Before and After | Purple Pearls and Sunshine

I love photo challenges!! It helps me to improve on my photography, and editing skills.  I recently came across a new one called, Before and After ... a weekly challenge hosted by Monica over on her blog ... Pixel Perfect!  Each Thursday you would enter an SOOC, {aka: 'straight-out-of-the-camera' image}, any theme, along with an edited version of the same photo.  You then share the 'recipe' ... your equipment used and editing program, and if possible, your step-by-step process on the edited version.  Once you've entered and linked up to her site, you can have fun checking out the other entries on the list!

This, being my first entry, and since I haven't been out and about with my camera too much lately ... {one reason being the weather, and more importantly, my son recently got married, :) and our life has been quite full in the past couple of months} ... so, I've chosen to enter one I took on a very sunny, warm day this past fall, just before the 'winter to remember' began!  This photo reminds me of the warmer days to come ... are you as ready as I am?!  This is my great niece, Little Miss Rylie.  She loves her purple 'pearls', and the sunshine.  I really love to capture the innocence of childhood, and you'll probably be seeing a lot of this little girl! 

As you can see the original 'sooc' image was a bit dark, and 'splotchy' ... it wasn't as sharp as I'd like it, either.  I had just gotten a new lens ... 50mm f/1.8, which I was testing out on a Canon 30D, my current camera.  It's been a little while since I edited this, but if my memory serves me correctly, using PSE7, I simply brightened up the image, adjusted the colors and contrast, got rid of the noise {something I still seem to have trouble with, but I'm working on it!}  Once I saw this, I couldn't stop there, and went one step further ... I hope it's okay for this challenge, but, I really liked this image in b/w, so just today, I converted the first edit and added a 'mocha' layer to it, warming it up just a bit, and finally adjusting the contrast. 

So, there you have it ... my first Before and After entry on Pixel Perfect.  I'd so appreciate your thoughts on these.  After a few years of 'practice', I am now working on getting my business off the ground this year.  I'm open to any encouragement along with some kind, constructive criticism! :)  I'm looking forward to meeting some new friends over at Pixel Perfect, and learning lots more about this passion of mine!  

To join in, or to see more Before and After images, just click on the logo below the edits! 
You all have a happy and blessed day!  ~ Deborah

I Heart Faces | Fix-it-Friday #85

You have got to admit ... this little girl is an absolute doll!  I couldn't resist working on this image, taken by Julie Rivera, of her own daughter, even tho it's a bit past Friday.  Most images will probably be sharpened up more than the original, but I felt the edits of this one should stay in a softer focus.  The first one is the original image by Julie.  I played around a lot with these last night, and my recipes below are as close as I could get to what I did.  Would love your thoughts on these!

*To see more edits of this sweet little face, or to join in on Friday's fun, just click the button below! 
Have a warm and wonderful weekend!  We're expecting more snow here ... how's your weather? :)

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My first edit: (Using PSE7)

cropped . reduced noise . brightened her eyes . levels adjustment . duplicated layer .
screen blending change . sharpened a bit and flattened.

Second edit: (using the first edit)
sharpened a bit more . b/w conversion . color fill layer .
adjusted contrast/brightness . flattened . added a light vignette.

Third edit: (using the first edit)
added a 'pretty in pink' texture layer . soft light blending change . flattened

Fourth edit: (using the first edit)
added a yellow photo filter . adjusted levels .
added melon colored gradient layer at bottom of image for softening effect . added a light vignette.

First image is SOOC ... By Julie Rivera

I Heart Faces | Fix-it-Friday #84

I can't believe how fast this week has passed!  It's already another Fix-it-Friday over on I Heart Faces!  This week's photo is from the extremely talented Keli Hoskins!  It was the first time I'd been to her website, Kidnapped By Suburbia, and I'll definitely be going back again!  The original image below is of her adorable little girl, and as you can see it has some shadowing, and color issues, which were a bit more challenging then previous fixes.  Some have been requesting more difficult images to fix, and I do believe we got one this time!  I've had a lot going on this week, and a bit preoccupied ... my son is getting married out of state, and we're preparing for their homecoming mid-February, so my steps are not as detailed as usual, and I only did two edits this time.

Using PSE7, I began by cropping the image, did some color and contrast adjustments ... then using the brush tool, I worked at smoothing out the shadows on her face, and that sweet knitted hat.  I then added a gradient layer to mimic a sun flair ... finished it off with a texture layer from Shadow House Creations, giving it a vintage sort of feel.  The second edit is the first one without the texture, which I converted to b/w, adjusted sharpness, and contrast, then added a different SHC texture giving it more of a coffee tone.  I'm sorry about not having more detailed instructions, but I can say that it took quite a few steps to get these results, and I wish I'd had time to do a better job on these, but I'd still like to know what you think.  In any event, I'm anxious to see how others did with this one, too!  If you'd like to join me, just click on the logo below the images! 

Have a blessed weekend!

. original image .