Negatives? Proofs? Retouched Images?..

So who is who? Or which is which? Here is what I have in mind when I mention I mention negatives, proofs or retouched images.

NEGATIVES are files straight out of the camera with no tweaking at all. They are good images in general, but the big advantage of digital photography is that those images can become even more beautiful with some digital processing and things like possible underexposure, overexposure, white balance issues and some others can be easily corrected.

That takes us to the next stage – proofing. Proofing results in PROOFS. Proofs are digital files that have had some tweaking when necessary. My set of corrections at this point may include any or all of the following: exposure correction, white balance adjustment, contrast, brightness, saturation and vibrance correction as well as noise reduction, sharpening and vignettes where appropriate.

After proofing you get images ready for printing, sharing and whatever else you can use images for. My clients get proofs in their online proofing galleries, as well as with their portrait session, elopement and wedding DVDs.

The next step after proofing would be retouching. Retouching perfects your images and you get RETOUCHED (artistically edited) IMAGES. Examples of retouching would be removing skin blemishes and evening out skin tone, making eyes stand out, highlighting certain parts of the image using dodge and burn tools, as well as blurring, cloning out unnecessary details, adding toning like the “Golden Tone”, “The Dreamy Tone”, “B&W” etc.

You see retouched images in my portfolio as well as on my blog. You will get retouched images when you order prints, canvases and albums.

Below are some examples.