When it comes to editing, there are plethora of options to what's a right way to edit a photo. We, as photographers get obsessed with details and in order to gain perfection, spend too many hours editing each image (hours sometimes) which in a long run might or might not turn really tiring job for a very low output.

Let me go with the definition of what I consider to be a Good Edit (Idealistic) for Events / Weddings :

BASIC / REGULAR PART

  • Perfect Exposure : Not too underexposed, Not too Overexposed
  • Nice and Natural Contrast
  • Removal of Lens Distortions / Aberrations / Harsh Vignettes
  • Optimal Sharpness and Clarity for Screens and Prints
  • Noise Removal
  • Perfect White Balance (Very Very Important)
  • Shadow Balancing : Not HDR-ish though
  • Mild Color Grading (If Needed)

ADVANCED PART : All of above plus >

  • Removal of Blemishes / Pimples / Skin imperfections
  • Matching the Skin tone throughout the body
  • Slimming people down : Both Body and Face wise( Do NOT overdo this one..! Like never..)
  • Removing Distracting Things from the background
  • Dodge / Burn to Create depth

If you're not a photographer, in easier terms, the basic editing takes lesser time because all the adjustments are made to the whole image : One slider of brightness can do it for the whole image. However the Advanced part requires plenty of time because the editor has to zoom into each local spot, make the change and zoom out to see if it blends well. It's true that a lot of softwares are available these days to simplify the job but that still takes a good amount of time to get things right.

Now, the most important question :

Q. SHOULD WE GO FOR ADVANCED EDITING, GIVEN IT HAS BOTH THE AREAS COVERED ?

A. I'd say that Advanced editing is always going to be better than the Basic one, but the answer boils down to this - Are you going to make prints : Now or ever ? If you are, then Advanced editing is the only option, You don't want to print a 8 X 10 Photo and then realize that your skin doesn't look perfect. Also if the image is taken full-body, where not a huge part of face is visible, there are very less chances that you'd be able too even see imperfections. In that case, basic editing makes more sense and you save a good chunk of money. The photographer saves his effort. It's a Win-Win this way.

Another thing I've seen people doing is : Take the photos with basic editing and if in future, they need to print, they can get them re-edited. I'm not in favor of this approach because it's like eating half of the pizza in the evening and then warming up the rest of the half next day. You still get pizza but it's not the same taste (or same Quality) as when it was made. In short, every re-editing takes a hit on the quality.

I guess I filled you enough for now. See you later..