About Me

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Columbus, Ohio, United States
I'm a stay at home mom and wife with a passion for family, creating and photography. I'm a little bit quirky and a little bit odd, but that's what makes me...well me. I'm a jack of all trades. So check back often because, to paraphrase Forest Gump's mom "I'm like a box of chocolates, you never know what your going to get.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Before & After




I've found my newest internet addiction. Photo blog photography challenges. It makes me giddy just thinking about it. Don't worry facebook and flickr I'll never turn my back on you. How else will I keep up with my family and friends on the other side of the Mississippi, and edit my photos. ( No I don't have Photoshop, but that's a discussion for a later.) I was out skimming blogs for inspiration. I great page to visit is Ashely Sisk's blog. 




She's a total challenge junkie and has put together a  list of photo challenges. One for everyday of the week. It's awesome and diverse. I can't wait to check them all out. I've been practicing portrait photography lately. Since my hubby bought me a DSLR for Mother's day, I've been obsessed with mastering the camera. I've done macros, bokeh, and silhouette. I still love to shoot these style, but I've now moved the focus of my learning on to portraits. Th

I have a Cannon Eos Rebel T1i and the standard 18mm-55mm lens. The only accessory I have is a small tripod that's about it. So I'm building. As far as editing goes. I don't have photoshop or other editing tools. I mostly use picnik or gimp. I have a want list a mile long, but right now I'm happy with what I have. It doesn't matter the tools you use, but the vision you put in to it. I was excited to find Pixel Perfect Before and After.



This is just a shot I took in the backyard playing around. So I thought I would mess around with using a flash outside in the sun for portrait photography. This turned out really washed out, but I love the color of his eyes, so I thought this would be a good first shot for the challenge. Just to see what happens.

Before.......



The first thing I did was turn the brightness down, and tweak contrast and strength. Next I  added a little saturation and warmed it up a bit. Then I added vignetting as large and strong as I could then faded it out. That added a bit of color around the edges of his face, leaving the center bright. He still need a bit of color though. Before that can happen I edited out some dirt and a scratch off his face, and did a light color boost on his eyes.  I added some Sepia tones to give his face some color and to add to a vintage feel to the photo. To finish it out I used the Ortonish effect in picnik, Raise the bloom to around 70%, lowered the brightness to around 10%, and faded the whole process out to 75%.

After....



I've been inspired by {http://www.theworkshopworkbook.com/} lately. I love her children's photography and the editing that she does. I would love her workbook, but that will have to wait. Until then I hope to maybe win it.  Check out her site it is enlightening.

12 comments:

Julie said...

So warm and yummy!! I think you did a great job. If you are looking for an inexpensive lens that you will LOVE...get the 50mm 1.8! You won't be sorry. It's one of my very favorite lenses and under 150$!

The OriginalPsyn said...

Thanks for stopping by Julie, I'll keep that in mind. My next big purchase will definitely be a zoom lens. That way I'm not all up in everyone's face all the time.

Ashley Sisk said...

I'm always impressed when I see someone effectively using their kit lens. I think this is a great portrait shot and you've done well with what you do have. The key is always to learn how to take quality shots in camera. I agree with Julie - look into the 50 mm, but if you want a zoom...I FULLY RECOMMEND the Tamron 28-75mm. It hardly ever leaves my camera.

Bird's Eye View Photography said...

Wow! This is a perfect Edit. Really seemed to bring out the true colors! Such a sweet face!

The OriginalPsyn said...

Thanks, so much for the advise. I'm gathering all my information to present to my husband in October so he can started eBaying my Christmas present.

Mommy2Four said...

Beautiful..... he's so handsome!

I love the name of your blog! I often refer to my address as "Where the Wild Things Are".... :)

Susan said...

Beautiful edit! The SOOC shot is wonderful too, but the edit really enhances the feeling in the shot. Thanks for sharing!

Maura said...

Love the warmth!! What a handsome boy!

Sarah Andrews said...

Love your edit!

Unknown said...

Gorgeous edit! Don't stress about not having Photoshop. There are so many free programs out there that are just as good.

Tara said...

What a great edit...just perfect.

Cara @ Mischief and Laughs said...

I have the 50mm 1.8 lens also, and I love it. It's small, it's light, it's cheap, it lets in a lot of light. It takes wonderfully sharp pictures at a very low price point (only $100.) But it has a fixed focal length, which is something to get used to.

Also, I'm very impressed that you got such a nice edit using free web software. :) That was a tough picture to work with.