Top five reasons to stick with natural tones in photography
Changing the look of your photos isn’t new. Back in the film days, you could purchase a variety of films and mix different developing chemicals to achieve different appearances. I’ve been on Instagram since 2013 when we all put the “Amaro” filter on our photos along with that little border with the rounded corners. I’ve seen the shift from the overly-edited, overly-warm Instagram posts to the VSCO filters that copied old film looks to a (relatively) more natural, or at least consistent, look today.
While I’m all for experimenting with editing and letting the creative process take over, I also believe there’s something to be said for being true to the original. I choose to edit with as natural of tones as possible, and here are my top five reasons why.
Authenticity. If you know anything about me, you know authenticity is the name of my game in everything. I want my photos to reflect what people and settings truly looked like, not altered versions.
Timelessness. I always say, “I want my clients to look back on their photos and see their life, not that year’s editing trends.” As with anything, photography trends come and go with the years, and the last thing I want is for someone to look at their wedding photos the way we look at 1980s puffed sleeves.
Memory. A photo is a frozen moment of time, taken to have a tangible memory you can look back on. As time goes on, we can slowly start to forget the little details of a day or an event—what color were those flowers again? If we start changing tones too much, we might remember a false reality when it comes to colors, weather, and even personal appearances.
Uniqueness. When I began really diving into my identity as a photographer, I knew I wanted to stand out. I’ve always been one to take pride in my uniqueness (any other Enneagram type fours out there? 🙋🏼♀️), but in the photography business, it’s a necessity. An oversaturated market demands we think differently, and sometimes the most unique thing we can do is go back to the basics. With the popularity of film looks and “dark and moody” tones, natural color can’t get lost in the shuffle.
Creativity. It’s easy to slap a popular editing style on an otherwise boring photo and get attention out of it. By sticking with natural tones, photographers are forced to exercise their creative muscles before and during the shoot by finding visually interesting locations, helping clients choose outfits that catch attention, and continually refining their basic photography skills in lighting, composition, and coloring.
When it comes to editing, my goal is to enhance and highlight the natural beauty of people and their settings, not to change what is beautiful on its own. By sticking to natural tones, we get an authentic view of a moment in time.
