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Thursday, August 12, 2010

Before and After

This is a photo of The Boy. I love this one.  A rare moment that I captured the combination of sitting still (!) and paying attention (!!)...



Unfortunately, I didn't capture his clear blue eyes. I have seen that people (people who aren't me) can fix that in Photoshop, so I made some attempts. None of which worked. Any pointers or websites where I could learn more about that?

Anyway, I decided to go in a different direction.  Or several different directions.





I actually like all four of them.  Any favorites?  Ideas on what I could do differently?
If you like my shots, you need to visit Pixel Perfect for more before and after fun! And if you want to play along all you have to do is show us your SOOC (straight out of camera) shot and then the edited version. Link back to Pixel Perfect and link up your post below! Feel free to share with us your editing program and camera gear too!




Zentmrs Pin It
Posted by Susan at 5:03 AM
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10 comments:

  1. Ashley SiskAugust 12, 2010 at 9:31 AM

    These are all great - fixing blue eyes can be tricky and I don't remember how to do it off the top of my head. Have you tried using layer masks when using texture? I tend to remove it on the face. Just something to consider even though I really do love your edits.

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  2. Jhen.StarkAugust 12, 2010 at 9:37 AM

    Here's a tutorial I used for editing eyes in photoshop. Its a lot, so give it a try.
    Sometimes I just use the dodge tool.
    http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Enhancing-Eyes-using-Photoshop-4918

    I love the first edit!

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  3. UnknownAugust 12, 2010 at 9:53 AM

    I think the black and white is my favorite!

    For the eyes, download this action:
    http://coffeeteaphotography.blogspot.com/2009/03/coffeeshop-eye-bright-pspse-action.html

    It's awesome on making the eyes really POP!

    But as for bringing out the blues, go to your paint brush and select the color of blue that you think matches his eyes the best (usually tone it down just slightly so it looks more natural). Turn the brush opacity down to, oh, 30% or so. Make sure to choose a small brush size! Zoom in and starting "painting" the blue into his eyes. Just do a little at a time, back up, make sure it looks good, then zoom in and paint some more. By keeping the opacity low, you can have more control over the final product.

    Good luck!

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  4. AnonymousAugust 12, 2010 at 10:40 AM

    Love his eyes whether or not you got the awesome blue! Great edit.

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  5. MichelleAugust 12, 2010 at 12:09 PM

    The B&W is my favorite! I love using textures too, and my only suggestion would be to erase them from your son's face. =) I really like the 3rd pic's 'linen' type texture!
    Happy editing!

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  6. aliciaAugust 12, 2010 at 12:58 PM

    I like them all, but I'm partial to b&ws, as you can see by my post today. http://weloveiowa.blogspot.com/2010/08/before-after-for-love-of-black-and.html

    And no advice to offer. Let us know when you figure it out though.

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  7. CourtneyAugust 12, 2010 at 2:05 PM

    Great shot & all your edits are great! I am more drawn to the b&w one. Nice!

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  8. Pixel PerfectAugust 12, 2010 at 3:07 PM

    I love black and white..so that's my favorite. Great shot and edits!

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  9. The OriginalPsynAugust 12, 2010 at 6:17 PM

    Great shot, all the edits are wonderful. I have to say that I like the black and white the best though. I think I'm partial, but he just pops of the page in b/w

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mommy2FourAugust 12, 2010 at 7:47 PM

    Black and white always wins out with me! Cute photo!

    ReplyDelete

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