Okay, I'm getting annoyed with my inability to edit photos as I would like :p I'm honestly completely and utterly clueless and just really don't know anything... I have Picassa and Serif PhotoPlus, which is similar to Photoshop. Could anyone tell me how they would have edited this photo?:
Literally all I've done is up the shadow slightly...
Also, does anyone have any editing tips in general?
I use Picasa @naomi
I think editing is a bit of a personal thing, but if I pretend I took this photo.. what would I do in Picasa.... hmmm I might have cropped it a bit tighter, so to lose the hair on the left hand side.
I might have played with the colours a bit, the skin tone is a little blue... or if you have Serif photo.. you could do a selective colour and got those beautiful eyes and scarf in blue and the rest B&W
Just play with the settings in picasa.. experiement.
I am sure there are lots of better photographers than me out there.. but from one novice to another.. does that give you an idea?
@naomi I dont think that Picasa is simillar to photoshop. Try Using Photosho CS4 or 5 they are just perfect. In this pic the WB is not adjusted properly. Its got the tungsten selected.
Agree with white balance comments. Way too blue. And slightly overexposed. Both of these are easily adjusted in software like Photoshop or Nikon Capture, or GIMP.
My edits would include adjust white balance, setting black control point to bring exposure down just a bit (also increases contrast a bit), slight gaussian blur (contrast increase might show more "features" of the face than you want. The blur can help minimize that), except for the eyes (keep them sharp) and I'd also remove those few stray hairs on her forehead.
Note that warming the WB a bit will make her skin slightly reddish (pink?) which might be more appropriate a color if were as cold as the pic seems to imply it was.
Oh, are you shooting in RAW format. Makes WB adjustments even better than trying to adjust WB in a jpg.
Naomi, I think your picture is lovely. I know that Photoshop is entirely too expensive for most people (well, nearly all)... BUT, you could try Photoshop Elements. It is a fraction of the cost of the full-blown Photoshop. It has all the photo-editing tools that most people will ever need/want. Having said that, I HIGHLY recommend PhotoScape. It is a free app available online and has a nice set of editing tools. Just like with anything else, the more you do it, the better you will get. I agree with Dorrena, the white balance is off in this shot and a tweak there could make all the difference in the world. Good luck!
Editing is very personal, as mentioned. I actually like the blue cast on the skin, lends to the feeling of cold. But, I would adjust the white balance as an experiment, you might like that better. The one thing I would try is, also as mentioned, crop the hair on the left. But not all the way, I would leave a little there to keep the image off-center. When I edit, I generally save the edited versions and view them side by side with the original. Often I go back to the original.
Try lightroom out, they have a free trial. Adobe also has a lot of tutorials for their products. Some magazines and books out there also give great ideas and explain how to do certain things.
How you edit your photos is really personal preference,what do you want to see differently with this photo in particular?
Also, what white balance setting was your camera on?
This is a nice portrait, personally I like the blue cast and I'd say it's fine how it is, but that's me lol
i am horrific at editing, and rarely am able to achieve the effect that i am looking for... that said, i wanted to comment on a couple other points that were made above... it looks to me like her hair is red... if so, what i would WANT to do is fix the colour to make the skin tone warmer and bring out the red of the hair... and i might play with saturation so that you really can see/feel the red of the hair and the blue of the eyes and scarf... i would not crop out the hair because i think it can add to the shot... and i would not do selective colouring for this kind of shot... i do have photoshop elements and i expect these kinds of edits could be handled with it... good luck!
Without reading all of the comments, at the minimum I'd try to correct the white balance. This is very blue and it looks like your WB setting was wrong. I'd add a little warmth to it -- but not sure how to use your editing programs to do that!
I haven't been editing long myself. It just takes some time getting to know your programs. I wanted to edit this picture and see what I could do with it. Really though, editing is a personal thing, and it's more about what YOU want in your photo.
First I added some dark pink for warmth. Took out the stray hairs on her forehead. Added some soft light in the lens flare that was already there, to bring it out more. Finally, adjusted color levels and contrast a little.
I just bought a new laptop and it has Photoshop Elements 10 and its pretty easy to use. I did download Lightroom 4 beta version thats free till March 31. I am trying it out before I purchase it. I think it just needs some warmth maybe, just a tad to take off the purplish that the blue is causing. Editing the hair, not sure on that.
Beautiful photo btw! I think the blue-ishness is very good for this picture.
I know a fair amount of editing with Photoshop - I like to think ;)
There are tons of tutorials but I can tell you how - if you don't mind it not being Serif Photo Plus...
1. First, make a copy layer of the original - so you can go back if you screw it up ;)
2. With the patch tool you can eliminate small imperfections - not on the eyes though.
3. Then make another copy where you only select the skin. By filter choose a 'Surface blur'. You can see the skin's a little blurry now.
4. Choose a Layer Mask. Adjust the layer to about 50%
5. I'd choose to add a little vibrance to your photo, so the colors stay the same but with just a little bit more ' umph'.
6. Last, I would enhance the color of the hair by making another layer in which I only selected the hair.
Naomi
Saying what you said, it's like saying, oh I can't speak English can anyone start me off.....editing like photography is something you improve on with time.
For me this photo is perfect. The off white balance adds to the cold effect. there's loads of free software just have fun. if you see an effect you like ask how someone did it, best way to learn. Also youtube has loads of photo tutorials.
Here's my play :) I edited the white balance to make it warmer, brightened a bit, sharpened eyes just a tad and smoothed the rest just a little. Added a soft haze.
Wow, thank you all so much for all your help! I am beginning to realise that I know even less about editing then I thought I did... but I'm so grateful for the time you've put in to explain things to me!
I've had a bit of a play and here's what I've done so far:
I couldn't work out how to get rid of the stray hairs... :/ Also, I think it's maybe still too blue? And the skin isn't right but I couldn't work out how to blur it/make it better without affecting the eyes... Anyone got any tips?
Thank you, again, so much for your help and your edits! It's so interesting to see how everyone has edited it differently. And @sdpace I love how you've done the eyes! How did you do that?! Thanks everyone (:
I have Adobe Lightroom...there is a bush to enhance the eyes there, so I do that last once I've done all the other softening.
Your latest edit looks to have too much green in it. I'm not familiar with the program that you are using, so it's hard to really give any editing tips beyond the temperature and split tone info.
There are a few things I would do to your photo so here ther are in no real order:
Brighten the eye
Add extra contrast in the eyes
Add darker rim in the eye
Add some extra eye lashes
Fix the white balance
Remove that flare on the left of the image
Crop it tighter
Remove the strans of hair.
I might even duplicate the left eye to replace the right eye.
Remove blemishes.
Soften the skin but retain the skin detail
Sharpen the image except the skin
Sharpen the eyes.
Mmmmmm I think that might be it....
I have posted up a tutorial on processing if you want to have a look.... While it isn't a portrait that I am touching it is always good to see how others work.
@agima@paulavdmerwe@naomi I rarely commit the steps of processing I use to any useful form that would allow me to make a tutorial of any kind. The best tips are to know your camera, understand what the settings do, understand that light is your friend and foe at the same time, understand colors and how they mix, and experiment a lot. Some comments above state that processing is a personal preference, and that is true to the extent that art is a personal preference. Sometimes I like reality, sometimes I like fantasy. Whatever your view, the key is just to make sure you have one. It can come before, during, or after the shot. Our photographic creations reflect what we want to see more often than what we actually saw, and the ability to use what you've captured to show your personal view is the essence of photographic art. :)
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I think editing is a bit of a personal thing, but if I pretend I took this photo.. what would I do in Picasa.... hmmm I might have cropped it a bit tighter, so to lose the hair on the left hand side.
I might have played with the colours a bit, the skin tone is a little blue... or if you have Serif photo.. you could do a selective colour and got those beautiful eyes and scarf in blue and the rest B&W
Just play with the settings in picasa.. experiement.
I am sure there are lots of better photographers than me out there.. but from one novice to another.. does that give you an idea?
My edits would include adjust white balance, setting black control point to bring exposure down just a bit (also increases contrast a bit), slight gaussian blur (contrast increase might show more "features" of the face than you want. The blur can help minimize that), except for the eyes (keep them sharp) and I'd also remove those few stray hairs on her forehead.
Note that warming the WB a bit will make her skin slightly reddish (pink?) which might be more appropriate a color if were as cold as the pic seems to imply it was.
Oh, are you shooting in RAW format. Makes WB adjustments even better than trying to adjust WB in a jpg.
How you edit your photos is really personal preference,what do you want to see differently with this photo in particular?
Also, what white balance setting was your camera on?
This is a nice portrait, personally I like the blue cast and I'd say it's fine how it is, but that's me lol
First I added some dark pink for warmth. Took out the stray hairs on her forehead. Added some soft light in the lens flare that was already there, to bring it out more. Finally, adjusted color levels and contrast a little.
I know a fair amount of editing with Photoshop - I like to think ;)
There are tons of tutorials but I can tell you how - if you don't mind it not being Serif Photo Plus...
1. First, make a copy layer of the original - so you can go back if you screw it up ;)
2. With the patch tool you can eliminate small imperfections - not on the eyes though.
3. Then make another copy where you only select the skin. By filter choose a 'Surface blur'. You can see the skin's a little blurry now.
4. Choose a Layer Mask. Adjust the layer to about 50%
5. I'd choose to add a little vibrance to your photo, so the colors stay the same but with just a little bit more ' umph'.
6. Last, I would enhance the color of the hair by making another layer in which I only selected the hair.
If you like, I could send my edit to you.
Saying what you said, it's like saying, oh I can't speak English can anyone start me off.....editing like photography is something you improve on with time.
For me this photo is perfect. The off white balance adds to the cold effect. there's loads of free software just have fun. if you see an effect you like ask how someone did it, best way to learn. Also youtube has loads of photo tutorials.
@snippets i love the softness in your edit :)
I've had a bit of a play and here's what I've done so far:
I couldn't work out how to get rid of the stray hairs... :/ Also, I think it's maybe still too blue? And the skin isn't right but I couldn't work out how to blur it/make it better without affecting the eyes... Anyone got any tips?
Thank you, again, so much for your help and your edits! It's so interesting to see how everyone has edited it differently. And @sdpace I love how you've done the eyes! How did you do that?! Thanks everyone (:
Your latest edit looks to have too much green in it. I'm not familiar with the program that you are using, so it's hard to really give any editing tips beyond the temperature and split tone info.
Brighten the eye
Add extra contrast in the eyes
Add darker rim in the eye
Add some extra eye lashes
Fix the white balance
Remove that flare on the left of the image
Crop it tighter
Remove the strans of hair.
I might even duplicate the left eye to replace the right eye.
Remove blemishes.
Soften the skin but retain the skin detail
Sharpen the image except the skin
Sharpen the eyes.
Mmmmmm I think that might be it....
I have posted up a tutorial on processing if you want to have a look.... While it isn't a portrait that I am touching it is always good to see how others work.
Enjoy http://365project.org/agima/365/2012-02-05
@sdpace