Tips for Taking that Perfect Photo: Post Processingby Kimmama | More from this Blogger 28 Sep 2009 08:34 PM Once you have the perfect shot of your baby, there are a few more things you can do on your computer to make it extra special. You don't need to have expensive software, such as Photoshop, though it is nice to have. You can use free applications such as Picasa to edit your photos. If you don't want to download software to your desktop, you can use free editing tools on websites like Photobucket. (If you missed the first four parts of this series, scroll down to the bottom for links.) Color Playing with color can really make a difference in the quality of your photograph. Making a photo black and white can hide skin redness or add drama to a photo. If you have Photoshop, it's easy to make the photo black and white except for a single item, such as your baby's eyes or a colorful toy. Simply duplicate the background layer, desaturate the copy, and use the eraser tool to erase whatever section you want to remain in color. Whenever I choose to leave a photo in color, I usually increase the saturation or vibrance to add richness to the colors in the photo. Contrast/Exposure My digital camera is very inexpensive, so I usually have to tweak my photos on the computer to make up for what it lacks. I am unable to adjust the exposure to the exact setting I need on my camera, so this is one of the first things I do to a photo once I've downloaded it onto my hard drive. Usually, Picasa's "I'm Feeling Lucky" button does the trick. If not, I can manually adjust the fill light, highlights and shadows until I achieve the desired affect. Glow One of my favorite effects for baby portraits is called "Glow" in Picasa and "Diffuse Glow" in Photoshop. The effect looks beautiful on both brides and babies, softening the skin and giving the subject an angelic appearance. Vignette This one is limited to Photoshop. A vignette is a colored haze around the perimeter of the photo, often circular and faced around the edges. Most commonly, a vignette is white or black. To create this effect in Photoshop, use the circular selection tool to draw an oval around the center of the picture. Invert the selection and create a new fill layer. Choose your color (such as black). Finally adjust the opacity to your liking and add a Gaussian blur. It's easy and dramatic! Before and After Here is a sample photograph to show you what a different post processing can make. On the left hand side is an untouched photo. On the right side I have increased the exposure and the shadows, increased the color intensity (using the vibrance tool), created a duplicate layer and desaturated the layer except for the eyes, and added a glow affect.
If you are looking for more ideas, there are tons of tutorials online and plenty of books on the subject at your local library. Have fun with it! Tips for Taking that Perfect Photo: Timing Tips for Taking that Perfect Photo: Lighting Tips for Taking that Perfect Photo: Props Tips for Taking that Perfect Photo: Art of Distraction Learn more about Kimmama  Kim is a freelance writer and stay at home mom to her newborn, Micah. She has been married to her husband, Eric, since 2006. Relevantbaby tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Discuss this article
|
Baby categories |
