The Perfect Pairing: Cowboy Stock + Retouching

Hey gang, Kelly here! We recently worked on a particularly creative retouching project for the Cowboy Collective team, for a big pharma client. The project was especially fun for us because the goal was to convey a patient envisioning their future after taking a life-changing medication. The client was particular about the brief, and wanted a hopeful, positive visual treatment with lots of diverse landscape elements. We first provided a gallery of our in-house, proprietary stock photography options for the client to choose from, and the studio photography was captured based on how they would be composited together. This was a unique approach and we’re proud of how the client responded to this creative solution.

Click through to see the original shots, rough comps, and final images below.

Original Shot

Rough Comp

Final Image

Delving into the process, the first stage involved a lot of comps; positioning different selects and comparing not only which studio shot fit well in the scene for one individual photo, but also making sure the three final images would look cohesive as a series. Then, once we got part one nailed down, we focused on the details. This part was a combination of beautifying the background stock images, adding natural textures, and adjusting the shading and highlights on the talent to help them more realistically blend into the scene. We ensured color consistency throughout, and maintained the particular look and feel that the client requested, keeping the human element front and center while showcasing joyful landscape scenery.