[2-21] Preparing SOOCs

Before any image goes into Photoshop, they're first imported into Lightroom and adjusted “en masse”. Big changes include:

(1,2) Lens corrections, color balance

These two are automated on important, and for studio lighting don't need to be change much. For the Z7, 5700 K and +12 (tint) are ideal. I max out vignette correction (due to shooting at wide apertures).

Next:

(3,4) Adjust exposure, strike images

The point here is to create as many images that are relatively good and potentially useful.

I've found that fiddling with getting perfect lighting isn't so great because it’s easier to adjust the images if they are all off by the same amount. The exposure adjustments can be copy/pasted.

I also tend to shoot 1 or 2 stops under. This is great for improving the contribution of ambient lights. To compensate, I turn up the monitor brightness so clients can see still the shots. And at ISO64, it is hard to lose detail by under-exposing the images.

I also remove images that are mid-expression or if 2+ images are too similar to each other (duplicated expression).

Lastly, I:

(6) Separate images into phases

(7) Color adjustments

Separating into 2 or three folders helps see different styles and clothes.

Because I use Godox strobes, I need to adjust the color toward an intermediate hue more blue than purple as the standard grey.