What can and cannot be done when it comes to retouching an image!!

With everything that we see on social media these days with pictures being over edited, it might be natural to think that your wedding pics can be tweaked the same way. I mean, after all, almost anything your not in love with in your final gallery can be edited out with Photoshop, right? Not exactly. Photographers caution against assuming that everything can be retouched in the final photos. Here’s what can and can’t be done.

Bride posing with bridesmaids for professional wedding photographer

Small Flaws


If there’s something about your appearance that you’re insecure about, it’s best to give your photographer a heads up before your big day, because many things can be avoided on your big day to hide those insecurities and many things can be tweaked for your final images. Your photographer can pose you certain ways to avoid that certain insecurity being in the image! Or they may know how to edit your images correctly before they deliver your gallery if you tell them certain things! The important thing is to speak up, because what stands out to you may not for your photographer. When it comes to altering your body, if your photographer has an organic approach, you probably shouldn’t expect to have your waist slimmed 2 sizes or your facial features changed after the fact. Major style fixes may be feasible for a professional retoucher, but you should expect to pay more for it. You should definetely invest the money into a professional makeup artist if you want your facial features to be flawless! Professional makeup artists have better brands of makeup that wont cause your face to be shiny in your pictures or reflect any glares! They also know how to contour your face and bring out the features you want to stand out in wedding portraits!  Don’t plan for a drastic change in your appearance post-production if you can help it.

gorgeous bride posing for professional wedding photographer during wedding photos

Shadows and Lighting

Lighting will definetly affect your final images, so you’ll want to think about the timing and location of your ceremony and how it will affect your final gallery. Shadows and lighting can be somewhat controlled by your photographer but when it comes to a ceremony outside in the middle of the day with crazy shadows all over your faces, that is something we cannot control, we can try to manipulate the exposure to lessen the shadows, but asking us to completely eliminate them is unrealistic. Think about things like this when planning your venue and the time of your ceremony.

Groom posing for professional wedding photos