Behind the Print: Knowing When to Stop

I’ve been retouching photographs long enough to know that one of the most dangerous things you can have is another slider.

There is always something else you can fix.

Another blemish. Another shadow. Another little distraction. Another adjustment that seems harmless by itself. Keep going long enough and eventually you can polish all the life right out of a photograph.

I was thinking about that while working on these photographs of model Claire Rieger, made during the Day Zero event at ShutterFest 2024, with the snake provided by Michael Beran.

The setup is one I’ve photographed more than once.

Eve. The apple. The snake.

It’s such a classic triangle that there really isn’t much need to explain it. Temptation, beauty, danger, curiosity, choice. Put those three elements together and we already bring thousands of years of storytelling into the photograph with us.

What I’ve discovered is that it’s also wonderfully repeatable.

Different model. Different snake. Different expression. Different photographer standing behind the camera.

And somehow, every model and snake combination I’ve photographed has given me something beautiful.

That’s what makes me want to return to a theme rather than simply repeat a picture. I already know the ingredients. What I don’t know is what will happen when this particular person, this particular animal, the light and that particular moment all come together.

Claire gave me something especially interesting here.

The apple is sitting quietly in one hand while this substantial living creature is draped across the other. There is a lot happening in the frame, but her expression doesn’t compete with any of it.

She gives the photograph room.

That became important when I started retouching.

I’ve recently begun incorporating Reblum into my workflow. I’m still learning it, and I think that’s worth saying. I’m not interested in presenting myself as an expert on a piece of software I’m still getting acquainted with.

What I can talk about is what I expect from a retouch.

I don’t want software deciding what my photograph should become. The photograph has already been made. The light, expression, composition and moment are already there.

My job now is to finish it.

With Claire, I paid particular attention to her skin. I wanted polish without turning her into porcelain. I wanted her face to retain dimension. Her curls needed to remain curls. The flowers needed their texture.

And that snake definitely needed to remain a snake.

Look closely at the scales, patterns and highlights running across its body. They’re an important counterpoint to Claire’s skin, the flowers and the softness of her hair. Smooth everything indiscriminately and I would start destroying the very contrasts that make the photograph interesting.

That is where restraint becomes part of retouching.

This second frame is the one that keeps pulling me back.

It’s her eyes.

Claire isn’t looking at the apple. She isn’t looking at the snake. She is looking somewhere beyond both of them.

That tiny change creates an entirely different photograph for me.

The first image feels like a question about temptation.

The second makes me wonder whether the decision has already been made.

And here’s the important part.

Reblum didn’t create that.

That happened between Claire, the snake, the environment, my camera and me when I pressed the shutter.

The software came later.

That distinction is becoming my test for AI-assisted tools in photography: Does the tool help me finish my photograph, or does it start trying to become the photographer?

So far, what interests me about Reblum is the possibility of incorporating it into a process I already understand.

Capture still matters. Light matters. Expression matters. Curation matters. Retouching matters. And knowing when to stop matters.

The software can help with the labor.

It doesn’t get the final say.

That belongs to me.

Eventually there is one more test these photographs have to pass.

The Paper.

I want to see those deep reds and blacks come out of my printer. The olive green. Claire’s skin against that darkness. Those soft pink flowers. And the extraordinary pattern of the snake moving through the composition.

Because around here, an image isn’t finished simply because it looks good on a screen.

Fit 2 Capture. Fit 2 Curate. Fit 2 Print.

Model: Claire Rieger / Snake: Michael Beran / Event: ShutterFest 2024 — Day Zero / Photography: Photography Fit 2 Print / John Guest

Disclosure: I’m a Reblum affiliate. If you decide to try Reblum through my affiliate link or code (reblum.app/p/TID.2934), I may receive a benefit from the referral. These are my photographs and my opinions about how Reblum fits into my own retouching workflow.