Tech Tip: SOOC versus Retouched Images

Over the past couple of weeks, readers have asked to see a photo straight out of camera, or SOOC. Of course, this notion makes me queasy (I mean, it's like showing up for a first date without makeup…it's still you, but not as lacquered), but today I wanted to share a quick post of a before and after, per a Facebook request from yesterday.

This was taken at my last wedding, just before sunset, SOOC
Canon 5DMIII, 35mm 1.4
f/2.5 1/320 160 ISO

This is the edited photo.

The biggest difference is a balance of light and color tonality. Sunset colored the sky with strong hues of orange and pink, so the edited version feels coastal and truer to the overall environment. Strong lighting can be difficult, but I was able to leverage facial illumination by using the sand/rocks in front of the couple as a natural reflector and balance the light a bit.

I hope this offers insight into my work and if you have questions, leave a comment and I'll try to answer later today.
j*

**Updated to Add**
Most of the questions below deal with post-processing and while I could answer it now, I feel a detailed response would be far beneficial. I'll work on posting that soon.
For those who preferred the SOOC, I get it. It's a matter of preference, but in relation to the entire body of work, I needed to really pull back the warmth. As seen in their wedding photos, the day was completely gray and overcast, but for the last few minutes of the day, the sun peeked out. The entire portfolio has a look/feel to it, so I needed the beach photos to blend well with the rest as well as stay true to color tonalities of the day. To have just a few photos that look so vastly different from the others weakened the set (in my opinion).
Lastly, for those who asked, this photo was edited in Lightroom using the Replichrome presets by Totally Rad.