…it is not done. In some ways, it is just beginning.

Apart from the obvious finishing, which includes things like:

• Choosing images to use
• Cropping
• Rotating
• White balance correction
• B/W conversions
• Lens corrections
• Exposure adjustments (especially if you “shoot to the right”)
• Skin adjustments if needed

… there is a very important aspect to finishing: “look with fresh eyes”.

I shot portraits of new model and photography student Khoral today. She is young, pretty, and very photogenic. She has an amazing quality: she always smiles. A quality which will see her achieve big things in life. Here’s a sample:

And my point is: that is a sample. Out of the several hundred images I did a preliminary pick of around 100 to present to her, with around 30 top picks: a higher than normal number for a first shoot. When photographer and subject know each other, the shoots get ever better.

But I am stopping there for tonight. Because when I look again tomorrow or the next day, I am more detached and see the art as art, not as “what we were saying and doing at the time”. As a result, I will find several images I overlooked today. Even months after a shoot, a new look yields new winners.

My advice for today: always put your photos away after you shoot, and look again a few days later with a fresh pair if eyes. You will often be amazed at how you did.

I shall leave you with a couple more snaps. But in the next days, when I look properly, I shall be able to choose my winners.