Photoshop Fun continued

I've been a major addict to Photoshop lately.  I am a beginner when it comes to Photoshop.  I wish I knew how to use it better.  But I started seeing inspiration through Pinterest and then viewing online tutorials to see if I could achieve the same looks.  Ideally, I would take a Photoshop class.  I really enjoy learning in a classroom setting, but my time and budget does not allow for that at the moment.  So instead, I'm going to set a goal of learning 3-4 new Photoshop techniques a week online.  Here's some stuff I've been playing with today...

The main thing I was trying to learn here is how to sharpen the eyes through layering.  I watched a video tutorial and it was very simple to achieve.  I also changed the brightness/levels in the photo and used a smooth action to even out the skin and hair.  I overdid it a bit with the smoothing which resulted in the After photo looking pretty fake.  But I was trying to over exaggerate to really see the effect.

Next I learned how to make a black and white image and manually select what I want to be in color.  I achieved this by layering a black&white duplicate of the photo on top of the color photo, then adding a mask to color out what I wanted to show through (the stuff I wanted in color).  This was really simple.  There might be another way to do this, but I just tried this way based on what I learned yesterday on laying textures.

Then in this photo, I followed a tutorial on how to achieve back-lighting.  This one I thought was a little more complicated just because it was not as intuitive.  Maybe once I get a little better understanding of Photoshop, I'll be able to recall the steps for this one easier.  Also, the photo that you start with actually has to be back-lit to begin with.  This one was not.  But I did read a good tutorial on how to achieve nice back-lighting in your photos using the sunset.  Then the results will be much better with Photoshop.  I'll practice that in my next shoot.  But here's how my non-back-lit original photo turned out.

I also attempted to edit a ray of light into a photo.  I just couldn't seem to get it to work right.  It completely washed out my photos.  I'll give it a go another day.

Photoshoot: Christmas cards for the littlest McCoys

We took the opportunity over Thanksgiving break to try and get some photos of the nephews for their Christmas cards this year.  Jen brought some cute PJs for them to wear and the farm was the perfect setting. 

Which one is better?  Color or black and white?  I can't decide.

I saw a photo on Pinterest of a baby photographed with Christmas lights.  I wanted to give it a try with Dylan.  I think it came out pretty cool!

Kid Photography

I have really enjoyed developing my photography hobby over these past few months.  I tote my camera around pretty much everywhere we go and I usually come home with a memory card full of photos.  My nephew's birthday party this past weekend was no exception.  

Kids just having fun being kids are the most fun moments to capture.

Photo session: Baby Riley

Had so much fun shooting newborn photos for baby Riley.  Riley's mom did not know if she was having a boy or a girl, but she couldn't resist purchasing an adorable flower headband and pink tu-tu during her pregnancy. 

Lucky for her she ended up with this adorable little angel to play dress up with!

Congrats Josh and Meredith on your new little bundle of joy!

Love this candid photo when Riley's "big sister" Bailey jumped in the middle of our shoot!

Photo session: Trace & his buddy Max

Had the privilege of shooting this delightful 2 year old, Trace, and his little friend Max.

Snaps from Group Shoot

Yesterday was the last session of my photography class I've been taking at the Light Factory. 

I am bummed because the class has been so much fun.  My teacher is an amazing photographer.  

You can check out his work here. 

We had our group shoot for the class on Sunday night in NoDa.  

Then our homework assignment from the shoot was to select our top ten favorite photos and present them to the class on Monday.  It is so neat to see how even though we are all shooting the same scene, everyone has a different perspective and comes up with a different shot.  Oh and we also voted on our favorites out of each person's top ten.  That was also pretty cool to see which of your photos got the best reaction from the class. 

Here's a look at my top ten.  Which is your favorite?  

Photo session: The Whitfields

Had a special photoshoot today with the Whitfields- Jill, Brandon, and their baby girl Addy.  Marcie and I both got new lenses, so we enlisted this adorable fam to be our subjects today.  We chose Independence Park in Charlotte for our location.  Baby Addy was so adorable and completely cooperated for our shoot.  Congrats to Jill and Brandon on their precious baby girl!