Textures aren’t for everyone, but for me they add a certain reality to the photograph. I really like the use of texture in this one- the first file is the original, the second is the file with texture:

I photographed the wedding of Amelia and Brian a few weeks ago- it was one of my favorite post-wedding shoots that I have done. Amelia and Brian were troopers- they got up early the day after their wedding so that we could photograph with the best light available. By the end of the shoot, they were totally immersed in the water! What a couple!

This is one of my favorite photographs- they are nuzzling by the rocks as the sun comes up!