I'm pretty sure the professionals advise to "get it right in the camera"...but I seem to have fun finding the little hidden gems within photographs...kinda like a treasure hunt!
Here's one of my latest finds...this pretty little girl was running around at a fun Anniversary party I just shot but of course she wouldn't even slow down for a photo op. I ended up getting a profile that barely even shows her eye. I almost trashed it but at the last second I took a closer look...
I opened my original in photoshop elements 6 for mac:
Next I cropped in close on just the face and used Pioneer Woman Sharpen This action to extreme
sharpen her eyelashes, nose & mouth plus the hair around her face and the curl in the back. Here's my screenshot, the parts in white show where I sharpened with a soft brush at 100%.
Then I softened the skin and defined the lashes in Coffeeshop Baby PowderRoom.
Then I ran Pioneer Woman Black & White action. After that I decided to add a texture.
I erased the texture primarily off her face but kept pretty heavy on the outer edges.
Finally I ran mcp actions Touch of Light/Darkness and lightened the curls by her neck and barely darkened the corner.
Here's my final:
I love this image ~
So the next time you're going thru your photos and thinking of keeping only the "perfect" ones,
take another look. Never know what you'll find!
Great stuff - yeah, I try more and more to get it right in camera to preserve quality, but this is a great reminder to come in close for the hidden gems!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great lesson to remember! Now if I can just learn enough about photoshop to make these kinds of photos a reality! My time is so limited. With the free time I do have itis a real balancing act of practicing my photography or learning photoshop. Practicing with my camera wins out almost everytime. It is real frustrating because I want to harness the benefits of photoshop (elements in my case). Anyway, I so enjoy your photography!
ReplyDeleteAwesome!! I love how close you get in the cropping!! You have inspired me to take a second look at many of my photos! Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteamazing! You have so much knowledge with photoshop! You've given me a reason not to be so hasty with my delete button :)
ReplyDeletethanks for the tips!
You've got major talent- and I have major jealousy. ;0) Thanks for the tips- hoping I can learn from you! :0)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful editing! Love how you saved the photo!
ReplyDeleteHi! I love how you edited that picture! I was wondering how you erased the texture from the face and it looks like it blends. Could you tell me how to do that? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely gorgeous! This is very inspiring. Thanks for being willing to teach the rest of us how you do it. I agree there is so much to learn!!
ReplyDeleteBecky