I ♥ Faces - Fix It Friday #54

Yes, it is that time again. Can you believe I have missed out on this wonderful fun for the past TWO weeks? Well, as they say "life got in the way". Here I am this week though to share my process for fixing this photo. The original is very washed out and there is a bad highlight across the boy's face. I decided to be brave and did some retouching on the highlight to make it 'disappear'. So here is the original image:

And here is my 'fix':

So here is what I did to get here (As usual I must post my disclaimer that I do not use Photoshop, but PhotoImpact. I will be listing actions as they are in my program and hope that you, if you decide to follow my steps, can find similar ones in the program that you use.)

Smart Curves - the Kodak preset gave me the best initial lighting adjustment

Cone Tool- I used this tool to 'reconstruct' the area of his face and hair that were 'whited out'

                   I also used the clone tool to remove/reduce the blemishes on his face.

Colorize Pen- I used a deep blue at 75% transparency to brighten up his eyes a little

Contrast- increased to +10

Colorize Pen- I greened up the grass some to make it stand out better against his white shirt

Mask Mode- I masked off the background for the next step

Enhance Lighting- Increased Fill Flash to +40

Deselect All (to remove the mask)

Enhance Lighting- Increased Fill Flash +20

Contrast- increased to +24

And there you have it, a nice bright image of an adorable boy! To see additional fixes be sure to click the Fix-It-Friday logo below. Also, to see a 'reverse fix', check out my post When Was I?

Am I a Photoshop Sinner?

I am subscribed to a newsletter from Digital Photography School and one of the articles in today's newsletter was Warning: 10 Deadly Post Processing Sins. I had to read it because I do post processing, and I found it satirical and funny. It has recieved a TON of coments both in agreement and disagreement of the top 10 list. I knew it would be a racy topic because, as pointed out by ProBlogger in a recent article found HERE, the writer expressed an opinion. By expressing an opinion you open the floodgates for people to either agree or disagree. So what is my take? I am NOT a Photoshop sinner. Why? Well, the most obvious reason is because I don't use Photoshop, I use the almost unknown program PhotoImpact. As for committing one (or more of the 10 Deadly Post Processing Sins, oh yeah, all the time. But these are a list of sins as seen by this one person. If I thought they were that bad, I wouldn't be using them now would I?

Selective coloring was one of the sins listed. As shown in the above picture, selective coloring is removing color (or turning black and white) all of the photo except for one or more specific parts. I have used it a few times and I am ahppy with the results. It is a way for me to enhance the image to show and emphasize what I want seen. The reintroduction of the blue shirt in the image above adds a shock of color that provides interest and focuses on my daughter as opposed to the entire image, the background etc. Not everyone will agree, but that's ok, because you don't have to. Since this is my picture, of my daughter, and I like it, I don't really care if anyone else does or not. If I were to create this for a client and they did not like it, that would be another matter entirely. Does it date my images? Possibly. However, does it matter if I am still pleased with the end result?

I just posted about the constructive critisizm I recieved that stated that my photos were over saturated and over processed. Now again I find myself reading how someone out there says that oversaturated photos are a "sin". However, if you were to ask me if I thought this photo was oversaturated, I would say NO. Did I increase the saturation? Of course. I did so to bring out the bright colors that it created. Most people look at this image an ooh and aww at the vibrant colors and think it's fantastic. If you don't, well ok. It's not required by any law that I know of to like my photography or my editing techniques.

One of my more recent additions to my photography gallery. This one falls under sin #1. How so you ask? Take a look at this cutout and I'll explain further.

This was in the original shot. So as I'm framing the image and thinking what a great view this is going to be I see that some jerk has littered and now there is this horrid looking beer case in my shot. Trying to get down there to remove would likely have proven disatrous and there was no other way for me to frame the shot and get the full image that I was after. So, I said to myself, fine, I'll fix it after I get it on the computer. Is that a sin? I've said this many times when lighting conditions outside aren't what I would like, or when I have found other pieces of trash that get in my shot. I have even told my daughter this when shooting shots of her. She tries not to smile outright because she thinks her teeth aren't white enough. If telling her I'll fix it on the computer will get her to show her gorgeous smile, then I feel no guilt and do not feel that I should be required to slap myself silly for thinking or saying it.

So, in conclusion, if you are the type of photographer/artist that prefers to market your work as not having been touched with a post processing program, GREAT! If you are the type that likes to make a few changes and keep things simple, GREAT! If you are the type that likes to go all out and change your photo into a piece of art that speaks of your style, GREAT! Do what you love, and ignore everyone else. And please, do not pass judgement on those who do things differently than you.