Post-production Photography Techniques
Masking
Masking is the technique of digitally replacing an area in a shot to correct imbalances in exposure, color, or otherwise. That means we can take two identical shots of an area, one with the interior properly balanced and one with the window properly balanced and digitally merge them together to create an image where both elements are clear and distinguishable.
Touching Up Blemishes
Burned-out bulbs. Unsightly objects. Even on a shoot where meticulous attention is being paid to every detail, little imperfections can creep into an otherwise excellent shot. With the help of Photoshop’s healing brush, clone tool, and other abilities, small miracles can be performed to help rescue a photograph.
Lens Distortion Correction
Wide-angle lenses allow photographers to cover tight spaces in a single shot. Wide angles, however, can create distortion and exaggerate skewed angles. Being able to digitally correct this phenomenon allows much more control over the feel and content of the final image.
Color Correction
Different light sources create light at different color temperatures. Whereas an incandescent light bulb in your table lamp will give off a warm light at 2800-3200 degrees Kelvin, the sun gives off a blueish light at around 5000 degrees Kelvin (at noon.) Mix in cloudy days and different light sources such as fluorescent bulbs, and one can have a number of different colors of light sources in a single shot. A professional photographer is mindful of these differences in color temperature and should make efforts to create a consistent look while shooting.
HDR
High dynamic range photography, or HDR, makes impossibly unbalanced shooting situations possible. Want to shoot into the sun? HDR, like masking, allows you to combine dark, medium, and bright shots into one to get the best out of all of them. While HDR can yield unnatural results if not done carefully, it is another tool which can be used to create stunning images.