We spoke with Denis Duquette, a Contessa award-winning photographer, on the dos and don’ts for retouching and Photoshop.
“Retouching for hair competition collections is very different than any other type of work. Every competition has different rules and it’s very important that photographers are familiar with these,” says Duquette. “As a photographer, you need to know what you can and can’t do before you start shooting. You can’t always fix it in post, as that will sometimes cost the stylist points in the judging and could lead to them ultimately being disqualified.”
When it comes to editing, Duquette says the biggest thing to be careful of is to not modify the hair and stresses the importance of keeping retouching very light. “Stick to correcting small things within the overall image—like flyaways and things that would be affected more so by the lighting rather than the hands of the stylist,” he says. “When you tweak the colour of the hair, you should really only be doing so to the saturation and luminosity and not changing the colour tone in any way. Also, don’t add in hair. If it wasn’t there when you shot it, then it shouldn’t be added after.”
Lighting
Duquette explains that this is an area that can make or break a hairstyle. “How you light the hair makes all the difference in the images. You can control and accentuate aspects of a hairstyle by either highlighting them or putting them more in shadow,” he says. “The lighting should enhance and highlight all the beauty, colour and shape in the hair.”
Test, Test, Test
When it comes to planning, Duquette says you shouldn’t wait until the shoot day to test out what you are planning. “I usually map out the lighting about a week before the shoot and start shooting some test frames shortly after,” he says. “This allows any necessary time to make corrections if needed and to go over the look of the images with the stylist in case they would like to change anything.”
Direct the Models
“Depending on whether your models have experience or not, you may have to really guide them in their posing. Sometimes the hair looks better from a certain angle and you have to be the one to communicate that to the model,” recommends Duquette. “Other times, the style is very delicate and the model may need to stay very still. Be prepared with poses and give the models plenty of direction.”
To Recap
“Personally, I have found that the most successful shoots are the ones that are completely collaborative. I spend a fair amount of time leading up to shoots meeting with the stylist,” he says. “We talk about concepts, lighting, background, models and what they have in mind for the shoot. From there we can start to build the mood boards and inspiration for the shoot. With everyone working together from an early date it really allows the shoot to be collaborative and to get the best out of everyone.”
(Credits: Contessa 2019 Finalist Collection for Canadian Hairstylist of the Year; Name: Melissa Duguay, Makeup: Heidi Fleming, Styling: Melissa Duguay, Photos: Denis Duquette)
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