Newborn Edit | Baton Rouge Newborn Photography

Today I thought I’d do a little behind the scenes of what it looks like when I edit a photo. Baton Rouge newborn photography isn’t just a few clicks or just putting on some random filter to a photo. There’s a lot more involved. Everyone edits a bit differently, but one constant is that usually each element is worked on in the same order.

This part isn’t in the video, but I always start out by adjusting the exposure and adjusting colors, blacks, whites, saturation, vibrancy, and highlights. Because I use a studio light for newborns I’m able to keep most elements consistent. This also allows me to make a preset for all the initial adjusting I do. From there I make tweaks for each individual photo. After that I bring it in to photoshop.

In photoshop I start with the background before moving on to the subject. The background editing usually consists of filling in areas that weren’t covered by my backdrop. For photos looking down on the baby, I’m usually editing out the legs of my light stand and my feet. It’s pretty much impossible for me to not have my feet in the shot the way that I shoot from above. The next step to focus on baby. Baby skin is what I spend 99% of my time editing when it comes to newborns. Baby skin can have flaking, blotchiness, redness, yellow from jaundice, baby acne, and more. They just went through a lot making their way into the outside world. I want all the focus to be on baby so I edit those things out. I don’t usually edit away anything that won’t eventually fade away, like birthmarks, unless it’s requested. Those things are a part of who they are and I don’t want to take any of it away.

It’s only when I have a clean edit that I begin to add anything artistic. This step is what makes each photo transform and become my style. It’s important to have a completely clean edit before this step. This step is like the icing on the cake. Most of the hard work happens before this step, but this part is the most fun. I see my photos transform before my eyes.

So there you have it. A behind the scenes look of my editing process. Please take a look at the short video above. It’s a speed edit of a more complicated edit due to her skin.

Mariko Searing specializes in Baton Rouge newborn photography and serves the greater Baton Rouge area. If you would like more information about a session contact me at [email protected] or head on over to my contact page.

And if you want in on some of my tips for new parents head on over HERE. I’ll send my tips in a series straight to your inbox.