a digital image is nothing more than millions of little bits of information that represent a tiny square of color and light, known as a pixel.  that information can be processed in the camera, or it can be processed on a computer.  most professionals do the later so they can control how the image looks.  this is called shooting in raw.  this allows more to be done to the image, but if you don't know what you are doing, the end result is going to be based on luck. 

I have spent years learning both film and digital development.  my digital processing involves the following 5 steps.

I shoot in RAW, so I must convert the recorded data into a usable image format.  for a efficient workflow, this requires expensive software and a powerful computer.  below there are two images.  the one on the left is the programs interpretation of the data.  the image on the right is my processing profile, which is more advanced and accurate than the majority.  I created my profile using a digital negative profile editor; which, allows the user to make a profile for the camera they use.

The next step is to send the images to another program for detailed processing.  The first part of that process is called "Pure".  I named it that because it only makes corrections to lens distortions, and increases contrast in a special way.  The process involves a long actions script, and would take over a minute to run on a standard home computer. 

CERT stands for (Correctly Even & Restore Texture)  This is a special process that works similar to a noise reduction filter, only it reduces blotchiness.  for accuracy, the sample is a 200% crop on an image that has only been converted into a usable format.  in camera sharpening was set to standard.  you will notice a slight sharpening, but more so the area under the eye is more even toned.

my skin retouching reduces is an advanced process, using some of the most cutting edge techniques.  I first remove major blemishes using a common tool.  After that, I use a special process that evens out tones; however, i am able to replace most of the skin texture.  the end result is clean looking skin.  there are some small blemishes, and I like to keep it that way so it is believable. 

Note that the bellow samples are not yet contrast or color processed.  the first example shows a close crop to show that the skin is not simply smoothed over.  this is a highly skilled process, and the basic editing (as shown in the examples, is included free for most standard shoots. 

Because I shoot in RAW, the files are much like a film negative.  The camera has not applied contrast, shadow and highlight-adjustments, and the like.  I have full control over processing in that respect.  doing it this why takes longer, but the final results are more consistent than letting the camera do what it is "programmed" to do.  The bonus is that each pixel contains much more information, and has not been compressed.  The originals may look washed-out, but that is because it has only been converted to a viewable image, not processed.  I am willing to show these to demonstrate not only the work involved, but also to demonstrate that the images were taken at a skilled level to start with (lighting, metering, exposure settings, depth of field, etc.). 

Tired of the same old studio portrait look?  I think I have the answer!