You may have seen images of photo sessions by Terri J Photography on Facebook or on Instagram and here on the website. These are the final photos, the pictures clients have been looking forward to since deciding to book a photo session. These are the photos ready to share on social media, choose for an album or hang beautifully on your walls.

​But what makes a photo really “picture perfect”, what goes on behind the scenes after your photo session is over?

It would be great to say that all my photos are perfect as they are shot in the camera, but unfortunately that's not true. To be honest, these days photography is not only about the photos that come straight out of the camera. A lot takes place behind the scenes during editing to enhance the potential of each photograph.

One of the awesome things about hiring me as your pet photographer is my dedication to providing truly “picture perfect”  images. I professionally enhance and retouch all your images  to ensure I give my clients the very best photos, ones that they can be proud to display on their walls or in their custom designed album.

I thought you may enjoy seeing some before and after images that highlight all the retouching work  that I do. Depending on the image, in some instances very little needs to be done while in others I go all out! Here is a glimpse into behind the scenes photo editing.

The photo below of the two Samoyeds ( one of my favourite big white dog breeds) definitely needed some work! I wanted to show the first photo to my client because I really loved the way she was smiling down at her two loves!

But I preferred the adult dog, looking forward to the camera in photo number 2.

So in this example I went all out - here’s what I did:

• Head swap using face of adult dog from photo number 2 on main photo number 1.

• I covered her knee with her dress.

• Removed the person in the background and the lamppost

• Next I warmed the tones and brightened the photo.

• Finally a magical sky enhancement.

I loved this photo session of these 2 gorgeous rescue Greyhounds but it wasn’t easy to get a great shot of the two of them together. If one was looking at the camera the other was looking away. If one had nice ears the other did not. So I photographed them separately and put them together into one photo. Then with a little colour work and brightening, removing the owner, leashes and the other dog, I enhanced the photo for one gorgeous photo worthy of wall art.

During this Toronto city pet photography session with Jacob, I wanted to get some photos of him looking out from behind an interesting wall or entranceway. I liked the texture and colour of the bricks in this old building. So with a little work I removed his leash, removed the ugly pipe behind him and also the door handle above his head that was a distraction. Again with a little colour correction and brightening it turned out to be a favourite from the session.

Sometimes it’s the little things that make a difference. I loved the photo of Bethany and Carly but with a few tweaks its a lot better. Notice how on the first image the bright white building in the background is so distracting? I took that out, removed the red leash showing and again, with a little warming and brightening its a much nicer photo.

Prince is a handsome miniature poodle! But he needed a little tear stain removal. It’s a common issue so I usually remove this staining.

If you are interested in more on this topic, check out my post on editing the green colours from spring photo shoots.

I also wrote a similar post a couple of years ago. You can check it out here.

Some examples of retouching that I will do include:

In general:

• Brightening photos

• Colour correcting

• Adding light

• Brightening shadows

• Highlighting your pet as the main subject

• Removing distracting elements

• Combining parts of different images to add subjects or otherwise improve the final image

For pets:

• Removing leashes

• Cleaning tear stains

• Removing fur covering the eyes 

• Whitening Teeth

• Brightening eyes (especially dark eyes on dark pets)

• Removing drool

• Adding fur to a shaved area (often for shelter pets)

For people:

• Fixing flyaway hairs

• Smoothing skin in close-up shots

• Removing dog hairs from clothes 

• Brightening eyes and skin

And more!

Please don’t hesitate to book a photo session for your dog’s portrait because you’re waiting for your pet’s hair to grow back in after surgery or because you aren’t feeling 100% ready to be in front of a camera. There are so many amazing things we can do before, during, and after your photo session to ensure that you love them!

To find out more about a dog portrait session in the Toronto area, feel free to contact me for a free consultation. Just click on the button below.

This post is part of a blog circle in which pet photographers from around the world participate. Next up is Tracy Allard of Penny Whistle Photography fetching pet and family portraits in Coppell, Carrollton and the greater Dallas - Fort Worth metroplex. Click the link at the bottom of each post and when you’ve completed the circle you’ll end up right back here. Let’s see what every one else does with their topic this week!

Terri J Photography is a professional pet photographer based in the Toronto area and also serving Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Markham, Etobicoke, Scarborough, Thornhill and beyond