› › RETOUCHING MAGIC
Here are two images side by side. Image A is unsharpened, and image B is sharpened. These images definitely show you how sharpening, when done right, can really make your image look crisper than it originally was!
This next tip is applied to every darn image on my site. Think of your website viewer as a child with ADD. And they have a right to be a little ADD—try putting yourself in their shoes for a moment; they’re frantically looking for a photographer to hire, while trying to juggle everything else real life throws at them: kids, groceries, projects, deadlines, etc. The moment your website viewer looks at an image on your site, their eye should instantly take them to the section that you’ve chosen as the most important place. If you don’t lock in their curiosity, you’ll immediately lose their interest. In order to protect myself against this phenomenon, I selectively tone my images. Another term for this is dodge and burn. (This skill has so many uses and isn’t just for skin retouching!) Take a look at this next image. The first version of the image is un-toned and unretouched. It’s straight out of camera, and even though the little girl is actually in focus, your eyes pass over her because the lightness of the bride’s dress distracts you. In the second version, I brightened the girl, and toned down the white dress, which immediately leads the viewer’s eye to the intended subject of the image! Here’s one more example. In the un-toned image, your eye bounces around from the light reflections on the glass to the sconce on the wall behind the bride, and then finally sees the sharp, in-focus face in the middle. Well, by toning down those other things in the image, and brightening and adding contrast to the bride’s face, I’ve created a stunning image where the viewer’s eye goes immediately to the place intended!
Image A
Image B
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m
2. SELECTIVE TONING
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