How I Edit- Portraits
Piggy backing off of my post from last week, I decided that it would be fun to look at an edit from another genre of photography. Since I had just taken some headshots for my roommate, what better than to look at one of them?
In every genre that I edit, I find that I have a slightly different approach to editing because I'm looking for a slightly different end product. Portraits are no different. Instead of the detailed, vibrant look of sports, I prefer a less saturated, smoother look for my photos. You can see that in the final product below.
The final product (Taken with a Nikon z6 & Nikon 24-70 mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/2.8)
However, the shot didn't start out like this and it took a bit of a process to make it look the way it does. You'll see the same order of steps from my hockey edit, but what I decide to do at each step is different due to this being a different genre shot in different conditions.
original
The original picture looks ok, but I think that it's a little wide for a headshot, and could also use some color and lighting adjustments.
crop
As always, I started this edit with a crop. For a headshot, I prefer a tighter look. Really only the middle of the stomach and up needs to be visible, and there doesn't need to be a whole lot of empty space above the head either. Too much empty space in a shot like this is distracting from the main subject, which is, of course, the person.
lighting
Following the crop, I addressed the dim and dull lighting of the picture. This picture was taken outside in some cloud cover. Golden hour (around sunrise and sunset) creates very flattering lighting for any subject, but cloudy weather can actually be preferable for portraits. The softer, more dissipated lighting makes for less contrast which can help to hide blemishes and make everything seem a little smoother. That's why portraits taken in a photography studio often utilize flash diffusers that do just what clouds do: spread and soften harsh light. However, the cloud cover made this shot slightly dim for the shutter speed I was using. So, I raised the shadows and whites, which covered my subject for the most part. A small boost to contrast also helped to highlight my subject (with respect to the background). After these edits, though, the white of the snow, the subject's shirt, and his skin all seemed to blend a little too much together, so I toned down the highlights, which helped seperate these lighter tones. Finally, a small, negative adjustment to the blacks mostly served to darken his jacket to a deeper shade of blue, more true to real life.
color
Color correction followed my lighting adjustments. In addition to some of the settings that were adjusted in the hockey picture I covered last week, this picture also had some color specific editing done to it. I'll get to that soon. But first, I did global edits. A slight boost in color temperature and tint gave the picture a warmer look. The snow and clouds lends the picture to a cooler appearance, but I find portraits with a cool temperature often look a little off if that is not the specific intention. Additionally, a boost to vibrance brought out more blue from the jacket and color in general from the subject's skin.
After these edits, the picture didn't look quite right still. I realized that the grasses in the background were a bit too saturated and vibrant, which I think distracted from the subject. So, instead of global changes to saturation, I specifically reduced the saturation of the reds, yellows, and greens. This didn't do much to the subject, but made the background less distracting.
effects- final
Finally, I added a few light effects. A slight reduction in clarity helped add just a touch more of that softer look that I spoke about earlier, and finally, a slight vignette capped off the framing of the picture.
Portraits are a very different kind of edit than I typically do, but it's always fun to get to do something a little bit different. I absolutely enjoy the challenge of framing and posing portraits as well. Looking ahead, I will be shooting my first MSU hockey game of 2026 this Friday. It's shaping up to be another exciting year of photography. Until next week!
