Editing: Jessica

I don't know about anyone else, but I am having so much fun with editing after getting tips from Kim. I was always terrified of photoshop and now I'm not :) When I learn to do new editing skills I tend to go over board and do to much to my photos. I have been trying not to do this. If you have any tips or pointers for me, let me know.

This photo I took in November and all the pictures I took in this spot turned out really gray. I tried editing in Picnik and I didn't like what I came up with.

Here is the original:

In photoshop I added a "Soft Light" layer (Pioneer Woman has a tutorial on how to do this but with "Hard Light" HERE). And then I used PW warmer action (40%) and this is what I came up with:
I like how the photo pops a little now that it isn't so flat and gray. I also like that there is a little more color in her skin tone. But I am worried that I went a little over the top....


This picture is a favorite of my son. In photoshop I used PW seventies action, quick burn action and sharpen action (too much?)

Original:

Edit:

I liked how the seventies action toned down the red in his skin. I also like the contrast that the edge burn creates. What do you think?

Tutorial!

Hey all! So, just to give you a little background on me in regards to my editing "experience". I graduated from Purdue in Computer Graphics technology where I learned the ins and outs of Photoshop among other things. We did a little bit with pictures (manipulations, restorations, etc.), but not a ton with editing. After I graduated, I discovered some new "worlds" in Photoshop...and I fell in love. haha! Anyway, I know some of you don't currently have Photoshop, but the good news is that you can download 30 day trials from Adobe.com to get you through these dull winter days (trust me, it WILL brighten your day!). Here is the link to download the trial:

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/photoshop/

You will need an Adobe.com account, but they don't spam and I don't even get e-mails from them very frequently. And, after your 30 day trial of Photoshop expires, you can move on to Elements (photoshop lite). And, after that hopefully they'll release the beta version of CS5. You can usually keep those for longer than 30 days. Now, one note to make is that the 30 day trial you can download from Adobe.com is Photoshop CS4. In my tutorial, I'm using Photoshop CS3. There are some differences, but for the most part they are fairly similar. If you have any questions about where to find things that I've done in CS3 on CS4 just ask. I've used and have access to both.

Sooo, here is my tutorial! Because it's so huge, I've also added a link to view it in a new tab: Click here.

OK, so after I posted the video embedded in this post...It was too huge. So, to see the video tutorial, just click on the link above. Let me know if you have any problems.

Free Actions Resources (and other great tutorials):
Coffee Shop Photography Blog
Pioneer Woman Photography Actions (and really great Tutorials!)
Smashing Magazine's Favorite Actions (I think most are free)

And, just searching for free photoshop actions can get some good results as well, but those are some sites that I really like. Some actions work better with certain kinds of pictures obviously. It's a really good way to get started editing and learning the Photoshop interface.

I'd also like some feedback on the tutorial. I'm currently getting a master's in educational technology and will be creating a photography e-learning course (or components of the course) this semester. So, I will be making quite a few similar tutorials throughout the next few months. And as I mentioned in the video, ask me questions if you have them. I seriously love photoshop and editing! And, if you have any other ideas for tutorials, e-mail me. I will happily use your ideas for my class. :)

And, here are some before and after photos.

Before.


After.


Before.


After.


And my all time favorite photo (I think I've posted this photo before...).

Before.


After.


P.S. Thanks for asking me to do this Kristine. It was a lot of fun!

New challenge!

Since it's been pretty quiet around here (and I don't blame anybody--the weather doesn't make me want to take any pictures either) I think we should spend the next month or two working on editing photos. There is no substitute for taking a good photo in the first place; that said, a good photo can be turned into a stellar photo with just a few tweaks. Kim Davis will give us some instruction, and then what I'd like everyone to do is take one or two old photos and see what you can do to improve them. Post the original and the improved photo and then comment like mad on other people's pictures.

just wanted to share

with you all, that I have a new website:

elle-mi photography

go check it out, become a follower of my new blog as well.. (link is on the site!)

Hope everyone is staying warm and taking lots of pictures!! =)

~ elizabeth

Editing Software

Hey all! I don't know if it's OK to post this here (if not, I can move it), but I just thought I'd share this (another) blog post I found on good free photo editing software. Obviously Photoshop is the "king" hence it's cost, but here is the list of good (free) Photoshop alternatives in case you're interested:

http://www.thephotoargus.com/freebies/11-outstanding-free-alternatives-to-photoshop/

Lines. Margot.

So, I finally got a new camera and haven't been able to use it too much. These were taken with my point and shoot and aren't new pictures--I'm a total cheat.

I can't remember in which direction this was shot originally. So you can decide which you like better.

This one was originally tall but I thought I'd see what happened when I cropped it to the sun. I like it both ways but for different reasons. I'd also like to know how to take pictures with the sun that don't have large colored glares (the pink top right of the sun). Anyone know how?

Lines: Kim

So, I tried taking pictures of lines without people, but I just wasn't happy with how it turned out. I really like it when people are in my photos too....

Here are a few of my recent photos of people with lines involved:

This was a teeter totter:


Pretty bridge:


Awesome fence:


This is such a busy time of the year, but oh so fun! Maybe I'll try to get more creative and expand to non people photos...I'm just not as good at the artsy, abstract stuff...and I don't enjoy it quite as much.