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Writer's pictureDamian Blades Media

Advice - Photo Shopping Photos for Commercial Use

Updated: Apr 6, 2020



Look in any tabloid and you will see some article about how another celebrity has been caught photoshopping themselves for a magazine. There tends to follow a massive uproar from people who want natural beauty and so forth. Being real with our images is a much better way to live. Stripping back the false lays to show what is underneath.


This sounds great but in practice it doesn’t work. We are all vein. There is a reason we dress and look the way we do and it is because we want to appear a certain way. If you had the option of 2 images. One that had been photo shopped and the other which shows your tan lines, loose hair, cellulite and other unsightly bits which lowers your confidence and self-esteem, I am sure we would all pick the photo shopped image.


Why should it be any different for businesses? We want people to see the best version of us so, why not for your products or services? If you were a car painter you may have produced a flawless finish but the rotten old wheels let it down as they are an eye sore. Wouldn’t you swap the wheels out of the image? Your business is next door to your competitor, you can’t take a photo outside without their logo in it. Wouldn’t you want to Photoshop that out? Photoshopping images for a commercial use makes our business look more professional and appealing to customers. It is also a cheaper alternative to get a professional finish.


Photoshopped House
Photoshopped House - After

Take this image for example, our clients the Gutter & Cladding company, have recently installed new cladding to the exterior walls of this Bournemouth property. They’ve done their part but can you notice it amongst everything else in the image, no! The unfinished building and garden make it unprofessional. With a helping hand from Photoshop we can polish this image and make our clients fantastic work shine through.


Photoshopped House - Before
Photoshopped House - Before

This project took us around 2 hours. We started by straightening the image and fixing the perspective. The sky was pulled out with the overhead cables, chimneys and the lifeless tree on the left. These items don’t add any value to the final images. Next was the drive way. Using clone and mask tools we pulled out the drains and majority of the leaves. Finally, we finished the exterior of the building by painting the unfinished wall, removing the drain pipes above the ground floor window and random cables on the brick work.


Photoshopped House - During
Photoshopped House - During

Compositing is the art of seamlessly combing other images to create one image that looks natural. For this image we used a few elements including hedges, grass and sky. We would have liked to keep the tree but couldn’t find a stock image which suited. The sky was blended in first then reflected onto the glass. This helps in hiding the red curtains and hallway clutter but also makes the sky more natural. The grass was laid and the colour tone was matched to the current leaves. We used the same process for the hedges which helped cover the dated fences and bin. Using dodge and burn we blended the image in. A few more image corrections including hue, saturation and camera raw, this image is now ready for commercial use.


At this point we may be accused of lying to the customer as that is not what the home looks like. That is correct but when this customer has finished their property it will look like this. Photoshop has helped the process along making this a usable image for now. An image which can be used to generate more revenue and be used as a talking point with future clients.


Another great benefit to photoshopping for businesses is conceptual work. Wouldn’t you like to know how a certain product could look? Or generate pre-sales with a visual concept? Using compositing with 3D images this can be achieved. Taking a real-life image of the environment your product is planned for and a 3D model of the product can be combined to make a remarkable image that your business can use to create a buzz about an upcoming product.


Photoshopping has so many potentials for commercial use which are designed to benefit your business and build more revenue. To discuss how Photoshop, image compositing and conceptual work can bring more customers to your doors, call the team today on : 01202 287088

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