Create Something Today: photography: 01

November 2009

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"We ran like young wild furies, where angels feared to tread. The woods were dark and deep. Before us demons fled. We checked Coke bottle bottoms to see how far was far. Our worlds of magic wonder were never reached by car. We loved our dogs like brothers. our bikes like rocket ships. We were going to the stars, to Mars we'd make round trips. We swung on vines like Tarzan, and flashed Zorro's keen blade. We were James Bond in his Aston, we were Hercules unchained. We looked up to the future and we saw a distant land, where folks were always ageless, and time was shifting sand. We filled up life with living, with grins, scabbed knees, and noise. In glass I see an older man, but this book's for the boys. -Robert McCammon, Boy's Life

Now I am in no way a professional at photography. I'm not sure at what point you can call yourself one. But I know what pretty photos look like ^_^ It's all opinionated of course. That's the beauty of photography though, so many ways to get the shot + so many ways to 'enhance' it.

I have always been a natural photographer. No bells or whistles. Meaning...no studio equipment and for sure not the best gear on the planet. I use the light the good earth gives me and shoot. To be honest, photography scares me! In a good way I guess. I never think I'm doing anything 'wrong' when I take pictures but I think that if I was schooled I would get a good solid lecture on what I could be doing right.

To really dive into photography will take some effort. You would need to study and practice, practice, practice. You can't really get passed that part. Depending on what kind of photography you want to do, you will need the right gear. I can't even touch that because I have no idea what I would be talking about lol! A good photo editing program is a must. Especially if you're planning on going into business. A good rout to go would be to take classes and go from there.

The paragraph above does not apply to me ^_^ I would LOVE to do it but right now It's not in the cards for me. And that's ok. I'm just going to tell you how I roll with a couple of examples on how I make my photos shine through actions. Nothing fancy smancy or anything but yeah...take a look at this picture of Kennedy strait out of my camera

Now my little Monchichi is the cutest yes? (of course I'm bias n' all :) But uh...this photo could look some better. I mean it's just too dark for my taste. And all the jazz behind her: the hose, and legs, would probably be a 'photography no-no' but like I said. I just do what I do. So green snake looking things are welcome :)

Looking at this photo I know of some key points.

I have Photoshop
I have actions

There ya go in a nutshell. I have Photoshop CS2 and would love an upgrade because it takes over my computer when I run it but that's another post.

Actions are like filters but way cool-er. You click on them suckers and watch magic happen before your very eyes! But be warned...they CAN be overdone. That's opinionated of course but still. Use your best judgment.

Ok...so I tinkered with this picture of Kennedy. I couldn't let her smile in gloomdom any longer. And this is what I came up with

Woooooooeeeeeeee....now that's a huge improvement yeah? All I really needed was a free action set from the fabulous Pioneer Woman. Download post here.

It's been some days since I edited this photo so I'm not exactly sure how I did it lol. But I used those actions and I KNOW I ran the Slight Lighten a good three times lol. Remember...

Try editing your picture at it's original LARGE size. Most actions are meant to work that way.
Play with the opacity of the actions. Adjust to taste.
Do the eyes and sharpening last.
Have fun ^_^

Here are two more side-by-side examples (click on them to see them better)

The ones on the left are edited. I didn't change the pictures a whole lot. Just enhanced them. That's how I usually jazz up my photos. And of course you have the all mighty black & white conversion

Some pictures are just meant for B&W. My favorite action for black & white conversion is Robin's B&W. It's free but very difficult to get but if you follow the steps on this post you should be a-ok.

But yeah, actual photography...no real knowledge. Editing? I like to use actions to enhance my photos. BUT I do not enhance all my photos. NO WAY!!! I don't have that kind of stamina or patients. Besides my booty would hurt constantly. If it looks like it needs super help then I go for it. If it's cool then I leave it alone. Perfect example. These pictures in this layout are untouched.