Am I a photo editing addict?

[ErikaMarie]

I take photos like this:
(unedited)
Picasa Web Albums - Erika Marie

& constantly turn them into photos like this:
Picasa Web Albums - Erika Marie
or this:
Picasa Web Albums - Erika Marie


Am I over-editing for the sake of being artistic? I love making the colors more vibrant and I love making the photos look older than they are... My husband doesn't like it. He prefers more of a raw image with some airbrushing.

Your thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[dandaluzphotography]

You should do whatever it is YOU like. You own it.



Danny

 

[ErikaMarie]

Well, I can do whatever it is I like... but if other people don't like it... lol

I'd like to be able to get to a point where someone might actually like my photos enough to pay for them. I know I am a long way from there, though.

 

[nonamexx]

It's not artistic. It's just over-saturation of colours. I am not sure what else you applied to the photo though since it's not obvious.

 

[ErikaMarie]

I don't generally mess with saturation... but I do vibrance. I'm addicted to vibrance, I think.

I think art varies by opinion, regardless.

 

[Overread]

You must have done something other than vibrance on this shot since you've not only got a far more saturated shot, but you've also changed her hair red.


I would also say that you've pushed things a little too far since if you look at her red top in the edits you can see that data is being lost - that is as a result of pushing the reds so far that they are clipping (overexposing). Try viewing an RGB histogram and view the red channel only.

​

 

[KmH]

It's not artistic. It's just over-saturation of colours. I am not sure what else you applied to the photo though since it's not obvious.

At least in your opinion.

Art is totally subjective.

For the OP, your work will appeal to some, but probably not to the the majority of people.

 

[nonamexx]

It's not artistic. It's just over-saturation of colours. I am not sure what else you applied to the photo though since it's not obvious.

At least in your opinion.

Art is totally subjective.

For the OP, your work will appeal to some, but probably not to the the majority of people.

Art may be subjective but I fail to see how taking a photo and applying a filter strongly to it turns it into art.

Yes, I understand the basic point made and I respect that the OP considers it a good job, but the art argument is often over-used in undeserving ways.

 

[ErikaMarie]

You must have done something other than vibrance on this shot since you've not only got a far more saturated shot, but you've also changed her hair red.


I would also say that you've pushed things a little too far since if you look at her red top in the edits you can see that data is being lost - that is as a result of pushing the reds so far that they are clipping (overexposing). Try viewing an RGB histogram and view the red channel only.

​

That was an attempt to get rid of her roots. However, I only used it on the top of her head. The color change over the rest of her hair was because I boosted the vibrance as far as I could go. The 2nd was warmed to create an older looking photo while the first used an Ortonish technique that was created by the software. I find myself drawn to both styles.

 

[ErikaMarie]

It's not artistic. It's just over-saturation of colours. I am not sure what else you applied to the photo though since it's not obvious.

At least in your opinion.

Art is totally subjective.

For the OP, your work will appeal to some, but probably not to the the majority of people.

Art may be subjective but I fail to see how taking a photo and applying a filter strongly to it turns it into art.

Yes, I understand the basic point made and I respect that the OP considers it a good job, but the art argument is often over-used in undeserving ways.

I never once said it was a good job. If I thought I did a good job, I wouldn't be here asking for others opinions. I am a complete newb. I am a model trying to venture behind the camera. I bought myself what I consider to be this fancy schmancy camera (I know it's pretty amateur but it was recommended by my old agent/photographer friend to start out on.) I am playing with it without any previous knowledge of how to work any camera other than a point & shoot. I found this photo editing software and seem to want to oversaturate my photos (even though I don't actually touch the saturation specifically) and I guess I'm trying to find a happy medium so I can get the vibrant colors I want but my photos will be liked by more than just a few.

 

[nonamexx]

I never once said it was a good job. If I thought I did a good job, I wouldn't be here asking for others opinions. I am a complete newb. I am a model trying to venture behind the camera. I bought myself what I consider to be this fancy schmancy camera (I know it's pretty amateur but it was recommended by my old agent/photographer friend to start out on.) I am playing with it without any previous knowledge of how to work any camera other than a point & shoot. I found this photo editing software and seem to want to oversaturate my photos (even though I don't actually touch the saturation specifically) and I guess I'm trying to find a happy medium so I can get the vibrant colors I want but my photos will be liked by more than just a few.

No offence. I thought the un-edited picture was good enough without needing extra vibrancy of colours.

Of course you should play around with it and learn and experiment. That's the only way to get better.

On a side note: when using photo editing software always be aware that when editing JPEGs and re-saving them, there's always a downgrade in image quality and it's progressive as JPEG is a lossy format.

And applying certain filters on an image reduces detail or introduces "noise".

So long as you keep in mind these factors, you'll be fine.

 

[ErikaMarie]

No offence. I thought the un-edited picture was good enough without needing extra vibrancy of colours.

Of course you should play around with it and learn and experiment. That's the only way to get better.

On a side note: when using photo editing software always be aware that when editing JPEGs and re-saving them, there's always a downgrade in image quality and it's progressive as JPEG is a lossy format.

And applying certain filters on an image reduces detail or introduces "noise".

So long as you keep in mind these factors, you'll be fine.

I debated whether I should keep my camera in RAW. The image software I use doesn't seem to like RAW images... It gets super slow. Until I can afford photoshop, I am not sure if there is something better to use... I'm using Picnik, which is probably a big faux pas in & of itself... I chose the JPEG so I could edit more easily and since I was just playing around with the camera, I didn't think anyone would notice. lol

I have a lot to learn.

 

[nonamexx]

No offence. I thought the un-edited picture was good enough without needing extra vibrancy of colours.

Of course you should play around with it and learn and experiment. That's the only way to get better.

On a side note: when using photo editing software always be aware that when editing JPEGs and re-saving them, there's always a downgrade in image quality and it's progressive as JPEG is a lossy format.

And applying certain filters on an image reduces detail or introduces "noise".

So long as you keep in mind these factors, you'll be fine.

I debated whether I should keep my camera in RAW. The image software I use doesn't seem to like RAW images... It gets super slow. Until I can afford photoshop, I am not sure if there is something better to use... I'm using Picnik, which is probably a big faux pas in & of itself... I chose the JPEG so I could edit more easily and since I was just playing around with the camera, I didn't think anyone would notice. lol

I have a lot to learn.

JPEG is perfectly fine if you're not going to edit the same image multiple times or save it at an unreasonably low quality setting.

Save at the highest possible quality setting. Loss of quality will be less.

However, some people have no choice regarding RAW since the camera doesn't support it. Most P & S cameras don't support RAW at all these days.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

but the art argument is often over-used in undeserving ways.

:hug::

 

[LuckySe7en]

I think you're a junkie. and your drug of choice is killing you.