Into the Editing Room

Into the Editing Room

See how these 3 images were edited in my new video!

In the photo world, there seems to always be a debate about technique vs. concept. Some people feel passionately about technique and are very technically minded. Some people focus on the concept and say to heck with the technique. I fall into the latter category, if any, but that doesn’t mean that I dismiss technique altogether. In fact, for a while there I was so far on the side of dismissing technique that I had to pull myself back, and one big thing did that for me:

Portfolio reviews and competitions. I review a lot of portfolios, and I noticed two things.

  1. A lot of people have great technique but not-so-great ideas, and…
  2. A lot of other people have great ideas and not-so-great technique.

It really does take both. If your technique is flawed, the concept won’t really matter. The viewer just won’t get past the technique.

I’ve always been a believer in editing a picture until it looks and feels right; that doesn’t mean I’ve always followed through with that. I’ve certainly posted pictures online that could have been better, but impatience got the better of me. I’ve shot pictures in poor light or of bad quality simply because it was easier or faster.

But over time, I’ve come to appreciate pairing good technique with good ideas. The combination is the only thing that will propel my career. So, today I’m focusing on technique!

I won’t go into too much detail here because the video is lengthy and really shows in detail what my editing techniques are like. This isn’t a how-to, per se, but it is a comprehensive look at how my images are edited.

In this video, I…

  • Pull back the Photoshop layers to glimpse at the original images before editing.
  • Take a look at what my SOOC (straight out of camera) pictures were like, what decisions went into the edit, and how they ended up the way they did.
  • See how I made stuffing come out of my back, created a long, swirly dress out of a bed sheet, and changed a nearly white dress to deep red.

And more, of course.

I hope you enjoy this glimpse inside. And tell me…

What technique from the video did you like best?

What is your favorite technique in your craft?


These images are available as limited edition, fine art prints on thick, matte fine art paper. Each print is proofed and signed by me, as well as numbered. Print prices begin at $450 for my small size. A number of galleries carry my work, and if you are interested in owning a piece, get in touch with the gallery nearest you: http://www.brookeshaden.com/prints

If you would like to see how I edit more in depth, check out one of my Creative Live classes for hours upon hours of photo, editing, business, and inspiration education: http://www.brookeshaden.com/classes

5 thoughts on “Into the Editing Room

  1. That chateau image has always been one of my all time favorites, I love it!
    I like how easy you manipulate the colors and light, I have a bugger of a time with that. I have been working on this photo “Inner Demon” ( https://flic.kr/p/28XPXLj ) for a long time now, and the lighting and colors have been a pain. Still not happy with it. It is a white wall photo, and I built the stone room using textures. It is a good example of, I love the idea but my technique isn’t good enough yet. This photo pushed my skills.
    I need to rewatch your videos of color matching and light, I think I am over thinking some of this stuff. And yours always come out looking great! 🙂

    P.S.
    Loved you behind the scenes on Instagram yesterday, it looked like so much fun! 😀

  2. Another great post, Brooke! I agree about concept and technique. In school, we learned so much about planning our EVERY.SINGLE.ASPECT of our photographs. Everything was questioned during critique from the exposure, to depth of field to objects in the image to color choice. It was a great way of getting us to ANALYZE and think about our work.

    WHAT TECHNIQUE FROM THE VIDEO DID YOU LIKE BEST?
    Making the white dress RED. Life changing. I have so many white dresses haha.

    WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TECHNIQUE IN YOUR CRAFT?
    Replacing my subject into new settings – being able to shoot the person in one space and moving them onto a different backdrop.

    Thank you for another awesome week!

  3. Thanks for sharing your unique vision and passion. It’s inspiring to see how different artists work. I’m striving to learn photoshop as I go and I liked how you pulled the power of colour and light to emphasize your focus.

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