Editing (Development)

Learn to edit

Familiarise yourself with

1. RAW image processing ** in Affinity Photo 2:
   https://youtu.be/XCcZiELzrqc?si=GBReN5BAP8YsaZfb
2. image editing** in Affinity Photo 2:
   https://youtu.be/TcOYKplPOQ4?si=kw636Z8huicUD5aW
3. also search for specific tutorials on your specific genre (portraiture retouching, macro focus stacking, astrophotography stacking, etc.)

Select your strongest images

1. Rank images in terms of quality.
2. Aim for variety while maintaining visual continuity.
3. Show your selection process creatively in your contact sheets, so it is clear when they are printed why you selected the images that you did. Traditionally this was done with grease pencils, but if you are printing your contact sheets at the end, you can do this digitally.

Editing considerations

1. Correct exposure, white balance, focus, and tonal range.
2. Use cropping and composition adjustments.
3. Apply subtle retouching where necessary.
4. Avoid over-editing: SQA course reports note that excessive or over-manipulated digital effects can reduce technical marks. Stronger projects demonstrate technical competence and clear creative decision-making.

Editing evidence

1. Produce contact sheets that show the editing process for each of your chosen final images, from original capture through edit experiments and key refinements to the final version.
2. Include notes explaining your editing choices and why particular adjustments were made.
3. You do not need to evidence every abortive or discarded edit, but where an image was significantly reworked before being dropped, it can be valuable to show that decision as part of your development evidence.

Prepare final files for print

1. Avoid editing JPEGs (as this results in image quality loss due to compression on compression) use lossless editing of RAW files until you are ready to print. If subsequent changes are required make these to the .afphoto file and output as a fresh .jpg for printing.
2. The sRGB colour profile is generally safest, as using wider gamut colour spaces such as Adobe RGB or Pro Photo RGB can introduce colour-shift issues when viewed or printed on non-calibrated systems.