April 3, 2023
Year
2024
Client
KYLIE VERZOSA
Category
Portfolio
Product Duration
1-2 WEEKS
The primary objective was to move away from the "cool," digital look of the RAW files and introduce a nostalgic, warm-summer aesthetic.
Atmospheric Depth: By neutralizing the harsh greens of the grass and shifting them toward golden-amber, the edit creates a more "expensive," sun-drenched look that complements the subject's complexion.
Narrative Shift: The introduction of a sunset sky replacement in the final image moves the story from a simple daytime portrait to a dramatic, "golden hour" lifestyle shot.
Primary Color Correction (Lightroom/RAW)
The first step focused on balancing the exposure and recovering lost data in the bright sky.
Highlight Recovery: The "Before" images show a nearly blown-out white sky. Highlights were pulled back to reveal cloud texture.
Warmth Bias: The Global White Balance was shifted toward the Yellow/Amber spectrum to remove the "clinical" blue tint from the white dress.
Sky Replacement & Compositing
In the final image variation, a dramatic sky replacement technique was used.
Luminance Masking: To ensure the sunset sky blended naturally behind the subject’s hair, a luminance or color mask was likely used to "sandwich" the sunset between the horizon and the subject.
Ambient Light Matching: The foreground (the model and the path) was warmed up further to match the new light source of the orange sunset, preventing the "pasted-on" look common in sky replacements.
