Sunday, February 15, 2009

I ♥ Faces: Fix-It Friday

I love participating in Fix-It Fridays.  It is nice to get to work on other pictures and see everyone's results.  I got a late start to this because I was just downright tired on Friday night (I went to sleep when the kids went down for the night) and yesterday we spent most of the day in Denver at the Children's Museum.  I actually did the fix last night, but didn't post it.


Anyway, this darling photo below is what we worked with.  I really loved his eyes and wanted to draw them out and be the main focus.  I also loved the background - the colors were so wonderfully chosen and accent his eyes very well.


SOOC (straight out of camera)


my fixed version

I reframed the shot.  I gave his face the majority of the frame, but leaving some of the colorful background in.  I also tilted the angle a bit - I think it gives it character.  I tend to do the same things to fix a picture and adjust when necessary, but here's what I did:

(All modifications were done in Paint Shop Pro 8 - I so wish I could have Adobe, though)
  • Create two duplicate layers
  • Run Hard Light and Soft Light on one layer, went with Hard Light at 100%
  • Run Screen on the other layer, went with 100% as well (it is rare that I have 100% strength for both layers of this combination, but I think it worked well)
  • Merge (flatten) all the layers
  • Unsharp mask - I only did this just a tad (sorry I can't remember the numbers I used)
  • Eyes: since his eyes varied so much in brightness, I had to treat them a little differently.  For both eyes, I feathered them a bit (10) and unsharp mask to give them more emphasis.  For his left eye (the darker of the two), I had to brighten it just a bit so it matched his right eye.
  • Tilt and crop
  • Voila! I am finished.
Go check out their site: www.iheartfaces.com

1 comments:

angie {the arthur clan} February 15, 2009 at 7:20 PM  

Your version turned out beautiful. So glad you played along with us this week!

~Angie
co-founder of I ♥ Faces

About This Blog

My name is Mary and I'm a working mom with two beautiful children. I've worked for over seven years at a credit union, currently as an administrative assistant. Last fall, I went back to school and started on a Bachelors in Liberal Arts with an emphasis in Elementary Education.

My hobbies, when I have time, include photography, sewing, photo processing, digital scrapbook, online gaming, reading, role playing games like DnD, and board games. But what I really love doing is just being a mom to my two children, Tristan and Melayna.

Tristan, whois four, is an awesome big brother and such an intelligent little boy. He loves Transformers, animals, Dr. Seuss books, and eating.

Melayna, who is one and a half, has definitely taught her momma patience. Unlike her easy going brother, she is curious and persistent. And if something stands in her way, she will definitely let you know her displeasure. Regardless, she is a sweetheart and daddy's little girl.

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