How should I post-process an outdoor baby portrait from a RAW file?
Asked 6/28/2012
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2 answers
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I’m new to portrait editing and photographed my 9‑month‑old outdoors in natural light with a Nikon D7000 and a 35mm lens. I have the RAW file and Photoshop CS5/Adobe Camera Raw. The image looks a bit dark and I haven’t done any cropping, color correction, or sharpening yet. What’s a sensible post-processing workflow for an outdoor infant portrait, and what adjustments should I prioritize?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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Whether the photo is taken outdoors or indoors doesn't really make much difference to the post-processing. The main difference you may encounter is white balance, but that is easily corrected in ACR. So really you are just doing the same things as always - exposure, contrast, sharpening, denoising, and cropping.
In this case I would definitely boost the exposure somewhat, as it's a bit dark. The flowers and lawn aren't adding much so I'd crop them out and add a slight vignette, then do an overall sharpen in ACR and a more selective sharpen (just the eyes) in Ps before export.
Originally by user3205. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user3205
14y ago
0
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Outdoor portraits don’t need a fundamentally different workflow than indoor ones. Start in Adobe Camera Raw and correct the basics first: white balance, exposure, contrast, and any needed noise reduction. For this image, the main issue appears to be that it’s a little underexposed, so raising exposure would be a good first step.
Then refine the composition. If the flowers and lawn aren’t helping the portrait, crop them out to put more attention on the baby. A subtle vignette can also help draw the eye inward.
After the global adjustments, sharpen carefully: apply mild overall sharpening in ACR, then do selective sharpening in Photoshop on important details like the eyes rather than sharpening everything equally.
For future outdoor sessions, try to get as much right in-camera as possible. Check the histogram whenever the light changes, because outdoor light can vary quickly. Leaving a bit more room around the subject can also make cropping easier later if distractions appear in the frame.
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