C&C on these portraits

[KHarmon]

As I said in my introduction, I have started practicing portrait photography and my kids have been my favorite victims thus far. I'm struggling with the post processing and I'm looking for comments, tips, and suggestions on what could make these pictures "pop" more.


MACI 009 retouch by KHarmon1971, on Flickr


Maci16 black and white by KHarmon1971, on Flickr


043 -1 by KHarmon1971, on Flickr

 

[MTVision]

ab copy by MT Vision Photography, on Flickr

I did a quick edit on the first picture. I'm not too good with photo editing either but I just brightened up your daughters face. She's beautiful but in the original she looked a little red...

 

[MTVision]

The second picture isn't a good black n white conversion. Its pretty much all gray. What editing program are you using???

 

[KHarmon]

The second picture isn't a good black n white conversion. Its pretty much all gray. What editing program are you using???

Corel Paintshop Photo Pro X3. I admit I have a hard time getting the black & white conversions right. Post processing is still very much a mystery to me.

KHarmon

 

[MTVision]

Post processing is still very much a mystery to me.

KHarmon

Me too...I don't bother with B/W right now due to my limited knowledge!

 

[Twisted]

Crop was only show it would show bigger. But I sharpened it and adjusted color.

 

[Chris R]

Photos #2 and #3 appear out of focus to me or possibly just a low quality jpeg?

 

[KmH]

'Pop' is created in the camera, not post process.

Another good term for 'pop' is - good subject separation from the background.

Good separation is mostly about the light, but selective focus is also a big help.

The most effective way to accomplish separation using light is to use strobed light (flash), preferably from off the camera (OCF, off camea flash) www.strobist.com. Selective focus is used by controlling the 4 factors that determine depth-of-field (DOF). Understanding Depth of Field in Photography

See also: http://neilvn.com/tangents/

Introduction to Portrait Lighting
Portraits with Two Lights: Adding a Fill Light

The Portrait Photographer: Composition

 

[SabrinaO]

You need a good background seperation and shoot wide open (or close to) for some "pop". You also need a flash because nothing gives more pop than having some light in the eyes. Heres my edit. Fixed the red saturation/luminance, fixed the tint, added some curves, dodged the eyes and face and sharpened.