Help me make this photo pop!

[Reyna]

Hey guys!

I really love this picture of my family, but I feel like my edit is off. The sooc was dark and the skin color was slightly off. What would you do or what can I do to really make the picture POP? Also, do you think our skin color is off? Thank you!!!

You can edit if you like, and yes I do have the unedited version, too.

 

[Braineack]

i find that really dark...

 

[JustJazzie]

Beautiful shot, and beautiful family!

Mine looks pretty close to @Braineack 's :wave:

First, I cropped it, ever so slightly. The original was just a bit off center. To balance the frame, I feel like there needs to be an equal amount of space on either side of each boys head, in relation to the two thirds grids lines.
I brought up the shadows, and then brought down the blacks a bit more. I upped the vibrance, then desaturated the orange channel. Finally, I dodged the faces which I felt needed a little "fill light."

EDIT: I was thinking perhaps, that my first edit didn't "pop" in the context you were looking for.... For this version, I did all of the above and the adjusted the yellow hue/saturation layer in photoshop.
How to Make Colors Pop in Photoshop

 

[Reyna]

Thank you guys, you're right, it was dark. How is this one? Any better? It's just this one photo I can't seem to get right on...

 

[Reyna]

Or this one?

 

[Derrel]

NOT much "meat" to work with in editing on such a tiny, compressed file, which has already been converted top a mere 8-bit file...

1

Has a lot more "Pop!", almost to the point of ridiculousness...but hey, it might appeal to some people. Again..the file offered for editing is way too small and skimpy for effective 'editing'...photos can easily become cartoonish when a tiny file like that is edited. MORE DATA to pixel-push with will almost always help any image that needed strong changes in editing; ideally, a 14-bit or 12-bit raw image is the best place for a d-slr edit to begin, but those are difficult/impossible to offer up on most web browsers, unless the original file is uploaded to DropBox or another site that can handle raw images.

 

[Peeb]

I like the crop a bit tighter.

 

[Piccell]

 

[micr0cell]

Perhaps consider using the apply image function to color grade your photo and carry over the golden glow from the sunset throughout the image. Also, a subtle vignette and possibly a slight background blur may bring the focus back to your good looking family.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

 

[The_Traveler]

You have sabotaged yourself a bit here.
All the clothing colors and patterns clash a lot and provide a good deal of distraction.
You've included the sunset at the top and thus the image gets bigger and people get smaller.
By including all the feet, to the very end, you end up with lots of space that does nothing but allow attention to drift away.

IMO, everyone's still great looking, get them into more coordinated outfits and shoot it again.

(Beware of vignettes that look like the sourroundings are on fire)

 

[KmH]

It lacks pop because the light quality was poor and needed to be supplemented with additional light - like from a flash unit or 2 modified by brollys, softboxes, or shoot through umbrellas. While post process editing can help, getting the light right there on-location is a way better way to go about it.
Direction & Quality of Light: Your Key to Better Portrait Photography Anywhere
Off-Camera Flash: Techniques for Digital Photographers
On-Camera Flash: Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography

A hand held light meter for measuring reflected, incident, and strobe lighting (flash) is a pretty much essential tool if one wants to consistently make high quality portraits, both on-location or in a studio. The in-the-camera light meter is only capable of metering reflected light.
Sekonic L-478D-U Lightmeter

 

[Piccell]

POP is also created with contrast. Increasing contrast gives an enhanced depth to the image and sets things apart dynamically. The idea that the family needs to wear certain clothes to take a good picture is ludicrous. "Ok kids, go put on the family photo uniforms so I can take a picture now." LOL

 

[photo1x1.com]

I love that image - just about the style I like most. Here is my try.
I found it could use some more of the golden hour look it was shot in, I felt it looked a little cool.
Also I found the bright spot a little distracting, so I added a little flair to remove the detail, cropped a bit so that it is a little more off center (well, some like it, others don´ ).
And finally I added a little more local contrast. So here is my after and before (I also tried some vintage versions - looks good too).

 

[photo1x1.com]

For what it´s worth, here is one "vintage" version too. For my taste the image asks for it But tastes are different

 

[Braineack]

POP is also created with contrast. Increasing contrast gives an enhanced depth to the image and sets things apart dynamically. The idea that the family needs to wear certain clothes to take a good picture is ludicrous. "Ok kids, go put on the family photo uniforms so I can take a picture now." LOL

you've added contrast to the image for sure, but it still lacks "pop".

the blown out sky is now dull and far from brilliant, and coupled with the pitch black treeline, and completely unnecessary vignette, it's beginning to look gloomy as oppose to a brilliant fall sunset.

there's no white in your image, and it's still way too dark overall.

the grass/reeds looks dull and unnatural.

the hue is leaning green.

and colors are simply under-saturated.



this is a family portrait...