I tried hard...

[stsinner]

#1 is great love the expressions. as mentioned, the first thing that came to mind for me was a tighter crop, really focusing on their faces to fill the entire shot. priceless stuff! :thumbup:

So the fields of grass and fallen fall leaves dont' to do a thing for the shot?? Dang! I thought it gave the illusion of a wide open space....

 

[AnthonyCorbo]

Wow..a dilemma...You took the time to edit my photo, so I don't want to sound unappreciative, but you made it so dark that I can't hardly make it out.. I do appreciate the help, believe me, but in this case, I just think a little lighter would do it justice..

Thanks for the help.

This one's a little brighter...

 

[OldClicker]

So the fields of grass and fallen fall leaves dont' to do a thing for the shot?? Dang! I thought it gave the illusion of a wide open space....

What's your subject? What detracts? Does the space lead you towards the subject or away? - TF

 

[jwsciontc]

well people walking/facing away from the camera generally dont make for good pictures in my opinion. But i like that darkened B&W one

 

[stsinner]

This one's a little brighter...

Thanks! I like it. What program did you use for the frame?

 

[Dick Sanders]

Stsinner: Here's the deal: My version of your wonderful photo doesn't have enough sepia. But last night I was in a hurry to join my wife for a movie, and I just hit the "sepia" button in PhotoShop under Image = Adjustment = photo filters = sepia. But in the real world, I wouldn't do it that way. I'd print on my Epson R2400, which has very fine black and white "toning" controls. Your version has too much sepia, is a little low on contrast, and is also too tightly cropped. If you like the wide open expanse, keep more of it, but maybe clone in some more leaves on the left side and darken the grass. But definitely get away from the color. That's the biggest flaw. People often put a lot of color photos of their children on their walls and invariably that looks bad. In almost every case, those photos look better in black and white. Just once in a while color is better -- in time, you'll know when.

Regarding frames. I was speaking of going to the frame shop, getting a generous 8-ply 100% cotton rag matte and a beatifully gilded wood frame for your sepia print. Then your photo will be a classic.

But in photoshop, an easy way to add a simple frame is to make a copy of your image and save it under a different file name, then fill it with black (edit=fill=black). Next, you want to upsize, choose edit=transform=scale, and plug 104% in the upper toolbar sizing windows for both the width and the height. You'll now have a larger black version of your original. Next, go back to your original file, and drag and drop the last layer onto the new black picture, and then use the move tool to position it squarely in the middle. You're basically creating a picture on top of a picture, but since the lower pic is black, it'll appear as a frame. Don't forget to SAVE. Another way is to make a new blank document in black -- File=New=choose slightly larger dimensions=select black. You'll now have a larger black document. Then drag and drop your orginal photo onto that, and use the move tool to center. But if you use the edit-transform=scale tool, you can upsize in perfect % proportions for both width and height, rather than trying to get the exact dimensions right in the new doc. Let me know if this isn't clear (or if I've made an error in my haste).

There are also a lot of tutorials on YouTube for making all kinds of interesting frames in photoshop. And of course, you can buy PhotoShop plug-ins that make frames. Here are two links at YouTube:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vinaST1A08g[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_3glq83MvA&feature=related[/ame]

AVATER: Finally, I'm a street photographer specializing in portraits on the street. Thought I'd hang out here a bit and help a few folks. I just recently completed a series, Faces On The Street in Los Angeles. I used one of my favorite FACES for the avatar, but I'll change it out to a self portrait -- since I'm a middle-aged white dude and not a young black girl. Sorry for the confusion -- but she's a lot more interesting looking than I am. Hey, check out my YouTube show and post a comment there. Thanks. And let me know if I can be of further help.

Faces On The Street, Los Angeles
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPm1RRn8tRQ[/ame]

 

[stsinner]

Thank you very much for your detailed post, Dick. I do often ask for pointers before doing the research myself... Guilty.. I'll look into some tutorials for ps.. Thanks again.

 

[AnthonyCorbo]

Thanks! I like it. What program did you use for the frame?

I usued Paint.net with borders plugin. Im glad you like it:thumbup:

 

[stsinner]

How's this?

 

[Dick Sanders]

Sorry to be so late responding to your framed picture, but this frame might be a little over the top (a little humor, perhaps?) Still, something like this could work. But...of course you'll need a generous off-white matte. The thing is... you don't want the frame to overpower the photo. So... I'd dial it back, but still get a good-sized matte. Nothing's worse than a framed photo without a matte. And the second worst thing is a matte that's skimpy. If you do this in 8x10, your exposed matte should be close to 2.75 to 3 inches -- or more!

 

[gob144]

that frame is cheeesy