Crafting Chromatically Rich and Luminous Images

“If all the world’s a stage, I want better lighting.”

I couldn’t agree more with this humorous play on Shakespeare’s words. Most of us look far better under the flattering qualities of soft, diffused, light, positioned at a pleasing angle—along with just the right amount of fill-light—than say, the glare of a harsh spotlight.

The same is true in photography. Lighting can make or break a photograph. I would even go so far as to say that the concept and composition of an image can be superb but if the lighting is suffering, the photograph will have missed the mark.

Case in Point

This example, from the Improving Color + Lighting portfolio gallery at ChromaQueen.com, shows that the original photograph was not terribly bad, but it lacked contrast and certainly lent itself to improvement to both the lighting and color balance. My approach to retouching the photo was to envision how I would have handled the lighting had I been the photographer on the shoot. The first step in lighting design is to decide which elements should be emphasized and which elements should be made subordinate.

Photo courtesy of the Spa at Snowflake, Stowe, Vt

In re-shaping the lighting, I considered the message of image. I wanted to draw the viewer into the experience of getting a massage—to visually create the feeling of being pampered.

I moved the emphasis away from the front of the massage table by darkening it, and brought emphasis to the hands of the masseuse and the granular texture of the scrub by lightening it. Now, the viewer’s eye is directed towards the most important elements in the image. In “re-lighting” the scene, I had to be sure the lighting looked natural and realistic for the environment. As in any retouching project, the corrections should be undetectable.

View Interactively to Really See the Difference

Visit the Color + Lighting portfolio gallery at ChromaQueen.com to view the image larger, and the Before/ After as an interactive rollover. (It’s the last image in the series.)

Pre or Post-Capture Lighting

There are umpteen reasons why a photograph may not have been properly lighted in the first place. The list includes (but is not limited to): locations with less than ideal available light, space constraints that make it impossible to set-up supplementary lighting, time constraints, and situations where setting up lighting would have disruptive the scene.

In addition, not all location photographers travel with studio lighting. Many photographers depend solely on available light and/or on-camera flash. In most shooting situations—and especially in editorial photography—capturing something is better than getting nothing. The underlying criteria for a photographer on any assignment is to bring back something the client can work with—as in the case of the spa image.

Room for Improvement

In most cases, lighting can be improved post-capture. With that said, if you are a photo editor, graphic designer, or art director, the take-away is to remember you do not have to compromise your quality standards if photographs selected for a given project have lighting issues. It is possible to adjust images for superb reproduction and to more effectively communicate the intended message.

If you are a photographer, the take-away is to know the initial capture is only the beginning of the process. Much can—and is often done—at the production stage to serve the design, message, and reproduction quality of the image.

More from ChromaQueen.com

Visit the ChromaQueen blog for more informative articles on color management, color design, image enhancement, photo retouching, and photo editing written specifically for the graphic design and photography community.

Martha DiMeo is intensely passionate about photography, Photoshop, and superb color reproduction. During the course of her 25 year career Martha has worked as a staff photographer for Hallmark Cards, as a Digital Imaging Specialist for leading magazine titles (The New Yorker, Fortune, People) and has established and managed in-house prepress and art production departments (Cahners Business Information, Elegant Publishing). Her entrepreneurial spirit lead her to launch ChromaQueen.com, a photo editing services company specializing in photo retouching and color correction for books, magazines, art publishers, and marketing and advertising clients. Martha would be delighted to talk to you about your next color correction and retouching project. To get started, take advantage of the free image evaluation service offered through the ChromaQueen site. Upload files to receive a complimentary, no obligation, review of your images. She can be reached at 617-855-8474.