title: "What Is Photography Post-Production and Why Your Business Needs It" date: 2024-09-20 slug: /photography-post-production word_count: 3500 images: 18
What Is Photography Post-Production and Why Your Business Needs It
Table of Contents
- What Is Post-Production in Photography?
- Why Is Photography Post-Production Important?
- Important Photography Post-Processing Techniques
- What Are Photography Post-Production Services?
- Why Do Businesses Need Photo Post-Processing Services?
- Post-Production for eCommerce Sites
- Post-Production for Car Sellers
- Post-Production for Jewellers
- Why You Should Not Do It Yourself
- Where to Start Post-Production for Your Product Photos
- How Long Does Photography Post-Production Take?
- How Pixel By Hand Can Help
- FAQ
Photography post-production is the process of editing and enhancing your photos to create a professional, polished final product. It can help you turn a good photo into a great one, and it is an essential part of any professional photographer's workflow. Whether you are shooting products, people, or landscapes, post-processing can make a significant difference.
For businesses, professional photos are a must. They are used in print and digital marketing materials, company websites, and social media to boost your brand's visibility. If the photos are not high quality, they can actually damage your business reputation over time.
Photography post-production involves retouching, adjusting colour, cropping images, removing unwanted objects, and adding special effects. It is a time-consuming process, but it is worth it to have stunning photos that represent your business in the best light possible.
In this guide, we cover the basics of photography post-production and explain why your business needs it.
Start your free trial — send us your product images and we will show you how professional post-production transforms your listings.
What Is Post-Production in Photography?
Post-production in photography refers to the process of editing and enhancing photos to create a polished, professional final product. This can involve retouching, adjusting colours and lighting, cropping images, removing unwanted objects, and adding special effects. It is an essential part of any professional photographer's workflow.
The history of post-production dates back to the early days of photography, when photos were primarily used for scientific and artistic purposes. Photographers would manually edit their photos using darkroom techniques like toning, bleaching, dodging, and burning.
Nowadays, with digital photography and editing software like Adobe Photoshop, post-production has become much more accessible. However, it is still a skilled process that requires attention to detail.
Why Is Photography Post-Production Important?
Photography post-production is important because it can help you turn a good photo into a great one. It is an essential part of any professional workflow and can make a significant difference in the quality of your photos.
Post-processing can also correct errors such as underexposed or overexposed photos, blurry images, and poor lighting. It can enhance the colours, contrast, and overall look of a photo. In addition, post-production can create special effects such as HDR (high dynamic range) images, panoramas, and composites.
Fixing Flaws Post-production helps fix flaws, especially in product images. You can address issues like poor lighting, blurriness, shadows, and reflections on the product.
Enhancing Colours and Contrast Adjusting colours and contrast in product photos makes them look more polished. Techniques such as colour grading and contrast enhancement improve image quality by making colours pop and increasing overall visual impact.
Adding Creative Effects Post-production techniques can create special effects. For example, HDR creates images with extreme differences between dark and light tones, whilst compositing combines two or more photos into one image. Special effects are often used in advertising to make the final product more appealing.
Breathing Life into Photos The right colour grading, contrast enhancement, and other techniques make photos look more realistic — especially important when shooting products with a lot of detail and texture. This helps set your brand apart from the competition.
Making Good Product Photos Better Good product photos are essential for any business that sells products online. These images are a crucial part of the customer journey, providing the first impression and helping customers make purchasing decisions. Investing in post-production creates high-quality product photos that accurately represent your products, improve your website's conversion rate, and increase sales.
Important Photography Post-Processing Techniques
There are many different post-processing techniques used by professionals. As a business, it is important to understand at least the basics so you can make informed decisions when hiring post-production services.
Applying Curves A curves adjustment is a powerful tool for enhancing contrast. Curves can lighten or darken specific areas of an image or increase or decrease overall contrast. This technique is often used in product photography to make colours pop.
Cropping and Levelling Cropping and levelling improve the overall composition of an image. Cropping removes parts of the photo that are not needed, whilst levelling adjusts alignment or perspective. Essential for product photography to capture the best angle.
Image Sharpening Image sharpening improves overall clarity and sharpness, making the image look more realistic — especially when viewed at smaller sizes. This can be achieved manually or with software like Photoshop.
Adjusting Colours and Contrast Colour grading and contrast enhancement improve image quality by increasing overall contrast and making colours more vibrant. This is especially important in product photography to make products look appealing to customers.
Dodge and Burn Dodge and burn is used to darken or lighten specific areas of an image. In product photography, it brightens highlights, creates new textures and details, and adds contrast. This creates images with more depth and dimension.
Shadows and Highlights Shadows and highlights adjustments create more depth and dimension, making product photos look more realistic.
Creating Special Effects Special effects add interest and visual appeal. Techniques include blurring, sharpening, colour adjustment, haze reduction, and more — making product images more eye-catching and engaging.
HDR Imaging HDR imaging creates images with more depth and detail by combining multiple photos taken at different exposures. Often used in product photography for items photographed against complex backgrounds.
Adjusting Brightness and Saturation Adjusting brightness and saturation creates more dynamic photos, improving colour accuracy and adding visual interest.
Compositing Compositing combines multiple images into one final photo, either manually or with software like Photoshop. Used in product photography to create unique visuals and showcase products in the best light.
Flattening Your Image Once all edits are complete, flatten the image to make changes permanent using the "Flatten Image" tool in Photoshop. This ensures the edited photo looks its best when customers view it.
What Are Photography Post-Production Services?
Photography post-production services are teams of creative professionals who help businesses edit and enhance digital images for marketing use. The term "post-production" refers to any tasks performed after the initial photo shoot. These services typically include colour grading, cropping and levelling, image sharpening, adjusting brightness and saturation, dodging and burning, shadows and highlights, and many other techniques.
Why Do Businesses Need Photo Post-Processing Services?
Humans are visual beings. Images have a tremendous impact on how we interact with products. With product photography post-production services, you can create compelling and appealing product images that lead to increased sales.
These services help you get the most out of your existing product photos. By editing and enhancing these images, you make them more eye-catching and realistic, ultimately driving more sales. Whether you need photos for a new website, social media campaign, or print advert, a professional post-production team can help you achieve your goals.
Post-Production for eCommerce Sites
For eCommerce sites, photo post-production is essential as it directly improves product images and increases conversion rates.
Research reveals that 87.6% of respondents considered the product photo the most important element of the shopping experience.
The key benefits of post-production for eCommerce sites include better colour accuracy, increased contrast and sharpness, optimised background textures, and improved usability. Product images that have been professionally edited tend to be more visually appealing and realistic, convincing customers to purchase.
By colour grading your product photos, you ensure colours are accurate and consistent across all platforms, creating a more professional look. Increasing contrast and sharpness makes products look more realistic and eye-catching.
Post-Production for Car Sellers
Post-production improves the visual quality of your car photos, whether for online promotion or print advertising.
Common post-production techniques for car sellers include colour grading to balance colours and increase saturation, image sharpening to enhance detail and clarity, adding vignette effects to draw attention to the subject, and removing unwanted light and shadows.
Additional techniques such as image-stitching can create a panorama of the car from multiple angles for use in online listings or adverts, giving potential buyers a better sense of the vehicle.
Post-Production for Jewellers
Post-production for jewellers is a key part of creating high-quality product photos that showcase pieces and entice buyers. After post-production, jewellery images look more vibrant and realistic, with enhanced detail and clarity that highlights the beauty and elegance of each piece.
Standard techniques include colour grading, image sharpening, cropping to remove unwanted background elements, and adding vignette effects. Image-stitching can create 360-degree views from multiple angles, giving potential buyers a comprehensive look at the piece.
Professional post-production services help jewellers create stunning product photos that capture the beauty and elegance of their jewellery, whether selling online or in print.
Why You Should Not Do It Yourself
Whilst it can be tempting to handle your own post-production, there are several reasons to hire professionals.
Common DIY mistakes include:
- Failing to properly balance colours and enhance visual quality
- Not sharpening images sufficiently
- Adding the wrong types of filters or effects
- Not removing noise from low-quality photos
- Poor framing, distracting background elements, or unappealing crops
Product photos that are too bright, too dark, or have a colour cast will likely turn potential buyers away. Photos that do not show important details will not give customers the confidence to purchase — crucial for jewellers or car sellers where buyers need to see what they are buying. Low-resolution images also create a poor impression.
Send us your images for a free sample edit — see the difference professional post-production makes, with no obligation.
Given the many challenges involved in effective post-production, it is best to leave this task to professionals. Professional photo editors have the knowledge and skills to produce high-quality results that increase sales. Outsourcing also saves time and money in the long run, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business.
Key benefits of a professional post-production service:
- Access to a wide range of professional tools and techniques
- Experience required to deliver top quality results consistently
- Increased sales from professionally edited photos
- Better results with less effort than DIY post-production
Where to Start Post-Production for Your Product Photos
When should you send your images to a post-production service? The answer depends on the type of product you sell, your budget, and your goals for the final images.
If you sell products online, it is generally best to send images to a post-production service before uploading them to your website or online store. This ensures your photos are optimised for web use and look their best on all platforms.
For print, consult with a post-production service like Pixel By Hand for advice on the best format, resolution, and other key image requirements.
Start by identifying the key issues with your current images. Once you know what needs improving, research post-production services that offer the specific type of editing you need. When evaluating services, consider quality, turnaround time, pricing, and customer service.
At Pixel By Hand, you simply upload your photos to our website and provide instructions on the changes you would like made. We handle the rest.
How Long Does Photography Post-Production Take?
The time required depends on the type and number of edits needed. For basic colour correction and adjustments, the process may only take a few minutes per image. For more complex edits such as adding shadows, blurring backgrounds, or enhancing details, the process could take longer.
In general, you should expect your post-production service to complete images within a few days of receiving them. Turnaround times vary depending on current workload. If you have a deadline, discuss it with the service ahead of time.
How Pixel By Hand Can Help
At Pixel By Hand, we offer a range of services designed to optimise your images for online and print use. From basic colour correction to complex edits and retouching, we help you create stunning photos that boost conversions.
With over 10 years of experience and 380+ eCommerce clients, our team provides colour correction, photo retouching, background removal, and other edits to improve image quality. We also offer web optimisation to ensure your photos look their best on all platforms.
We offer fast turnaround times and competitive pricing, making it easy to get the high-quality product photos you need to drive sales.
To learn more about our post-production services or to get a quote, contact us today.
FAQ
What is the difference between photo editing and post-production? Photo editing typically refers to basic adjustments like cropping and colour correction. Post-production is a broader term that encompasses all work done after the photo shoot, including retouching, compositing, special effects, and preparing images for specific platforms.
How much does professional post-production cost? Costs vary based on the complexity and volume of work. At Pixel By Hand, we offer per-image pricing and a free trial so you can assess quality before committing to a larger order.
Can post-production fix a badly taken photo? Post-production can significantly improve many issues such as poor lighting, colour casts, and unwanted objects. However, it cannot fully compensate for extremely blurry or low-resolution images. Good photography combined with professional post-production delivers the best results.
What software is used for photography post-production? Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom are the industry standards. Professional services may also use Capture One, Affinity Photo, and specialised tools for batch processing and platform-specific optimisation.
Is post-production necessary for every product photo? Yes, to some degree. Even well-photographed images benefit from basic adjustments like colour correction, cropping, and sharpening. For eCommerce, post-production is essential to meet platform requirements and create a consistent, professional catalogue.