Editing advice/portrait photos (Page 4): Thanks Victoria, the main thing is not to get discouraged, you will get there in the end. Holiday snaps are easy, real Photography takes a...

Peekayoh Loc: UK

Vhopkins25 wrote:

All REALLY great points. Thank you so much! I will search for a camera club today.... I think it's something I would really benefit from. Thanks for the insight on f stop. I will definitely be working on that, and focusing on the eyes, in my portraits.

Love that photo you shared, also. It's definitely the quality I am aiming for!

Thanks Victoria, the main thing is not to get discouraged, you will get there in the end.
Holiday snaps are easy, real Photography takes a little more effort to understand what's going on.
Once you've mastered he basics, you'll wonder why it all seemed so difficult.

Camerabuff Loc: Liverpool UK

Hi I hope you don't mind I just had a quick edit of your photo's let me know what you think.

Vhopkins25 Loc: Michigan

I love seeing everyone's different preferences! I didn't crop it because I was doing a "paint" mini session but it's great to see the difference it makes when you do!

Mogul wrote:

Please forgive me for fixating on such a minor detail, but I think your first photo requires cropping before anything else is done. That's all I did here:

Vhopkins25 Loc: Michigan

I can't wait to get to that point, but I would be lying if I said the process hasn't been fun ;)

Peekayoh wrote:

Thanks Victoria, the main thing is not to get discouraged, you will get there in the end.
Holiday snaps are easy, real Photography takes a little more effort to understand what's going on.
Once you've mastered he basics, you'll wonder why it all seemed so difficult.

Audi57 Loc: Bedford England.

I havn't seen anyone remove the hair that goes across the eyes from top to bottom two strands on the left eye one over the right eye as you look at the photo, this on my opinion spoils an other wise cracking photograph.

Mousie M Loc: Coventry, UK

Vhopkins25 wrote:

I love seeing everyone's different preferences! I didn't crop it because I was doing a "paint" mini session but it's great to see the difference it makes when you do!

You're right, it is interesting seeing everyone else's preferences. I didn't like the crop, I think that little arm reaching out is an unusual point of interest and makes a different message.

In general, I like less processing rather than more!

Vhopkins25 Loc: Michigan

Audi57 wrote:

I havn't seen anyone remove the hair that goes across the eyes from top to bottom two strands on the left eye one over the right eye as you look at the photo, this on my opinion spoils an other wise cracking photograph.

Honestly... I didn't even notice that until you said it! Thanks for pointing it out

Vhopkins25 Loc: Michigan

Mousie M wrote:

You're right, it is interesting seeing everyone else's preferences. I didn't like the crop, I think that little arm reaching out is an unusual point of interest and makes a different message.

In general, I like less processing rather than more!

I agree with less processing... But since I'm just a beginner, I'd love to learn the capabilities :)

photoshopmikey Loc: Boston Ma.

Vhopkins25 wrote:

Hello everyone, br br I am terrible at editing an... (show quote)

Something a little different.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Vhopkins25 wrote:

I love seeing everyone's different preferences! I didn't crop it because I was doing a "paint" mini session but it's great to see the difference it makes when you do!

It's difficult to try something like the crop without knowing the whole story or your thoughts when you took the shot. Knowing your theme validates keeping the photo un-cropped. Using the word "portrait" caused me in look at it in a different way. With the possible exception of some minor lighting issues, your verson looks good when viewed with your theme in mind. Natural settings and poses trump lighting and model preparation any day.

I can understand the concerns other people being concerned about the hair, but having six children and twenty grandchildren, I think I can claim some expertise when I tell you that little items like stray hair make a child a child.

Vhopkins25 Loc: Michigan

Mogul wrote:

It's difficult to try something like the crop with... (show quote)

I sometimes forget the meaning of "portrait" so I can definitely see why I confused everyone.

As for the hair, I totally agree! My daughter just wouldn't be my daughter without her crazy hair =)

Vhopkins25 Loc: Michigan

photoshopmikey wrote:

Something a little different.

I know most people on here don't approve of color selection but I LOVE it! Thank you for sharing that. Definitely different and pleasing (to my eye).

Thank you for doing that!

Vhopkins25 Loc: Michigan

1066 wrote:

OK, these are my attempts, in Photoshop you can sharpen an image simply using an high pass filter and change the blending mode to either overlay, soft or hard light, generally I prefer overlay. Sorry if you can't understand all of that but you can go into Lightroom 4 tutorials on YouTube, here's a link to one:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwWlxBF-vxs

Finally watched this video you posted..... AMAZING! It was SO helpful. I can't wait until my husband returns so I can steal his computer and try again :)

spectraflash Loc: Boston

Hi, the exposure doesn't seem too bad to me, which makes me wonder if your screen is displaying images accurately. I'll admit being a bit of a gadget fanatic, but a colorimeter is really a vital piece of equipment.

I can't stress enough how important it is to gamma correct and calibrate monitors, and even laptops on a regular basis. All the color and tonal decisions we make are irrelevant unless our screens display images accurately. Even inexpensive colorimeters like the Pantone Huey, or the Datacolor Spyder can make a huge difference in displaying (and ultimately correcting) images accurately. There are more advanced options, like Xrite's Colormunki series of colorimeters and spectrophotometers too. These devices are crucial to every serious photographer's workflow.

Sorry for the rant -ya got me going on my color management speech there! :-D

Vhopkins25 Loc: Michigan

spectraflash wrote:

Hi, the exposure doesn't seem too bad to me, which... (show quote)

Funny you say that, because I was wondering the same thing! Not exactly to that depth ;) but definitely the grand idea of it. I will check into it! Thanks for pointing that out!