As a bit of encouragement… I love to see before and after images. It reassures me that not all photographs come straight out of the camera, snap, crackle, and poppin’. I mentioned in an earlier post, about the image of James Henry on the swing, that I brightened it in my post processing. I thought it would only be fair to show the original. I got to thinking… If I am going to offer fancy camera tips, I need to tell the whole story. I do not want anyone without access to post-processing tools to feel discouraged when the outcome does not appear “professional”.

I do not have a studio so I usually take pictures of my boys in our guestroom. It has two big windows, the walls are a khaki color (don’t put out a strange color cast), and the white bedspread works too.  On the left, I did all that I could to get a good shot of Eli. It was in focus and had a good exposure, but still needed some sparkle. After some edits, I was able to eliminate the distracting background and really make it shine. A good photographer doesn’t need big editing software, however, it really can make a good image great.  My best tip for editing  is not to over-do it. Even in Picassa and Snapfish you can do some good edits but take them too far. Don’t forget- You must start with a good image!

 Like I said, I do not have a studio with backdrops or big lighting. I use available light (including my flash) and improvise. Part of the creative process is problem solving.  Here, I draped the scarf that I was wearing over the back of a couch facing a window in my client’s home.  I personally do not prefer excessive edits, extra stuff in my portraits. Everyone has different taste, and so one persons idea of overdone is much different than the next. Ahhh, that is why I love art!  For this image there was something so subtle about her look that drew me in.

After my usual tweaking, I wanted to do something dramatic and fun in contrast to the simplicity of her expression. I went out of my comfort zone and experimented… I adjusted the saturation, contrast, tone curve, warmness, and burned the edges. Next, I scanned a piece of scrapbook paper. I “laid it over” my image creating a new layer in PS. I adjusted the opacity to 8 or 9 percent and then erased it off of her face, hair, and coat. I don’t mean to oversimplify the process, I just hope to show how much fun editing can be! I may be breaking some photography etiquette rule… Like, a lady never edits and tells (I just made that up).  I’m ok with that. If a photographer claims to never do post-processing, I have to wonder if they are telling the truth… just sayin’.

BTW: The hansome  I T guy (Clint) fixed my google reader feeder thingy problem! It is now possible to subscribe to the blog- Just click on the RSS icon in the grey section under the banner… Thanks!