This is a pretty good example of what we do. The 'Before' photo is a nice snapshot, but it does have some problems.

The overall exposure is a bit washed out. The background is distracting - there's a patio umbrella growing out of their heads! The flash reflects strongly from their eyeglasses and teeth.

Increasing the contrast and color saturation helped a lot. That left the faces too dark, so they were lightened separately from the rest of the photo. The umbrella and other dim background elements were painted out. The reflections were removed from glasses and teeth. Her drink was set aside, out of view. The holiday lights were moved to balance the empty upper corners. Some smoothing was done on facial wrinkles and skin coloration. Their teeth got a whitening treatment. Finally, slight croppping produced a finished print sized for framing.

What started as a nice snapshot has become a very pleasing casual portrait. Some changes, like the umbrella sprouting from their heads, were easy to see. Others, like the benefit of moving the holiday lights to improve the balance, were more subtle. And some, like the lightening their faces needed once the contrast and saturation were increased, only became apparent once the process started.

There is a lot of just plain craftsmanship in what we do, and a big dash of art is necessary to do it well.

At Douglas Digital Imaging, we give you both.