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Question from Vasthy: “I recently changed my photography style to a more hazy, romantic, a little vintage, but I have encountered some problems. I have dark skin and it is so hard to get my photos to look hazy and romantic with dark skin like mine. The reason I decided to change style is because I used to look at those lovely romantic photos, but I guess I didn’t realize most of the people in the photos were white. Do you guys have any tips on how to make my photo have that hazy romantic look without ruining or messing with the skin color?”
Hollie: Use a color filter to offset the color you don’t want showing in your photo. For example, if dark skin is looking more yellow, then use a cyan or blue filter. That should help fix the problem before you even begin editing on the computer.
Ashley: Commenting to follow along. I love that look but not sure how to get it lol
Megan: Layer masks & opacity should help some
Aaron: My best piece of advice would be to NOT change your style simply because of seeing someone else’s photography that you’ve taken a liking to. That “hazy, romantic and a little vintage” look seems to be a bit of a fad that I’ve seen lately. Don’t let an editing style dictate your overall style, because years down the road it may not still be the “in thing”.
Krysteena: that look is often achieved with Photoshop and can be done by applying masks. You can create the look you are going for and then apply a layer mask and by using a soft black brush at a lower opacity you can “erase” the effect on the skin tone, or at least tone it down a bit. You can also change the opacity of the effect as a whole by using this method. Check out adobe help for more info. Youtube also has lots of helpful videos
Denise: AARON, thanks for saying that. I’ve been struggling with whether or not to hold to my own style
Christy: On location use backlighting to separate subject from background
Aaron: You’re welcome, Denise. I’m seeing too many photographers do this just because there are people selling actions. Sure, it’s not a bad look every now and then, but as a principle different editing styles shouldn’t be mixed too much throughout a single session. Take color tinting, for example….my wife and I had it done for our wedding album 8 years ago, and now it makes me (and a lot of other photographers) cringe when I see it. Timeless images are the way to go while at the same time varying other elements in camera such as composition.
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