How I do it- before and after

BEFORE

Since many of my friends ask me the same questions and make the same comments about my photos, I decided to post my secrets. I've always been honest that I am a photoshop photographer in training and I'll stick by that. My friend Angie once said that people go out and buy her camera thinking that their pictures will look like hers and they find that they are greatly dissapointed when they don't. Yes, a great camera helps....but I've learned that photography is more about the eye behind ithe camera than the equipment being used. They are both super important...but I think the eye is more important. If you don't have the eye, you can fake it by snapping away aimlessly and then editing in Photoshop. Sometimes I get lucky and get great shots that need little editing. There is certainly a direct correlation between the amount of time I spend studying and the amount of time I spend editing. The more I read and study photography....the less editing my photos need. However, I want everyone to see what my before and afters look like so you understand that I am not getting most of these shots straight out of my D90. I'm not there....yet.

Above is the orginal photo. I used a window to light up her face and I was less than 2 feet away from her. I used my 50mm lens and I was shooting in Manual. The 50mm lens is a must have for portraits and is super cheap for the quality you get.

Below is the result of about 5 minutes in Photoshop Elements 6.0. I cropped it, sharpened it, made it black and white, changed the contrast, and played with the lighting and color balance. If you want to know how to do all of this, you'll have to come over and I'll show you!

AFTER

Here is another BEFORE and AFTER example.

This one I just felt needed to be cropped super close because her features were so glossy and pretty. I did in this photo what I usually do to every photo that I post...... I cropped it, sharpened it, changed the lighting and contrast, and made the color purple POP by saturating just the purples in PSE 6. I also changed the lighting to a more warm, "yellowy" tone.

If you want to know some GREAT photography websites and tutorials....look on my sidebar. My favorite is Pioneer Women Photography. I've learned a lot from those women!!! Thank you to Angie for introducing me to them! I am by no means worthy of posting a tutorial because I am just a beginner in terms of photography, but I understand all of your frustrations in not getting the photos you desire straight from your camera. Even the most experienced of photographers use editing tools on their photos. I never post a "naked" photo because I always see something I can do to make it look better. Just thought I'd share and hopefully aleviate some of the frustration you are experiencing with being unsatisfied with your photos. Now it's time to learn Photoshop!