A good photographer should already know how to keep his tools as clean as possible with regular home and professional maintenance.  But have you ever thought about how important it is to make sure your images are clean – free from distractions, free from dust and dirt and anything what makes your image look unpolished?

If you are submitting images to clients and to an image library then you need to be extremely careful that your images are as clean and clutter free as they can be.  The better the image library, the fussier they are with what images they will include.

As a photographer it’s your job to notice everything that’s in the shot.  Make sure that what appears in your photo is supposed to be there.

Here are some classic things to look out for:

1.    Dust and dirt

In still life photography especially, this is a no no.  Whenever you’re photographing something, make sure it’s always dusted and clean.  For shiny items, make sure there are no grease marks or smudges.  Things like fingerprints will get noticed, especially if the image is enlarged.

2.    Distractions in the background

Sometimes it can be hard to remove all distractions but do your best to keep things as clear as possible.  Portraits of people should be clear of distractions in the background and look out for items sticking out of the wrong places – the classic example is a pole or building coming out of someone’s head!

3.    Awkward items and people

Generally speaking, you want to photograph people and things at their best.  So if you are photographing a flower for instance, pull off any dead leaves or petals; don’t just leave them on and hope for the best.  If the plant is not healthy, don’t photograph it, get one that is blooming.  When photographing people search for things that could potentially ruin the shot, looking unattractive.

With children look out for food marks on clothes and their faces, with adults look for disarranged or untidy hair, lipstick on teeth and so on.

Fixing Problems

It is a facet of life though, that sometimes there will be something in the photograph you just don’t want.

Photoshop is of course a good way of fixing a photograph afterwards. Cleaning up specks, dust and small problems is usually quite easy done with the heal or clone tool, and will improve your image overall.

However, major adjustments will be time consuming and may be extremely difficult to do depending on your skill level and the job required (i.e. removing someone completely from a shot or major background retouching).  Your finished image should always look natural and not “Photoshopped” unless this is the specific effect you want. It should also be noted that photo libraries don’t like images that have been edited too much unless it was specifically requested.