we picture {this} - {before and after}

The theme at we picture {this} right now is "before and after" and since I just love editing photos, this was so much fun! This picture was taken at Brynn's birthday party. With a zillion kids there and no lifeguard at the pool, I had a hard time concentrating on picture taking and I was disappointed with what I got of the party but thankfully with a little tweaking I ended up liking a few a bit more.



Here is the after, edited in Photoshop CS3.



The changes: I cropped the picture and used the action “soft skin” from Coffee Shop Powder Room 2 (CoffeeTeaPhotography.blogspot.com) on my daughter’s cheek (to cover a rash) and arms (to cover splotchy skin) at very low “fill” and “opacity” percentages so she didn’t look unnatural. Then I used the actions “Boost” and “Colorized” from Pioneer Woman Set I, with the first to get the colors a bit brighter and the latter to pull out and fade certain colors. Finally, the woman’s arm at the bottom (she was sitting at the baby pool leaning back on her hands) was driving me crazy so I used Photoshop’s clone tool and smudge tool to remove the arm. I always forget to consider backgrounds in my pictures so I "clone" frequently. If I was going to hang this somewhere, I would spend a little more time removing the shadow on the ground at the bottom; it is of the woman's body at the pool but for now it doesn't scream out at me though each time I look at it, it screams a little more. Now, if I could just find an action that pinned back too long bangs or made them miraculously grow out! :)

Camera: Nikon D200
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/9.0
Focal Length: 44 mm
ISO: 400

Check out the amazing photography skills that always inspire me... click on the image below: