One lonely picture for C&C please

[joeamy05]

Ok, so I spent most of the day doing reading that was suggested by some on here. I finally tried manual...I think I am in love! Please tell me what you think. I am not crazy about the hairs around her face, but I am not very experienced with ps yet.

 

[farmerj]

Even my fiance says, "Well Done."

This is nice. Was it in the camera B&W or post processing?

 

[Samanax]

This image appears to be underexposed and a little dark. As a B&W conversion it's a little "murky" looking. Did you try lightening up the image?

 

[joeamy05]

This was shot in b&w. I haven't really tried to do a lot of pp, as I am a bit computer challenged. On that subject though, am I alone in feeling that if you have to do a lot of pp, it wasn't a good shot in the first place?

Anyhow, thanks for the comments..and keep em coming!

 

[Samanax]

On that subject though, am I alone in feeling that if you have to do a lot of pp, it wasn't a good shot in the first place?

No, you're not alone. There are those who try to get it right in camera so that they don't have to do much PP afterwards. And then there are those who don't mind spending time to PP their pictures to get them just right.

To me, it's the end results that matter.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

I like the photo on the dark side, it sets a nice mellow tone.

 

[yelppuppy]

I think it's great! I'm not an expert or anything, so please take my advice with a grain of salt.

If you could bring the tone of her skin up by a notch, it'll bring a wonderful contrast between soft light and the dark. I understand you don't want to do too much post processing, but tweaking the tone curve is harmless IMO. Unless you have studio lighting equipment, or a good flash that syncs with your camera, it's hard to get the right amount of light on her face while still have the dark spots.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Wait, wait! Can I change my tune?

Sometimes you just have to compare. I have to agree with SalmonAx now, after seeing it both ways. I think it still feels the same too, sooooo...

I just did an auto levels in Photoshop.

 

[NateS]

Good image, good composition. The darker one may work better if you increased the contrast a bit (unless that's what bitter jeweler did).

 

[joeamy05]

I tried that on Picasa (I don't have the ps on this computer) I kinda like the brightened tone, but that area on her nose bothered me, is it ok for it to look like that?

 

[NateS]

I tried that on Picasa (I don't have the ps on this computer) I kinda like the brightened tone, but that area on her nose bothered me, is it ok for it to look like that?

I'm the same...brightened one is better but the hotspot on the nose is a little annoying. I'm sure a happy medium could be found between the two.

Go download a program called "The Gimp". It's basically a dumbed down Photoshop and it's 100% free. It will allow you to do any basic editing you need....and more.

 

[Ryan Bradford]

Decent picture, it's a bit dark for my taste though, i think if you lightened it 1 level it would be perfect.

 

[sunlou]

I think LightRoom is a god way to go for beginners and ''computer challenged'' photographers Very very straight forward on the operation you can do with your pictures and reacts pretty well to modififying exposure, fills contrasts or brightness. If I were you i'd give it a try

 

[joeamy05]

I gave my photoshop a try, what do you think? I am still a bit unhappy with the area on her nose and above her eyebrow.

But I agree, looking at it lightened up, the original is murky

 

[NateS]

Better, but the second one has a definite yellow tone which I personally don't care for.