My first go at senior portraits

[jowensphoto]

Actions aren't so bad if you know how to use them and adjust them to fit your specific photo. If you are a fan of actions, check out coffeeshopblog.com. The blogger gives tutorials for customizing each action. This is really helping me learn the different tools/functions in photoshop.

Eventually you can create your own actions so you can cut down your work flow, the adjust accordingly.

 

[cgipson1]

OP.. if you are shooting and charging people for it... you seriously need to consider getting a monitor calibration setup! It will greatly enhance your photos.... by allowing you to see and work with your images exactly the way they will print.

That is the second time I have seen reference to this. Can you tell me more about it? I have an HP laptop with a 17" monitor that is supposed to be for gaming and entertainment.

Let me google that for you

Just need to pickup a hardware calibration device, and use it on your monitor.... so the software can set a good profile for you. Fairly easy, and makes a HUGE difference!

 

[amolitor]

I think the set of three are all quite lovely. Yes they appear "overexposed" but that is clearly an effect, a deliberate choice and as such you have to ask whether it works or not. I think it works, it adds a feeling of dreamy warmth to the whole thing which is pretty effective. It's an idiom we see a fair bit, and for excellent reason. In all cases, you've done an excellent job placing her in the frame, and she looks smashing in all of them. One quibble on the 3rd one, see below.

In terms of color balance, the only thing she's likely to care about or notice is her teeth. Make them look white, without making the rest of the photograph look like it was taken on Mars and you'll be fine.

The first photo has a bit of hair behind her lips (visually aligned with her mouth, that is, and on the far side of her head), which makes her mouth look odd. If there's some others in that series, I'd look through them for one that does NOT have this mis-feature. I wish the third one had a touch more space on the right, rather than cutting her off, but that's a very minor quibble.

 

[christen2484]

I think the set of three are all quite lovely. Yes they appear "overexposed" but that is clearly an effect, a deliberate choice and as such you have to ask whether it works or not. I think it works, it adds a feeling of dreamy warmth to the whole thing which is pretty effective. It's an idiom we see a fair bit, and for excellent reason. In all cases, you've done an excellent job placing her in the frame, and she looks smashing in all of them. One quibble on the 3rd one, see below.

In terms of color balance, the only thing she's likely to care about or notice is her teeth. Make them look white, without making the rest of the photograph look like it was taken on Mars and you'll be fine.

The first photo has a bit of hair behind her lips (visually aligned with her mouth, that is, and on the far side of her head), which makes her mouth look odd. If there's some others in that series, I'd look through them for one that does NOT have this mis-feature. I wish the third one had a touch more space on the right, rather than cutting her off, but that's a very minor quibble.

YESSSS!!! This is what I was going for. Dreamy warmth. Thanks so much for the constructive criticism!! I will definitely take it all to heart and apply it to future sessions!!

 

[christen2484]

Actions aren't so bad if you know how to use them and adjust them to fit your specific photo. If you are a fan of actions, check out coffeeshopblog.com. The blogger gives tutorials for customizing each action. This is really helping me learn the different tools/functions in photoshop.

Eventually you can create your own actions so you can cut down your work flow, the adjust accordingly.

This is a coffeeshopblog.com action. Sun kissed.

 

[jowensphoto]

Ah, I thought that sounded familiar. Check out Velvet Cream, that one is quite subtle.

 

[tirediron]

Call Sanford and Son, this hardware won't cut it for professional pic processing

Not true at all. While a laptop isn't ideal, it can work. I use a higher-end HP laptop for my 'on the road' editing and it works quite well. The problem with laptops is ensuring that you're looking at the screen at a constant angle. I have a zone-system chart that I bring up, and as long as I can see distinct gradations, I know that my screen is at "correct" angle.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

Call Sanford and Son, this hardware won't cut it for professional pic processing

Not true at all. While a laptop isn't ideal, it can work. I use a higher-end HP laptop for my 'on the road' editing and it works quite well. The problem with laptops is ensuring that you're looking at the screen at a constant angle. I have a zone-system chart that I bring up, and as long as I can see distinct gradations, I know that my screen is at "correct" angle.

Yeah I was wrong for the blanket statement. I use a laptop when processing raw files on work business travels too. But I still peek at them on the iMac Thunderbolt monitor upon return and most of the time tweak before I distribute the pics

MY laptop is for Sanford and Son, its just not good enough for me. <---more accurate heh