TheAllenChu | Photo & Retouch

I have always had a very strong, opinionated philosophy in regards to photography.  What i’ve realized is how impactful a great image can be.  Needless to say photography has, without a doubt, been an overwhelming part of my life.  From an early age I remember seeing issues of Vogue at supermarket news stands, and completely being in awe of how utterly amazing and mind blowingly gorgeous the images on every page were.  From beauty products to fashion editorials to power portraits of important persons, I was completely hooked.

So what is the true power of an image?  In my opinion a great image stops the viewer in his tracks.  It takes him into a different world and cultivates his imagination.  It makes one start wondering about the story behind the image itself.  Great photography is not only about telling a story but it’s also about letting the viewer decide the story for himself.  A powerful image will take your breath away and will jar emotions within you.  A great image for a photographer is a life changing experience, whether it’s an image you shot or a shot you saw somewhere.

Now how do you produce a powerful image?  Simply put, there is no 1-2-3 set of steps to create a great image.  There are no guidelines to great photography.  Photography is, and always will be, an art form.  I use to believe that photography was simply about capturing a special moment in time.  I use to believe that photograph’s were simply about having the eye and experience and technique to capture the essence of that split second.  The more i’ve shot, the more i’ve realized that while that is true, there’s so much more to a great image.  Whether it involves the retouching process, or the format it’s shot on, or the production and team involved in setting up an image, the whole process is part of what makes an image great.

It could be shot with a Holga, a polaroid, a 35mm DSLR or a Hasselblad or Red One.  It doesn’t matter.  The only things that truly matter are the journey to the end product and the product itself.  Great photography is not taught.. it is found.  Photography must be appreciated and respected as the great art form it is.  It should be treated with care and taken for everything that it is.  A great image doesn’t simply come from an expensive camera and an array of photoshop filters.  A great image is a personal and intimate thing.  In the end, powerful images are forever, especially to those people the images have personally effected.

I think, or I hope, most artists run into this feeling quite often in their lifetimes.  The feeling of never being satisfied.  Never feeling successful.  The feeling of work never being complete.  It always feels like something’s missing and sometimes you just can’t put a finger on what that is.  As much as I appreciate people complimenting my work, what I appreciate even more is creative criticism.  I have a never ending desire to improve myself.  I want to become greater and greater.  I never want this journey to stop.  I want to perfect this art form and I know that even with a lifetime I may never achieve that goal.  But I refuse to quit.  I’m utterly without any doubt in complete love with photography.  It’s unexplainable and still incomprehensible.  As long as my financial situation allows it I will pursue.  I won’t settle for less.  I will work to perfect my trade.  I will never be satisfied.

I am constantly being asked by various people about the process of creating images.  Through the journey of becoming a seasoned professional photographer, one builds an efficient and familiar work flow that becomes the back bone of creating images.  Every one is different and each work flow works for each photographer.  First and formost I am ages from perfecting my own process but I thought it’d be a good reference for myself to write out what I do now to help my own efficiency.  Secondly the process i’m about to write down is focused on fashion and beauty images i’ve been working on lately.  So here we go..

Contact
The build of an image always beings with inspiration.  I am constantly looking at both old and recent images whether it be from another artists portfolio or in my endless collection of fashion oriented books and magazines.   Whether I am contacted by a client or i’m simply inspired to shoot, there’s always an image waiting to be created.  The contact phase begins with putting the team together and developing the goal.

Planning
After contact begins the planning phase and developing the process to create the image.  While planning I then begin pulling concepts and inspirational photos, discussing the ideas with the those involved.  This may be the client, the art director or may include the creative team ( makeup artist for a beauty story, hairstylists for a hair story, stylist for a fashion editorial and etc.. ).  Typically the planning phase will include a story board defining lighting style, the poses wanted, color grading, makeup, hair and wardrobe inspiration as well as a general vibe to pull from.

Execution
From here on out begins the actual photo shoot process.  The day typically begins with a call time where the makeup artist, hair stylist, wardrobe and assistants show up.  Everybody starts prepping for the model(s) to arrive.  I typically take this time to chat with the rest of the team and finalize any details left to be discussed including finalizing details for each shot and deciding where each image will be taken (if we are on a set).  When the model arrives she typically immediately starts makeup, hair and wardrobe.  I typically use this down time to setup lighting and make sure that when the model is ready that we can get our shots in and move onto the next look.  There usually tends to be a good hour or so between looks so i’ll usually spend that time retouching or going through images.  After each look is shot it’s back to makeup, hair and wardrobe for changes.

Post
As soon as the shoot is a wrap, then comes the majority of my work.  Post production.  This involves hours upon hours of perfecting and polishing an image.  My mentality has always been to shoot the best image possible so that rather than completely changing an image, i’m just polishing and bringing out its best attributes.  My post process always begins with reviewing image and image and selecting the very best foundation to work off of.  From there begins skin clean up, color correction, and yes.. liquifying.  There are tons and tons of means and methods to correct but the most important value of retouching to myself is ensuring a very natural and realistic look.

The End
This is the most gratifying part, the end.  This is where I either get to print an image for my book, send it off to a client or publication, but most importantly show off my teams work.  This is where we get to sit back and appreciate all the blood, sweat and tears put into the creation of an image.

This is the basic process involved in creating an image.  It’s never as simple as just making a call and shooting images.  The process behind the image is far more tasking than the shoot itself.  Hopefully i’ll be able to refine this process over time and add more and more details but for now, this is the basic process.