What Happens After Your Senior Photos Are Taken? A Look at Soft Proofing

The camera stops clicking, but that’s when the next part of the process begins!

After your senior session, I go through your images and begin the editing process. I’m looking for the best expressions, the strongest compositions, and all those little moments that make an image feel like you. But before every photograph receives its final polish, there’s a fun step I like to call soft proofing.

Soft proofing gives you a peek behind the scenes at what your finished senior portraits are beginning to look like. These images are edited enough to show you the overall look, lighting, color, and feel of the photograph—but they aren’t quite the final product yet.

This is especially helpful when we’re creating studio portraits or working with different editing styles. You may find that you love a softer, more natural look in one image, while another looks amazing with a little more contrast or drama. You get to see the options and choose your favorite!

Once you’ve made your selections, I take those images through the final editing process. That’s when I fine-tune the details, perfect the color and light, clean up distractions, and make sure the finished image looks polished and intentional.

I love this part of the experience because your senior portraits aren’t just about what I  think looks beautiful. You get a say in how your story is finished.

And these soft proofs are just the beginning—the final images are where all the little details come together.