Retouched Client Images

mel · 05-24-2011, 08:42 AM

I had a big shoot over the weekend of a national robotics competition (high school) and at the end there was an awards ceremony. Bad me. But things were moving really fast I didn't think to ask how they wanted the teams pictures shot (that won the awards) and prepare by planting stratigically placed slaves. They ended up being a quick pose on the stage, snap snap, we're done, moving on. Well the stage was really dark, the ceiling of the stage was wood (brown), and the front of the ceiling sloped upward out to the seating. So bouncing a flash was difficult at best. All I could really do with the seconds I was given to grab the shot was aim the flash high and hope for the best.

As a result the students with short hair (most of them, mostly boys) have these wonderful knobs sticking out the sides of their necks in the form of ear-shadows. Okay no problem. I'm in the process of cleaning them up. The shadows are fairly hard and proving to be quite easy to remove.

The dilemma is, do I give the client both shots (the original and the retouched) and let them decide which one to use? I hate to think that they might actually prefer the ear-shadow images but they might. And they're paying quite a bit for the work so it seems right to let them decide.

Any thoughts from those that have been there done that?

K-9 · 05-24-2011, 10:46 AM

Invest in one of these very cheap flash attachments and you'll never have to worry about where to point your flash, or what color the ceiling is:

Pocket Bouncer

If the shadows came out fine, show them only the fixed ones, unless you shot JPG and feel you lost some quality in editing through Photoshop. If you shot RAW, you should be all set.

Ubuntu_user · 05-24-2011, 10:57 AM

Uh. I think it depends on the formality (or informality) of your relationship with whoever is paying you. You as the photog do hold the say in your hand, i.e., you are the "pro" so whatever is "best" to you is what they will want.
Of course, all this is subjective.

Just my 2¢.

twitch · 05-24-2011, 05:04 PM

Exactly, don't give them 2 versions, give the one that you think is best. You're the pro.

mel · 05-24-2011, 05:38 PM

Matches my thinking but I'm always second guessing myself

. Thanks!

MRRiley · 05-25-2011, 06:45 AM

Mel....

Definately just give them the edited images. The post processing is a necessary part of the workflow to make the images look their best.

As for letting them decide... they already did that when they hired you. Give em what you know is best. Presumably the edited shots or you wouldn't have bothered to fix them in the first place.

Mike

**Kerrowdown** · 05-26-2011, 01:18 AM

Aye as others have already said, just give them your best work (edited) only.

Last edited by Kerrowdown; 05-26-2011 at 11:31 AM.

cwood · 05-27-2011, 07:54 PM

Originally posted by mel

I had a big shoot over the weekend of a national robotics competition (high school) and at the end there was an awards ceremony. Bad me. But things were moving really fast I didn't think to ask how they wanted the teams pictures shot (that won the awards) and prepare by planting stratigically placed slaves. They ended up being a quick pose on the stage, snap snap, we're done, moving on. Well the stage was really dark, the ceiling of the stage was wood (brown), and the front of the ceiling sloped upward out to the seating. So bouncing a flash was difficult at best. All I could really do with the seconds I was given to grab the shot was aim the flash high and hope for the best.

As a result the students with short hair (most of them, mostly boys) have these wonderful knobs sticking out the sides of their necks in the form of ear-shadows. Okay no problem. I'm in the process of cleaning them up. The shadows are fairly hard and proving to be quite easy to remove.

The dilemma is, do I give the client both shots (the original and the retouched) and let them decide which one to use? I hate to think that they might actually prefer the ear-shadow images but they might. And they're paying quite a bit for the work so it seems right to let them decide.

Any thoughts from those that have been there done that?

Honestly... if you've already edited then give them that - but based on what you have described I would have shot exactly what you did and then just turned over the images with no edits. At that point it is a business decision rather than an artistic one. Is anyone going to take that image you carefully edited and blow it up to 16x24 and have it stretched on Canvas? Is anyone even going to notice the flash shadow and think "that photographer really sucked". All that picture is ever going to be is a snapshot no matter what you do to it. Like I said - its a business decision. How much is it going to cost you to do the work and how much work will you gain by putting in this extra effort. From my experience there would be absolutely no business benefit from editing out shadows like that..

**Ash** · 05-27-2011, 08:42 PM

Mel, do your best to the image the way the client wants it, and give them that version. If they want mono/selective colouring versions, do that as well, but without any indication, I'd agree with the others - you know what works, so do the PP you think suits and give them that finished product. Most clients won't know what to do with an original.

mel · 05-28-2011, 04:29 AM

Thanks for all the input. I have a tendancy to over-deliver lol. The shadows bug ME. And I'm not taking them all the way out as the people look like cardboard cutouts. Just really more like reducing them a bit (taking them off on a different layer then reducing the opacity of that layer) so they aren't so dark. It's not that much work really.

George Lama · 05-28-2011, 02:23 PM

As I tell my clients, they are not hiring me to just "take pictures" but for my skill, art, vision, patience, and mental fortitude (lol). Therefore, you deliver the images you deem worthy of showing/selling as if every image carried your reputation.

**dadipentak** · 05-28-2011, 04:00 PM

Originally posted by MRRiley

Definately just give them the edited images. The post processing is a necessary part of the workflow to make the images look their best.

Exactly right. And anyway the last thing we need is for ear shadows to go viral.

mel · 05-28-2011, 06:32 PM

Originally posted by George Lama

As I tell my clients, they are not hiring me to just "take pictures" but for my skill, art, vision, patience, and mental fortitude (lol). Therefore, you deliver the images you deem worthy of showing/selling as if every image carried your reputation.

Exactly. Thanks

Originally posted by dadipentak

Exactly right. And anyway the last thing we need is for ear shadows to go viral.

Heaven forbid!!

Overall it was a really tough shoot. The lighting was very bad. It was pretty even, but evenly bad. And on the competition floor I couldn't use a flash even though there was this lovely white flat ceiling within bouncing reach (the robots used light sensors and a flash would screw up their, um, roboting). The difference between the shots from the K-5 and those from the K-7 are glaringly obvious

. I had to use both cameras because there was quite a bit going on in several different directions and places so there wasn't time to spend switching lenses around. Plus I was on the move the whole day (I was actually more tired after the end of this than I was after the half marathon I ran the weekend before) so there everything was in hand or on shoulders. I think I need a second K-5.

05-24-2011, 08:42 AM	#1
mel Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,531	Retouched Client Images I had a big shoot over the weekend of a national robotics competition (high school) and at the end there was an awards ceremony. Bad me. But things were moving really fast I didn't think to ask how they wanted the teams pictures shot (that won the awards) and prepare by planting stratigically placed slaves. They ended up being a quick pose on the stage, snap snap, we're done, moving on. Well the stage was really dark, the ceiling of the stage was wood (brown), and the front of the ceiling sloped upward out to the seating. So bouncing a flash was difficult at best. All I could really do with the seconds I was given to grab the shot was aim the flash high and hope for the best. As a result the students with short hair (most of them, mostly boys) have these wonderful knobs sticking out the sides of their necks in the form of ear-shadows. Okay no problem. I'm in the process of cleaning them up. The shadows are fairly hard and proving to be quite easy to remove. The dilemma is, do I give the client both shots (the original and the retouched) and let them decide which one to use? I hate to think that they might actually prefer the ear-shadow images but they might. And they're paying quite a bit for the work so it seems right to let them decide. Any thoughts from those that have been there done that?

05-28-2011, 04:29 AM	#10
mel Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,531 Original Poster	Thanks for all the input. I have a tendancy to over-deliver lol. The shadows bug ME. And I'm not taking them all the way out as the people look like cardboard cutouts. Just really more like reducing them a bit (taking them off on a different layer then reducing the opacity of that layer) so they aren't so dark. It's not that much work really. Last edited by mel; 05-28-2011 at 06:29 AM.

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05-24-2011, 10:46 AM	#2
K-9 Veteran Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: USA Photos: Albums Posts: 1,971	Invest in one of these very cheap flash attachments and you'll never have to worry about where to point your flash, or what color the ceiling is: Pocket Bouncer If the shadows came out fine, show them only the fixed ones, unless you shot JPG and feel you lost some quality in editing through Photoshop. If you shot RAW, you should be all set.

05-24-2011, 10:57 AM	#3
Ubuntu_user Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,545	Uh. I think it depends on the formality (or informality) of your relationship with whoever is paying you. You as the photog do hold the say in your hand, i.e., you are the "pro" so whatever is "best" to you is what they will want. Of course, all this is subjective. Just my 2¢.

05-24-2011, 05:04 PM	#4
twitch Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 4,571	Exactly, don't give them 2 versions, give the one that you think is best. You're the pro.

05-24-2011, 05:38 PM	#5
mel Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,531 Original Poster	Matches my thinking but I'm always second guessing myself . Thanks!

05-25-2011, 06:45 AM	#6
MRRiley Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Sterling, VA, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,275	Mel.... Definately just give them the edited images. The post processing is a necessary part of the workflow to make the images look their best. As for letting them decide... they already did that when they hired you. Give em what you know is best. Presumably the edited shots or you wouldn't have bothered to fix them in the first place. Mike

05-26-2011, 01:18 AM	#7
Kerrowdown PEG Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Highlands of Scotland... "Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand" - William Blake Photos: Gallery Posts: 57,835	Aye as others have already said, just give them your best work (edited) only. Last edited by Kerrowdown; 05-26-2011 at 11:31 AM.

05-27-2011, 07:54 PM	#8
cwood Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: California Posts: 851	Originally posted by mel I had a big shoot over the weekend of a national robotics competition (high school) and at the end there was an awards ceremony. Bad me. But things were moving really fast I didn't think to ask how they wanted the teams pictures shot (that won the awards) and prepare by planting stratigically placed slaves. They ended up being a quick pose on the stage, snap snap, we're done, moving on. Well the stage was really dark, the ceiling of the stage was wood (brown), and the front of the ceiling sloped upward out to the seating. So bouncing a flash was difficult at best. All I could really do with the seconds I was given to grab the shot was aim the flash high and hope for the best. As a result the students with short hair (most of them, mostly boys) have these wonderful knobs sticking out the sides of their necks in the form of ear-shadows. Okay no problem. I'm in the process of cleaning them up. The shadows are fairly hard and proving to be quite easy to remove. The dilemma is, do I give the client both shots (the original and the retouched) and let them decide which one to use? I hate to think that they might actually prefer the ear-shadow images but they might. And they're paying quite a bit for the work so it seems right to let them decide. Any thoughts from those that have been there done that? Honestly... if you've already edited then give them that - but based on what you have described I would have shot exactly what you did and then just turned over the images with no edits. At that point it is a business decision rather than an artistic one. Is anyone going to take that image you carefully edited and blow it up to 16x24 and have it stretched on Canvas? Is anyone even going to notice the flash shadow and think "that photographer really sucked". All that picture is ever going to be is a snapshot no matter what you do to it. Like I said - its a business decision. How much is it going to cost you to do the work and how much work will you gain by putting in this extra effort. From my experience there would be absolutely no business benefit from editing out shadows like that..

05-27-2011, 08:42 PM	#9
Ash Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,920	Mel, do your best to the image the way the client wants it, and give them that version. If they want mono/selective colouring versions, do that as well, but without any indication, I'd agree with the others - you know what works, so do the PP you think suits and give them that finished product. Most clients won't know what to do with an original.

05-28-2011, 02:23 PM	#11
George Lama Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Buffalo/Rochester, NY Photos: Albums Posts: 1,133	As I tell my clients, they are not hiring me to just "take pictures" but for my skill, art, vision, patience, and mental fortitude (lol). Therefore, you deliver the images you deem worthy of showing/selling as if every image carried your reputation.

05-28-2011, 04:00 PM	#12
dadipentak Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,590	Originally posted by MRRiley Definately just give them the edited images. The post processing is a necessary part of the workflow to make the images look their best. Exactly right. And anyway the last thing we need is for ear shadows to go viral.

05-28-2011, 06:32 PM	#13
mel Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,531 Original Poster	Originally posted by George Lama As I tell my clients, they are not hiring me to just "take pictures" but for my skill, art, vision, patience, and mental fortitude (lol). Therefore, you deliver the images you deem worthy of showing/selling as if every image carried your reputation. Exactly. Thanks Originally posted by dadipentak Exactly right. And anyway the last thing we need is for ear shadows to go viral. Heaven forbid!! Overall it was a really tough shoot. The lighting was very bad. It was pretty even, but evenly bad. And on the competition floor I couldn't use a flash even though there was this lovely white flat ceiling within bouncing reach (the robots used light sensors and a flash would screw up their, um, roboting). The difference between the shots from the K-5 and those from the K-7 are glaringly obvious . I had to use both cameras because there was quite a bit going on in several different directions and places so there wasn't time to spend switching lenses around. Plus I was on the move the whole day (I was actually more tired after the end of this than I was after the half marathon I ran the weekend before) so there everything was in hand or on shoulders. I think I need a second K-5.