First try at lightroom beta, C & C Please!

[Inst!nct]

from what i now know about LR...LR and PShop are totally different animals.

that's like comparing bridge and PShop.

try noiseninja for noise reduction.

Comparing photoshop and lightroom (which OP cant afford) to more expensive programs OP cant afford FTL

, but yes, correct

 

[SrBiscuit]

indeed.

 

[kundalini]

Um, noise is is generally the effect of having a high ISO on cheapish SLR's, .......

I've gotten noise from my D700, which by the way, is not cheap. My understanding is that (digital) noise is pushing the envelop and an affect of exceeding the dynamic range of your scene. With digital editing it is most likely due to bringing up the shadows from an underexposed shot. Your original is not underexposed, but because of your edits, it rears its ugly head.

I think this Jacki is a perfect example of what we all are guilty of in the early days of editing. Your saturation is over the top and unbelievable TBH. The greens are too green and the yellows are lost because of the boost in contrast. I say this because you have done nothing more than make a decent shot into an unbelievable one. As already mentioned, subtlety is a better route to take.

wether

Either add an "H" or an "A".

 

[Jacki]

Um, noise is is generally the effect of having a high ISO on cheapish SLR's, .......

I've gotten noise from my D700, which by the way, is not cheap. My understanding is that (digital) noise is pushing the envelop and an affect of exceeding the dynamic range of your scene. With digital editing it is most likely due to bringing up the shadows from an underexposed shot. Your original is not underexposed, but because of your edits, it rears its ugly head.

I think this Jacki is a perfect example of what we all are guilty of in the early days of editing. Your saturation is over the top and unbelievable TBH. The greens are too green and the yellows are lost because of the boost in contrast. I say this because you have done nothing more than make a decent shot into an unbelievable one. As already mentioned, subtlety is a better route to take.

wether

Either add an "H" or an "A".

I've been editing photos for awhile, this is just my first attempt playing with Adobe Lightroom. I wasn't aiming for believable colors, or I wouldn't have added so much saturation. I don't understand what the big deal with saturation is, is it not okay to take a photo and tweak the hues in it to make them far different? I don't think my edited photo is an eyesore or anything...
Are there any decent free versions of photoshop that anyone knows of?

Oh, and my camera is not an SLR, its a GE A735 7mp that I got on sale at Kmart a couple of years ago.

 

[kundalini]

I wasn't aiming for believable colors, or I wouldn't have added so much saturation. I don't understand what the big deal with saturation is, is it not okay to take a photo and tweak the hues in it to make them far different? I don't think my edited photo is an eyesore or anything...

True, your camera, your vision. My bad for making assumptions. However in my eye, you have done nothing to this image that "greatly" enhances or changes the dynamics of the image. The subject is still quite centered and lacks that "umph" to make it more interesting. The saturation and boosted contrast do nothing more for me than say it is an attempt to make something interesting out of a mundane shot in the first place.

TBH, I am NOT much of a PP editor. I do very basic stuff as a rule. However, if you're shooting Shasta Daisy's for instance, try something outside of the lines (sorry for the pat response) such as this, not that this is the best example by any means. There are a million and one ways to show off flowers, but centered and over-saturated is not necessarily the best. It's just a matter of enhancing what Mother Nature provides us as a blank canvas.

 

[Jacki]

The subject is still quite centered and lacks that "umph" to make it more interesting. The saturation and boosted contrast do nothing more for me than say it is an attempt to make something interesting out of a mundane shot in the first place.

That's exactly what it is...the original picture did not turn out the way that I wanted it to, and I took the pictures in an area that is not very nearby, so I thought I would play with the colors and try to make it a little less disappointing.

Thank you for the advice!