#1, #2, or don't quit your day job?

[juljoh70]

 

[Mgw189]

I really dont get what you are asking to be honest.... None of these shots do anything for me.

 

[juljoh70]

humm...well I am self teaching photoshop...and I guess i want to know if I am headed in the right direction or totally off base... I shall take from your comment that I shouldn't quit my day job.. Im just learning so I suppost looking for c&c.

 

[amshe]

The first one of the last set is too dark, and the second one of the last set is too bright, just under and over exposure. But don't get me wrong, sometimes those work, like underexposure if you're trying to go for a moody look, or overexposure if you're trying to go for a clean "heavenly" look (think models who are just doing skin commercials in black and white, thats the best way i can describe it) but for children i think you should be able to see all their details and see how cute they are!

 

[juljoh70]

Just a reply to your message... i appreciate your comment... im still learning.... the day was bright and the second one in the second set was straight out of camera... and I was attempting to take it from over exposed to properly exposed... I missed the mark..LOL back to the drawing board!

 

[manaheim]

Are you already comfortable with photoshop for making your photos look normal and appropriate and just looking to figure out the other stuff? If not, I might focus on the basics first.

 

[EhJsNe]

I think a combination of one and two would be prefect. Or just get it to where it looks right. Doesnt matter if its a little to dark or too bright. Just make it look good.

And about the third hand in the second shot.....its rather wierd.

 

[bdavis]

Don't quit your day job quite yet.

None of these shots are that good. The color ones are terrible. The color ones are not sharp, and the colors themselves just aren't realistic for some reason.

The black and whites are better, but neither one of those seem that sharp. I dont care for the vignette, it doesnt add anything to the photo. The other one lacks contrast and the highlights are blown.

 

[dcclark]

You need to work on composition, framing, and other basics before you worry about Photoshop. I'm not saying that in direct critique of your photos here, but in general: photoshop can only help make good photos better. It can't do all of the work for you. I'd go work more on the basics, and don't worry about post-processing until you can get a great photo straight out of the camera first.

 

[SrBiscuit]

don't quit your day job...OR photography...OR post processing

keep doing all of them, and enjoy them!
i like the hi-key feel of 2b., but the subject matter could be better...not that the kid isnt cute, just that particular shot of him isnt ideal.

keep shooting and learning.
like others have said, focus on the basics of photography before you jump into heavy PP.

 

[Dagwood56]

I agree with dcclark, you need to get a good shot out of camera before worrying about learning the ins and outs of photo shop.

You might want to take a look at two books by Bryan Peterson "Understanding Exposure" and "Learning to see Creatively". They will help give you a good grasp on the basics.

 

[bigtwinky]

By saying you were trying to adjust exposure, I am assuming that you were shooting in JPG and trying to adjust things like brightness and contrast in Photoshop?

If this is the case, then I'd suggest shooting in RAW. When shooting in RAW, you will be able to easily tweak exposure as you would when taking the shot before importing into Photoshop.

If this is not the case, then I just spent 40 seconds typing something for nothing