Photo Retouching in Toronto

There’s no need to read this post because it’s only meant to publish two links for search engine use. I want to see how long it takes for search engines to pick up the links.

I’m doing more photo retouching than I am doing photography. A big reason is that photo retouching doesn’t require any driving. Traffic in the city of Toronto has been terrible for at least 20 years and it keeps getting worse each year. I could do a long blog post about bad traffic and stupid drivers, but not today.

Photo retouching is always done calmly and quietly which is something I can’t say about all photography jobs. On the other hand, photography is more exciting and you meet new people all the time.

Over the years, I’ve worked out of three studios. Shooting in a studio was nice because there was no driving, (except driving to the studio), and no equipment had to be transported around town. But a studio is expensive and, because most of my photography was done on location, a studio was superfluous.

I now specialize in portrait retouching. Family portraits, business headshots and wedding photos are the kinds of images I work with. But remember that retouching isn’t limited to just improving people’s faces. Retouching is also used to correct and enhance real estate photos, pictures of offices and buildings, product photos and any other image that needs to look better.

My retouching customers have told me that they want their photos retouched locally rather than by a business in a faraway country. It’s a good thing to shop locally and there’s more accountability with a local business.

If you’re looking for photo retouching in Canada or, more specifically, photo retouching in Toronto, please take a look at my main website for more information and samples of my retouching.

 

Retouching Rejection

A recent customer didn’t like the retouching I did on his business headshot. But he also admitted that the retouching was exactly what he had asked for. When compared to the original picture, shot by another photographer, he thought the retouched proof photo made him look too good!

He paid $100 for the original photo and believed, for that price, it couldn’t be improved that much.

When I asked him to look only at the retouched proof, he admitted it looked realistic and natural. I asked if the retouched proof made him look his best. He laughed and said it made him look his best but only on a good day. Despite this, he chose to cancel the retouching.
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Retouching and Wedding Photos

If your wedding photos will be important to you, hiring a professional photographer is essential.

Recently I received an email from a woman who wanted to retouch her wedding photos from this past summer. She hoped to create a wedding album in time for Christmas. She wrote that the pictures “need work and maybe a lot of work.”

After reviewing her wedding photos, it was obvious she was right. Her photos needed a lot of work.

Instead of hiring a professional, the couple had asked friends with cellphones to take the wedding photos. While that might have seemed like a fun and budget-friendly decision at the time, reality has now set in.
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The Four Steps of a Business Photo

The four steps a business marketing photo has to accomplish in one or two seconds:

1. Get the viewer’s attention. You need good photography to accomplish this. If you fail to get the viewer’s attention then the rest doesn’t matter.

2. Once you’ve got the viewer’s attention, the image must lead the viewer through the photo so they can “read” the information you’re presenting. A good photographer knows how to compose an effective image.

3. The information you’re presenting must trigger an emotional response in the viewer. If there’s no response then the viewer’s attention and interest turn off. If you didn’t use a good photographer then you may have lost your connection with the viewer.

4. After reading the photo and having some sort of emotional response, what do you want the viewer to learn? What’s your message? What’s the takeaway? Hopefully you thought out the photo beforehand and used a good photographer.

Earn attention -> provide useful information -> create emotional response -> involved viewer = build trust and enhance your brand value.

Do you notice how important a good photographer is for your business marketing?

 

Turning Back The Clock

Young people, particularly teenagers, often want to look older, while as adults, many wish to appear younger.

This paradox of age and appearance has been explored in literature, notably by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1922 with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. In this tale, a man ages in reverse, born looking like an old man, he becomes progressively younger until his death as an infant. A 2008 film starring Brad Pitt loosely adapted this story.

Time, however, only flows in one direction. Any attempts to reclaim youth are fleeting and superficial.
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Why Retouch Your Business Headshot

Your business headshot probably* won’t be hanging in an art gallery but it still has to get favourable reviews. When potential customers visit your web site, your business portrait should imply that you’re confident, competent, friendly and trustworthy.

* Many of the early painted portraits you see in art galleries were, in fact, the equivalent of today’s business portraits. Those paintings were portraits of royalty, aristocrats and other distinguished people. The purpose of those portraits was to assert status and power. Today’s business portraits try to assert a kind of status – that of being a trustworthy business person.

Congratulations, you finally got a new business headshot done. Good for you and good for your business.

But is the photo ready to be displayed on your web site?
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Getting Better All The Time

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi (L) argues with home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman in the eighth inning of their American League East MLB baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto, 06 June 2010.

This is another view-from-my-office photo.

When a photo job doesn’t work out the way you wanted, who do you blame?

If you blame your tools then the solution is to get better tools.

If you blame your customers then the solution is to get better customers.

But if the blame rests on you then the solution is to get better.
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