That is alright! I was just playing around... I keep getting told to adjust my images in PS (or some similar program), when I thought that the original was alright. Maybe the problem is just the basics, and a retake would be better... That is what I wanted, just honest imput. Thanks for your feedback! Maybe the problem is the shadow on her face...
Cute shot!.....just want to add that the edited version appears to be to ove exposed or even washed out on the legs and arms. Perhaps add some tint by useing 'curves" and or 'shadow/highlights" adjustments. Just needs to be a bit more underexposed. Everthing else seems fine or better....good luck and have fun.
I like the edited one a million times more. I think the over-exposed look suits the type of photo it is down to a tee, and the colours look much nicer :)
I think somewhere right in-between would make a nice-happy medium. The second does make it feel a little bit too overexposed and just a tad bit too much contrast. I will agree that the first is a little flat in lighting and contrast, if you mess the levels a little bit and use a little less contrast, I think that would help quite a bit. Keep working with it and let us know how it goes. Sometimes it takes a great deal of practice and patience.
if you have photoshop CS, you should play around with the "shadows/highlights" tool (image>adjustments>shadows/highlights)
be sure to click the "more options" box to expand the tool to actually be useable. and be ready for an over anxious PS to really screw with the tonality of an image as it tries to "take its best shot" (its really not very good at all). anyway, the sliders are as follows:
Amount - pretty self explanatory. dictates the amount of the highlight or shadow
Tonal Width - this is the "spectrum" that you'll be playing with. the lower the percentage, the fewer shades you'll be affecting.
Radius - this is like your "brush" radius. using a larger diameter will create a smoother effect.
if you like the overexposed look (i often used to shoot iso800 film with my camera set at iso400) i would try adding a bit of noise or grain to the image.
For me I like original better then either of the edited photos. Instead of adjusting the whole photo you might try brightening the face just a bit, select the face area then feather and use levels to brighten it, but just a little bit.
For me I like original better then either of the edited photos. Instead of adjusting the whole photo you might try brightening the face just a bit, select the face area then feather and use levels to brighten it, but just a little bit.
I still think that I like the original, but with the gradated blurred background, I did that in all of the edits.
My vote is for the original shot. I think the edited looks way to high key (over exposed). The first one does have some shadow in the face but it is natural shadow and her expression is very clear. The only beef I have is that the colors in her shirt and shorts are a bit desaturated looking. The two edited versions only make that worse. I don't think you need to tinker with the shot as much as is being discussed.
I find that the Auto adjust setting in any software tends to overexpose an image. I'm very new to photoshop but have been getting some good tonal effects using the adjustment layers with saturation and contrast/brightness.
