My take on what the difference is between edits & retouches

Editing and Retouching wedding photographs - what do they mean to me?

I've had a few questions about my posts to my business Facebook Page (click the link - you know you want to!) on why I say "Quick edits from xxx and yyy wedding".

Well, a couple of reasons actually.

1.  I want to get some images from the day online (clients permission of course) so that they can see what I've done,

2. What they look like and continue to remember the day when they are off on honeymoon and

3. Usually to change their profile picture to something much better than a grainy mobile phone image.

The quick edits are just that - quick. But what does that mean, form a photography viewpoint?

Editing and Retouching wedding photographs - Adobe Lightroom

My workflow is such that I do all my quick edits in Adobe Lightroom.  White balance, crops, shadows, highlights etc.  That's it.  That is a quick edit for me.  I then export those wedding photographs as full-size .jpgs, bring them into Bridge and then in batches retouch the ones that need it a little bit more doing to them.

Using Adobe Photoshop I can do a little bit more creative magic.  Skin softening, teeth whitening, detailed colour correction, dodging, burning. levels (never use curves in case you ask) and now and again something a little special form my hand-written  Adobe Photoshop actions if the image will work.

Editing and Retouching wedding photographs

I am sure you can see the subtle (?!!) differences.

When you are looking for your next wedding photographer, check what they do and what they offer.  Ask to see examples of the edits and retouches.  What makes a retouch stand out from the rest of the images they produce?

A word on "Special Sauce'.

Many photographers will use something similar.  "Special magic" for instance or maybe "Signature style".  It often means mass-produced and can often be used as an excuse for poorly executed images in the first place and it is often used to hide the defects in an image under the false pretence of calling it "fine art" or something like that.

My own personal view

If all the images look flat, washed out, grey, bland and lacking that oomph then there is something wrong.  Weddings are not like that.  If the sky was blue and had a gorgeous sun - the wedding photographs should reflect that.

Can you imagine in 10 years time when you get the wedding album out and your kids are asking why was it all so grey and sombre back in the 2020s?

A wedding photograph should stand out on its own.  It should be vibrant, colourful and full of emotion.  Not dark, washed out and lacking oomph.

In short, it should reflect the wedding and the wedding couple, not the photographer.