why do photographers darken or lighten pictures?

Question

For example my school pictures from last year came out darker than normal, but my other school pictures came out normal or slightly lighter than normal.


So what makes photographers such as in schools make pictures darker or lighter? could it be due to the clothing you're wearing? For example if I'm wearing dark colors do the photographer feel he or she should darken the picture and vice versa?

Answer 1

School pictures are not shot in RAW nor adjusted for each subject; they are volume shot and volume printed the easiest and fastest way (JPEG). The photographer sets up their lighting based on that companies standards and it appears perhaps one of those year that a photographer miscalculated. The problem with many of these studios is that they don't offer enough work to hold on to their people, so each year a new crop of freshly trained people are shooting. This often lays the groundwork for errors. A change in processors could also effect the end product.

Answer 2

All mass produced photo prints are made in large automatic laboratories and may not even be seen by the photographer at any time after he has taken the photo. There are inevitably variations in interpretation by the printing machines and by the people supervising those machines. There is also the fact that the profit margins are tight, thus if prints look slightly too light or dark they will not be sent back for re-printing - only gross lightness or darkness would be a reason for re-printing, as it would be at any high-street or in-store lab for your holiday pictures.

Answer 3

They are after a certain level of exposure quality. Darkening increases shadows that give up more detail in bright areas. Brightening up a picture on the other hand reveals details hidden in shadows. It's up to the photographer to decide which comes out better in his taste. He has to strike a balance on both ends and usually the darkening or brightening is minimal (but obviously noticeable).

Answer 4

Sometimes for a specific effect and sometimes by accident because they don't get the overall exposure correct.



Your school shots I would think are because of the latter.

Answer 5

for many reasons...



darkening or lightening a subject or scene allows for clarifying the focus of the image...