Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-01-25)

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 25 January 2020 41

Toptipsfor

retouching

1

Calibrateyourmonitor

Notjustoncein a while,everymonth.

Thiscanpreventanynastysurpriseswhen

receivingprintsfromthelaboratoryor

evenwhenproducingyourown.

2

Processagainstwhite

Processagainsta whitescreen

backdrop,notthedefaultblackorgrey.

Thiswillhelpavoidanoverlydarkresult

thatyoumightgetawaywithona digital

screenbutwillsufferbadlywhen printed.

3

Editsensitively

Don’tgocrazywiththesliders.Use

themtocreateanimagethatlooks

attractivebutrealistic.Oftenthe saying

‘lessis more’is verytrue.

4

Carefulcontrast

Contrastcanmakeorbreaka shot

butdon’tgoaddingsomethatisn’t

thereortakingawaywhatshouldbe.

Looktotheconditionsforguidance.

Brightdayswillbenaturally‘contrasty’

withheavyshadowsandbright

highlights,whereasdull ones will be less

so.Don’tfakeit.

5

Edittwice

I ofteneditanimagetwoorthree

times,savingeachversionasI go.It’s

oftena hybridof theprocessedimages

thatmakesit tothefinalprinted version.

6

Paperchoice

Choosea paperthatsuitsthe

image.A sharpcityscenelikethiswould

suita smoothpearlescentorevengloss

paper,whereasa mistywoodlandworks

nicelyona texturedmedia.Makesure

yousoft-prooftheimagewiththetype

of paper you intend to use in mind.

4 Dealwiththenoise
IhadsettheISOat 800toallowa handheld
shot(becausetherewasnotimetosetupa
tripod).Thisaddednoise,whichbecamea
biggerissuewhendraggingtheshadowsback.
Fortunately,thesoftwareis capable of dealing
with this in most cases.

‘Astunningimagedeservestheperfect

finish,andcertainsubjectslend

themselvesverywelltospecific products.

Forexample,in thisbeautifularchitectural

photographbyDaveFieldhouse,you

couldn’tgowrongwithWhiteWall’s

AcrylicultraHDMetallicPrint.Thiswould

emphasisethereflectionsof thewater

andbuilding.Thepearlyshimmerof theFujiCrystalPearl

paperintensifiestheluminosityof thecoloursandbringsout

thebestin thecontrasts.Completethisworkof artbyadding

a blackAluminiumArtBoxframe.Anotherglossyand

durableoptionis ourHDMetalPrint.Theseprintsare

extremelyrobust,butlowin weight,evenin largeformats.

Theyarealsowater-resistant,meaningtheyareeven

suitableforshelteredoutdoorareas.’

Jan-Ole Schmidt, Product Manager, WhiteWall.com

WhiteWall recommends