As a photographer, post-production can be both time-consuming and expensive. Hours of retouching can add up to a considerable expense if pre-production and production steps are not taken seriously. To help minimize the need for costly retouching, it's crucial to prioritize pre-production and production steps. In this article, we will discuss tips and tricks to help reduce the need for post-production retouching, improve the quality of your final images, and save you time and money. We will focus on the crucial pre-production steps and the important production tips that can make a big difference in the quality of your final images and the time and cost of post-production.

Pre-Production: Preparing for the shoot.

Pre-production is a crucial step that can make a big difference in the quality of your final images, as well as the time and cost of post-production. As a retoucher, I have seen many photographers overlook these essential pre-production steps, leading to expensive and time-consuming retouching needs. Here are some tips to consider for a smooth and cost-effective pre-production process:

• Your Clients' Expectations:
  Have a conversation with your clients on their comfort level and preferences with retouching. Some clients may prefer a more natural look with minimal editing, while others may want a more stylized and heavily retouched appearance. This will help avoid costly and time-consuming revisions later on.

• Self-Care for Your Clients:
  Prioritizing your clients' self-care is essential for achieving the best results. Encourage your clients to get a good night's rest and maintain a healthy diet to reduce the appearance of perceived flaws such as large pores and dark circles under the eyes. Drinking plenty of water can also help them look and feel their best on the day of the shoot. Additionally, a pre-shoot spa day can be a great way to relax, hydrate, and moisturize the skin, especially for areas like chapped lips, hands, and feet. Insisting on a manicure and pedicure for clean and tidy nails can minimize the need for retouching dry skin or flaking nail polish. Keep a bottle of nail polish remover and lip-balm on standby for any last-minute needs, and encourage hair grooming for additional areas such as bikini lines and nose hairs to further minimize the need for costly retouching.

• Hair and Makeup: Hiring a professional hair and makeup artist can make a big difference in the final look of your photographs and save you time and money in post-production. Without professional hair and makeup, you may encounter issues such as clumpy foundation, flyaway hairs, smudged lipstick, and poorly applied eyelashes, to name a few. These issues can take a significant amount of time to fix in post-production, resulting in added costs.  

• Say No to Self-Tanning Products:
  Advise your clients against using self-tanning products Self-tanning products can lead to issues such as streaks, uneven color, patchiness, and unnaturally orange skin. They are absorbed by the skin at different saturation levels, making it difficult to achieve a consistent look in post-production. Remember, it's much easier to add a tan in Photoshop than to fix a bad self-tan, so it's better to avoid the issue altogether.

• Appropriate Attire:
  Encourage clients to wear appropriate attire for the photoshoot that covers more skin, such as sleeves and pants instead of sleeveless styles and shorts. Well-fitted clothing is key to avoid unflattering appearances and difficulty in reshaping figures during post-production. Additionally, avoid clothing with patterns, small checkered patterns that create moiré, lace or transparent fabrics, as these take longer to retouch. Iron or steam clothes to remove wrinkles as they can be difficult and expensive to fix in post-production. A smooth, wrinkle-free appearance will ensure that the final images look polished and professional.

• Lint-Free:
  Use a lint brush to remove any lint from clothing before the photoshoot, even if it's not immediately noticeable to the naked eye. Your camera will capture even the smallest specks of lint, which can be expensive to remove in post-production. So make sure to take the extra step of using a lint brush before you start shooting.

• Plan your Shot List Strategically:
  When planning your shot list, consider any styling elements that may cause skin impressions or abrasions. To minimize the risk of clothing marks or impressions, schedule skin-exposed shots, such as nudes, at the beginning of the shoot. Additionally, advise your clients to wear loose-fitting clothing beforehand to prevent skin indentations from undergarments or tight closures that may require retouching. For shots that include styling elements like lace-up heels or watches, save them for last to avoid potential issues with impressions. This strategic planning can save time and costs in post-production while ensuring that your final images look polished and professional.

• Pay Attention to Your Backgrounds:
  Whether shooting in a studio or outdoors, it's important to pay close attention to your backgrounds. Clean and maintain any studio backdrops, and use a fresh sheet of seamless paper for each client or during heavy use. When shooting outdoors, be sure to remove any distracting elements from the background, such as litter or signage, to keep the focus on your subject. Additionally, keep an eye out for any unwanted shadows or reflections that may need to be removed during post-production. By taking the time to ensure your backgrounds are clean and free of distractions, you can save yourself time and money on retouching in post-production.

Production: The Shoot.

Production is a crucial step in the creation of high-quality images that require minimal retouching in post-production. In this section, we will share some tips and tricks that can help you capture your images more efficiently, improve your workflow, and minimize the need for costly post-production retouching.

• Hair Management:
  Encourage your subjects to avoid fluffing or teasing their hair during the photoshoot, as this can create flyaways and static that are time-consuming to fix in post-production. If necessary, use hairspray or tinfoil to tame frizzy hair. Remove any swaths of messy hair that intersect or cover areas of the body, such as the chest and shoulders.

• Eyeglass Glare:
  To avoid eyeglass glare in your photos, use indirect light or bounce light. Alternatively, take a shot of your client without their glasses and create a composite to replace the glare. If the client must wear glasses, position them down the bridge of the nose so that the lens is not in direct contact with the light source.

• Dynamic Range:
  Check the camera's histogram to ensure that you are capturing the necessary dynamic range. This will help you avoid crushing your blacks or clipping your highlights, which can limit your flexibility in post-processing.

• Color Consistency:
  Use a color checker and grey card in each lighting set to achieve consistent and accurate color and white balance. This will prevent your editor from making educated guesses about color and white balance during post-processing, which can lead to errors and increase editing time.

• Plate Shots:
  Take plate shots during your shoots to accurately capture the backdrop and ensure that it fits within the frame. Avoid using heavy vignetting, as it can limit the usability of your plates. If your floor or backdrop does not fill the frame, take a plate shot to save time and money during compositing.

• Lighting Consistency:
  Try to avoid mixing different light sources during your photoshoot, as they have different color temperatures that can be difficult to balance in post-processing. If you must mix light sources, use color correction gels to help balance the colors. 

• Shooting Outdoors:
  When shooting outdoors, avoid pointing your camera directly at the sun to avoid lens flare and chromatic aberration. Use a lens hood or flag your lens to block excess light and maintain image quality.

• Guided Posing:
  Provide your clients with tips on posing to achieve the most flattering results. For example, instruct them to keep their chin out to avoid double chins, or to maintain good posture to avoid unflattering body angles.

• Avoid Cropping in Camera:
  To ensure optimal results during post-production, provide space around the subject instead of cropping in camera. This approach allows for greater flexibility in addressing body shaping requests and offers more options for compositions.

• Hire a Retoucher:
  Consider hiring a retoucher for a pre-production consult and/or to be present on set. This can help prevent oversights that cannot be addressed in post-production and potentially avoid the need for a reshoot. A retoucher's expertise can also help ensure that the final images are polished, professional, and meet the client's expectations.

In summary, post-production can be both time-consuming and costly, but it doesn't have to be. With the right pre-production and production steps, you can minimize the need for retouching and achieve professional-looking images. While editing and retouching are essential skills for photographers, they can be challenging to learn and can take up valuable time. That's why I'm here to help. As a professional editor and retoucher, I offer consultation and editing services to help you improve the quality of your images while saving you time and money. If you're interested in learning more, feel free to contact me today. Let's work together to help you achieve your photography goals.