Help with editting Engagement pictures?

Britta G

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Can others edit my Photos
Photos OK to edit
I took some engagement pictures as a favor to a friend, and now I'm in the editing process and can't seem to figure out how to get the look I want. I'm self taught in editting portion, and will be going to school in January to learn more. Unfortunately I can't wait until then. I use gimp and am trying to figure out how to make my pictures pop, but not too much.

Thanks to NateWagner I was able to figure out how to upload a photo. So here is an example of a photo that I would like to make pop.
DSC_0462.jpg
 
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Well, for making images pop there are a number of tutorials available online, Tutorial is one such example.

For posting images online, simply google free image hosting.
Photobucket is a good one that even provides the links to the images so you can copy and paste them into the posts here at The Photo Forum

Also, just as an FYI... Editing, only has one "t"

Good luck, and I look forward to seeing your images.
 
Seeing as you're a first-time poster and it's likely that this is the entire reason you joined the forum, I suggest changing your "My Photos Are NOT OK to Edit" line into the "My Photos Are OK to Edit." This can be done in your User CP. Then some kind members may do a little tinkering with the JPG you post, post it, and let you know how they did it.
 
Do you have any other photos to edit? This one isn't the best to start with. Here are some problems that I notice with the picture right away.

The support wire next to the lady. It is very distracting. Be aware of your background.

The picture needs to be straightened. The horizon is not level.

Focus is soft on the people, but sharp on the rocks and foreground.

At best this is just a snapshot.

Photo Editing can't make a bad photo good. It can help make a good photo good. The best pictures don't need any editing at all.

The Good:
The couple does have a nice pose and smile.

-Andy
 
well, I'm not sure I would go so far as to say that at best this is just a snapshot.

It's not level, but that's an easy fix.
There are distractions, but that doesn't make it a snapshot, just a portrait with something to learn in the future. Also, the wire can be cloned out quite easily with editing.

Focus is a little soft, but not terrible.

also, Photo Editing can make a bad shot acceptable, and good editing can make a good shot really good.

The best pictures you will ever see will always have editing done to them. One could go so far as to say that it is impossible to have an image that doesn't have any editing done to it (whether it's done in the computer of the camera or one's own personal computer). Or in the olden days in the lab.

Edit, if you want me to I would be happy to show one version of what this image could look like.
 
I do have other photos from the session this was just one that the person had marked down as her favorite, and I haven't done any touch ups on it at all yet. I do need to clone out the wire.

Nate,

I do not mind if people edit my photos to show me. I need to change that on my profile. Thanks for the help. I'm very new at photography so any help I can get is great.

If it helps I have added 3 more photos from the session. There are just too many, but they at least give the different lighting aspects for each place we went.

DSC_0414fix.jpg


DSC_0344.jpg






DSC_0079.jpg

 
here's a quick edit i did in photoshop:

before:

DSC_0462.jpg


after:

DSC_0462e.jpg


played with the levels and curves a bit to fix the color and white balance a bit. she was more tan than he, so i stuck a layer on top of him and grabbed the skin pigment from her and colored over him. also did her right arm a bit since it was also a bit bluish. i wish i could tell you the exact settings, but to be honest i just played with the sliders a bit until the image looked better.

im not very good with cloning out stuff, but i gave the wire a try.

to finish it off i used a high pass filter (set on overlay blending mode) to sharpen the edges at a radius of 1.
 
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alright, I went ahead and did a little example of what you could do. This is by no means perfect (though I think it does look better full sized than shrunk down like this).

Image on left is original, on right is edit.
example.jpg
 

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