Picture
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Computers can now remove any blemish with the click of a mouse. Photo studios utilize these techn
BY THE NUMBERS
82%
of seniors were satisfied with their senior pictures
86%
of seniors were happy with the edits done to their photos
Statistics compiled from a survey of a 119 seniors.
12 | FOCUS | NOV 27, 2013
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Reasons to Re-Touch
he process has changed. Ten years ago he didn’t use Photoshop or digital cameras. Photographers needed the perfect lighting, backdrop, and a steady hand. Not every minor problem could be fixed. Bruce Schneider, owner of Warner Photography, remembers editing photos using negatives, he was unable to add as much detail. Every blemish had to be removed by adding dye to the negative of a photo, layering it on until the blemish became neutral with the skin. “The prints would come back and any light spots on the prints, like shine on the face or glasses glare, could actually be taken out by adding dyes and painting over mistakes if you needed to,” Schneider said. “Now you do it all at the same time on the computer.” Schneider believes that with editing programs like Photoshop it is very easy for photographers to show their clients in their best light. He has the philosophy that every client should look the best they can look. Kathy Morley, owner of Morley Studios, also runs her business with the same philosophy. Morley comments that her take on retouching photos is to make her clients look rested and have them look their age. With senior photography, Schneider wants his customer to feel good about themselves. To do this, he is a firm proponent when it comes to retouching photographs. Morley will even go to the lengths of swapping out the heads of her client in one photo, with the head of the same client in a different photo. She does this because she sometimes captures the perfect smile or emotion on one face while capturing the perfect pose on a different photo. “I have a different philosophy when it comes to photography, I want everyone to look their best. If I can make it perfect I will swap a head
to make it perfect,” Morley said. Senior Malissa Garland chose Warner Photography because her friends were crew members, seniors who are chosen to have their photos advertised, and liked Warner’s style. She got her pictures taken in May and when she got her hard copies she was impressed with the way Schneider highlighted her best features. “Wow... I wish I looked like this all the time,” said Garland. “I don’t know what else they could do to them, I’m so happy with how they turned out.” Garland mentions when she was choosing a she kept in mind that she wanted to go somewhere that emphasized her beauty, one that didn’t take their retouches too far to the point where she didn’t look like herself. “The danger of retouching is putting it in the wrong hands of people who take it too far,” Morley said. “You want it to look like that person, but have it be them on their best day, and not have it so they are blurred out and look plastic.” Morley believes that when deciding between picking a studio that retouches their photos verses a studio that doesn’t, it comes down to a personal preference. “Clients come to me because that is what they want. They want my style and my artwork. Otherwise anyone with a camera can do it. Why would anyone come to me and say I just want your pictures but not your artwork,” said Morley. “Everyone needs a little bit of editing to give them a little more dimension. It doesn’t change how you look it just enhances by taking an image on a flat piece of paper and make it look better.” Senior Malissa Garland models the effects of re-touching that most taken. This photo was helped made possible by Samantha Rayk