Retouching | "Before" and "After"
Today let's talk about photo retouching. Photo retouching is an integral part of the shooting process. Of course, the shooting itself is of great importance and if the shooting is unsuccessful, no amount of retouching will fix the situation.
It's like two sides of the same coin. When the viewer sees the final result, he doesn't even realize what a huge amount of work has been done, starting with the preparation, scouting, shooting and ending with the final retouching.
It's like two sides of the same coin. When the viewer sees the final result, he doesn't even realize what a huge amount of work has been done, starting with the preparation, scouting, shooting and ending with the final retouching.
Depending on the situation, the object and the customer's wishes retouching can be as minimal as a huge amount. Sometimes you just need to correct the color and add contrast, and it happens that architects ask to adjust the photos to the visualization of the project.
Below I have attached a few clear examples of how important retouching is in photography.
Apple store Berlin
Architectural photography of the Apple store in Berlin. This was one of the most challenging architectural photography shoots I've had. The photography was done over the course of 3 days. And the photo you see below is the result of stitching together 11 separate photos that were shot over 2 days. The main problem was that the Apple Store is located on a very busy street next door to other boutiques. As a consequence, it was impossible to take one clean shot without people. But the result was even better than expected.
You can see the whole photoshoot of the Apple Store in Berlin here.
You can see the whole photoshoot of the Apple Store in Berlin here.
TATE Modern in London
It took me two days to do an architectural survey of the tate modern. It was all about the unpredictable London weather.
During the photo retouching stage I had to clean the photos of lots of people, bicycles, random cars and fences.
You can see the whole series of photos in this article.
During the photo retouching stage I had to clean the photos of lots of people, bicycles, random cars and fences.
You can see the whole series of photos in this article.
Apartment in Wine house
Interior shoot of a beautiful apartment in a historical building. Here designers asked to match the final image to the visualization of the project. (You can see the whole photo shoot here).
The New National Gallery
This is a shoot for The New National Gallery or Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, designed by Mies van der Rohe. Since the gallery is located in a busy neighborhood, in addition to the huge number of shots, it required a lot of work in the post-processing stage. I had to clean the image from small distracting details, as well as work with color. (You can see the whole photo shoot here).
Mirage cinema
Designed by DA Bureau. Interior photography of the cinema after a major renovation. As this is a cinema and it was not possible to close it during the shooting, the photo shoot had to be done at night. It took two full nights to photograph the whole space. The shooting time was also affected by the fact that there were several different lighting scenarios. Essentially, we had to do 5 full photo shoots. But at the photo selection stage, the designers decided that 2 scenarios would be enough. (You can see the whole photo shoot here).
Living Levels. Residential building
Architectural photography of a residential building Living Levels designed by Tchoban Voss Architekten located in a picturesque location in Berlin. Since the building is located on the very bank of the river Spree, and the embankment is a public space where there are always a lot of people on vacation, the retouching stage required a lot of work to clean the image from unnecessary objects and people. Also, if you notice, I had to deal with the reflections on the glass facade of the building, in order to make sure that the image would not look like it was in the same color. Also, if you notice, I had to deal with the reflections on the glass facade of the building.
Axel Springer Campus | OMA
Architectural photography of Axel Springer Campus designed by OMA. The challenge here was the tight space around the building. The building is located in a busy and densely built-up area and the choice of angles was severely limited. In the process of retouching the photos, a lot of time had to be spent removing road signs, unnecessary pedestrians, cars, and also aligning the reflection in the facade of the building. Also pay attention to the glass facade cutting through the building. Here I had to hand-paint all the glass frames in order to return them to their natural color. (You can see the whole photo shoot here).
PIMS cafe JBR
Interior photography of a cafe in Dubai. KIDZ project. The shoot was complicated by the fact that there was very little space in the room, but for a professional this is more of a challenge than a difficulty. And during retouching the designers asked to match the images to the renderings by color. (You can see the whole photo shoot here).
The Kino International
Architectural photography of a cinema theatre The Kino International in Berlin. In this case, the photo shoot itself took a few days to catch the right light. And at the retouching stage it took a lot of work to clean up the image and remove all distracting details such as: road signs and barriers, construction fences and random pedestrians. (You can see the whole photo shoot here).
Cube Berlin designed by 3XN
The building is located right next to the Hauptbahnhof in Berlin. If to speak directly about architectural shooting, it was not possible to shoot it close up, because on the first floors there are summer cafes and terraces, which would have been impossible to remove during post-processing. So I spent one day scouting to choose the best angle. I decided to include a small panorama of the surrounding development to show how Cube Berlin blended in seamlessly with its surroundings.
During the processing phase, I had to combine several shots to bring out the glowing windows in the building on the left, so that it wouldn't look abandoned. I also had to work hard to remove all the distracting details such as random pedestrians, cars, road signs and poles.
During the processing phase, I had to combine several shots to bring out the glowing windows in the building on the left, so that it wouldn't look abandoned. I also had to work hard to remove all the distracting details such as random pedestrians, cars, road signs and poles.
If you're tired of retouching your photos yourself and spending hours and days doing monotonous work on your computer, the only way to free up your time is to find a retoucher. I know from my own experience that finding a professional retoucher specializing in architectural and interior photography is a very difficult task.
My photos and retouching speak for themselves. Words mean nothing, only the result matters. So if you are looking for a professional architectural and interior retoucher, just email me. And the freed up time can be spent on vacation or on new shoots.
My photos and retouching speak for themselves. Words mean nothing, only the result matters. So if you are looking for a professional architectural and interior retoucher, just email me. And the freed up time can be spent on vacation or on new shoots.