Should This Photo Be Saved?

So I'm going thru my photos from a session with my one of my favorite models ever, Little Ms. Alexis, when I come to this image...

...and I have to make the decision "Do I trash this photo or save it?".

There's so many obvious flaws...the crop is so wrong...the white balance is awful...the exposure pretty much stinks.  This SOOC image will definitely NOT be in an upcoming blog about "getting it right in camera"!  It was actually a test shot when I was testing the lighting to photograph her baby sister and I told her all she had to do was sit there:)

Also, I already had so many images that I knew were going to be fabulous.
What would you do?  Would you save it or trash it?


Despite all the flaws, the expression on this photo just captivated me and I knew I had to save it.

Of course the first thing I did, since I'm a cropping maniac, was crop in Lightroom to make sure there was no mistake that this portrait was all about that expression.  Here's my crop...

Then I had to get rid of her sunburned cheeks but I didn't want to lose the detail of all those great freckles so I did a few curves adjustments then decided to a very light black and white photo.  I used a whole mish mash of Florabella actions and finally came up with a recipe I liked.  Here's a comparison shot of the SOOC and my final portrait...

And here's the final image in all it's glory~

I pretty much luv it.

So tell me....do you think it was worth saving?  


{you can check out all the other images from this session that I saved by clicking right here}

Got Lightroom? Here's Some Help!

So after 2 years of debating and agonizing and fretting I finally got some new editing software, Adobe Lightroom 3.  


Actually, it really wasn't that hard of a decision.   My oldie but goodie Photoshop Elements 6 is still doing a fabulous job but I was wanting something with more of an organizer.  And I wanted a little more control over the basic editing processes like white balance, clarity, and all the other practical stuff.  Plus after seeing that a whole slew of photographers I admire use LR3 as their beginning editor it was a no-brainer to go ahead and upgrade from Elements. 


I actually got a *fantastic* deal on the upgrade from Amazon.com!
If you have any Adobe products make sure you register them and you will get discount offers all the time from Amazon and Adobe to upgrade!  


So a few days after I got the disc I installed all the software, opened it up and was ready to Jump....Right...In!  
NOT!!  
Within seconds I realized that unlike Photoshop and Elements, which have the same interface, Lightroom and Photoshop look nothing alike.  Yikes.  Which is exactly why I headed over to Texas Chicks Blogs & Pics and signed up for her Lightroom online classes.  

If you're new to Lightroom or just want to utilize every little feature, you need to check out these classes.  Erin knows all the ins and outs of Lightroom and Elements and she generously shares awesome tips every week on her blog.  What I enjoy most about Erin's teaching style is that she breaks down every step and really gives details.  She often includes helpful screen shots in her posts like this one...

I can't wait to actually do a live online class with her!  I'm doing both the beginning and advanced classes and they're coming up THIS WEEK so check them out and sign up now!

CLICK HERE to link to all the info about her classes and see what we'll be learning at each one.  

They last about 1.5 hours each and they're cheap!  Be sure to tell her wayoutnumbered sent you!

...and if you've got any fab Lightroom tips I'd love to hear them....share your wisdom and Wish Me Luck in my new venture ~  We'll see if this old dog can learn new software!