newbie - be nice

Sonicfox

Now, I'm using a Fujifilm finepix A500 5.1mp. Basically a p/s camera as i have no filters, extra lenses etc. Now these pics are of my kids out at the park last week and have not been touched with anything (straight from the camera to you, so to speak), so be nice. I'm just learning and am wanting ideas etc. :bow

ShepsMom

I'll be nice, hey, i'm always nice, anyone disagree? :rambo

Cute snaps, now post them after you process them, i think it would be fun to see what you can do with them

First shot, that child is absolutely adorable, love the curls and big blue eyes!! You can crop it a little different, so not to have it dead centered, plus that white blub of light to the left is a little distracting, so you can crop that part out.

Second shots, cute catch. Her face is a little too dark, so next time, make sure that light is right on your subject. You want to capture eyes along with everything else.

Keep shooting and posting!

Sonicfox

Here's one of the same range of pics that I thought I would give a go at using gimp on. Now remember, this is my very first attempt at gimp as well





Personally I think I have taken the colours too far?? C + C 's please

Swartzy

Yes, colors and haze is too much. If you want me to give it a go, let me know.

Sonicfox

If you would like to then you can, I would appreciate letting me know what you've done from the original so I can learn. Any help is grateful!

Swartzy

Okie Dokey. First we need to see the comparison

Original


Edited


Original


Edited



First things to address in any photo is exposure & color balance, then we work with shadows, darks, lights, and highlights paying attention to the histogram and recovering some blown highlights if possible. I began in Lightroom then ended up in CS3. Using a curves adjustment layer for both black point and white point, color & exposure is a great starting point..even after Lightroom (as there are differences unfortunately).

Then on the first pic, I worked on the eyes, making the whites whiter via saturation layer/mask/paint....then lowered the opacity to about 60%. Once I had the "look" I wanted, I sharpened the photo with a luminocity sharpening technique.

This stuff prolly sounds Greek to you right now so want to encourage you to click on the Tutorial button at the top of the forum here and start learning the basics about color balance, curves, contrast, pop, etc. These are pretty straight forward which you can practice on all your photos until it becomes second nature.

I also chose to crop the first one as the photo is about your child and not the back seat of the car.... Notice how he is no longer centered in the middle of the frame. We do this for a reason.....composition is another biggie in photography. Not that we can't have someone smack dab in them middle of the picture...it simply looks better not.

The second one, the child's face was in "stealth" mode...meaning way too dark. The photo looked like it was more about the tree. So, I lightened up the face and upper body, then did some of the same things in CS3 (Photoshop)...then sharpened.

So, there you have it. There is a whole forum called "Finishing School" down below....hang out there and mess around with your pictures till 3 AM like the rest of us...wink before you know it, you too will edit quickly.

heatherfeather

Great job with the first one, there Steve. (I called you Steve on accident again, so I guess it really is stuck in my brain! But at least I caught it.) Anyway, The eyes are still a bit to sharp, but seriously it is an amazing save. The second was a nice try, but still not really salvaged, but I am not sure if it could be. I think I need to learn more of your PP techniques. I just try super hard to get quality images at the start and then spend as little time on the computer salvaging as possible. I guess there is always more than one way to get a good photo, eh!?

Swartzy

Heh, thanks there Fred . Yea, my intent wasn't so much to "save" these as to show how a foggy shot could be improved upon in pp. The sharpness of the eyes is simply a result of global sharpening as you look at the original, the catchlight is prevelant....remove the haze from the photo and it's amazing what comes out.

You're exactly right...get it right in camera first....then you have something to work with rather that trying to "salvage" anything.

System

Hey there Sonic, don't be afraid of criticism. Sometimes the best constructive criticism doesn't feel "nice". Take what you can from it and remember not to take it personally. What works for one half of photographers sounds crazy to the other half.

Keep practising!

Sonicfox

Thanks for showing me what can be done, I do appreciate it. As I said it was my first go and when I get a chance what with the hecticness of life, I can sit down and fiddle with a few of my other 'clearer' shots.

Just means I need to get out and do some more shooting