A blog by MOM

Sunday, March 29, 2009

I Heart Faces -Fix it Friday


I used to think that I had a small grasp on photography but I realized that I pretty much know the bare minimum. Since I found I Heart Faces, I have been on that site everyday trying to soak in all that it has to offer. There is so much to learn about the art. Not only do you have to just have an eye for it but you have to know how to get the most out of your camera and how to use it - aperture, shutter speed, ISO, lighting, exposure, etc. It can be quite confusing. I have taken a few classes so I know some but I always have to refresh my memory. There is a lot to comprehend and retain. Sometimes my brain doesn't work as well as I want it too in order to grasp it all! Then after all that, you have to know how to edit a photo because 9 times out of 10, you don't get that perfect photo right out of your camera. Well, at least I never do. So comes editing- I don't really know squat about that either. I have Photoshop 7.0 that a friend gave me a long time ago. I had it for a year or so before I ever even delved into trying it out. It still totally confuses me! I usually start with a photo and then apply an action that I got off the internet which is some type of color pop or something and then adjust the hue, contrast and such until I get something that I find acceptable. There are a lot of free actions that you can get off the internet. One place I like is http://coffeeteaphotography.blogspot.com/. I use a lot of those actions but you can find them anywhere. Now since going to I Heart Faces I have discovered Picnik. I think it is a great editing tool that anyone can use. I don't use the premium features but I know you can do even more with it if you did but for a free program, it's great!

So, with all that being said, I am not the greatest one to teach someone how to edit something. I Heart Faces does what they call Fix IT Fridays. Someone enters a picture to be edited by the pros and they tell everyone how they did their editing. Then anyone can grab that picture and try things out themselves so I thought I would give it a whirl. I used Photoshop 7.0 mainly for this. I used Picnik just to add a drop shadow effect- no reason- just was messing around. I could have done it in photoshop but I didn't. I tried to whiten her teeth a bit with Picnik but it didn't really seem to work. As far a Photoshop went- I used a color pop action (can't remember which one) and then adjusted the levels and hue a bit and saturation- that is the 1st photo and with the second photo I applied another action to my edited photo. The action I used was Coffee SHop Honey Retro. It burned the edges and gave it a glowing look.

This little girl is so cute! Thanks to the photographer who let us all play with the picture. It was a lot of fun!!! Happy clicking!
First picture is original


This is the first edit


This is the 2nd

2 comments:

Monica March 30, 2009 at 7:33 PM  

I like your first edit the best. The second edit has a vintage look to it which is nice also.

She really is a cute girl isn't she!

Monica

The Norman Family April 7, 2009 at 8:11 AM  

These are great edits Kath. You are really doing awesome! Keep up the good work!