Soft OCF Edit

SOFT OCF LIGHT

How I refined one specific OCF image without changing the character of the light.

Soft OCF Light is an editing-focused tutorial built around one specific image and one specific decision I made during the finishing process.

For this portrait, I used a relatively small beauty dish. The light placement, exposure, and overall capture were exactly where I wanted them, but when I began working with the file, I decided I wanted the light to feel slightly softer in the finished image.

That's what this tutorial is about.

You'll see the original RAW file and follow my complete hand edit from beginning to end. I walk through the small adjustments I made to soften how the light reads across the skin, clothing, and environment while still preserving the dimension, contrast, and shape that were already present in-camera.

The important distinction is that I am not changing the lighting setup after the fact. I'm not trying to make a poorly lit photograph look properly lit. The foundation of the image was already there.

Instead, I'm showing how subtle decisions during editing can influence the perception of light in a finished photograph.

You'll see how I work with tonal transitions, density, contrast, color, and skin to slightly change the character of the finished image without making it look heavily retouched or removing the qualities I liked about the original capture.

Inside the tutorial you'll see:

• The original RAW file
• The light placement used to create the image
• How the small beauty dish rendered the subject in-camera
• My complete RAW-to-final hand edit
• The specific adjustments I made to soften how the light reads
• How I refine tonal transitions without flattening the image
• How contrast and density affect the perception of light
• Skin and color refinement
• How I preserve the shape and dimension created during capture

This isn't a technique I apply to every image, nor is it about correcting the lighting after the fact.

It's a look at one particular photograph, the choice I made for that photograph, and exactly how I executed it.

If you use off-camera flash, particularly smaller modifiers, this tutorial gives you another option to keep in your back pocket when you decide you want the finished light to read a little differently than what your modifier naturally gave you.

Runtime - 17 min

Available inside the VP Box