why do my edits suck

[peanut170]

Using elements 8, watch all kinds of tutorials, but cant seem to get a decent edit. not sure if my screen sucks also, but any pointers, or maybe someone can edit and tell me what they did. any helps appreciated.




turtle edit by peanut170, on Flickr


turtle by peanut170, on Flickr

 

[RobNZ]

Possibly because your contrast and saturation levels are little too high, I had a quick go on the original and the edit.

Original played with levels a bit, adjusted the contrast and vibrancy and sharpened (high pass).

edit "edit"
Lowered contrast and vibrancy/saturation

White balance is off in the edit as well I think.

 

[RobNZ]

PS: your edit doesnt suck, to suck it would have to be FUBAR. Its just a little strong, the more you practice the easier it becomes and the better your end results will be

 

[PhotoFly]

It would be helpful if you told us steps you used.

 

[peanut170]

It would be helpful if you told us steps you used.

Its been a little since i did this edit, but pretty sure i just did the levels, curves, and some saturation.

 

[PhotoFly]

Here are my quick and dirty adjustments.

1. levels -- I slid the dark slider in a little.

2. Curves -- adjusted it so the face looked nice (lightened it up)

3. Curves-- adjusted it to make the whole image dark.

4. History Brush -- I set the history brush to step #2 and with it set at about 25% I brushed the face back so it looked good again, but the background was still dark from step # 3.

5. Dodge and Burn -- Just because I can't stop myself from messing with images, I hit the face the the dodge tool (highlights 3%) and lightened up the face generally (maybe a little too much), and hit the eyes, and the cute nose and the hair against the background so it kind of glows. With the dodge tool (shadows 3%) I hit the background a little behind the hair to make the hair stand out more. Then I hit the background at the bottom of the picture to give some value contrast between it and the coat.

At some point I turned down the saturation of the coat a little.

Far from perfect, but not too bad for a start and took less time then for me to write about it.

 

[BuS_RiDeR]

My 2 cents... It may be similar to what others have done... But hey...

Using the Gimp...
Step #1 Auto WB
Step #2 Auto Color Enhance
Step #3 bump the sharpness a bit...

 

[supraman215]

Your topic title is what I think every day, and Photo Fly, that edit rocks. just need to figure out how to edit and adjust brightness and contrast in certain areas only, in GIMP. The hardest photo editor in the world to use.

 

[PhotoFly]

Oops. That should read "With the burn tool (shadows 3%) I hit the background a little behind the hair to make the hair stand out more."

 

[Derrel]

This last edit, by willc, looks decent. I think it might be best to try and use a delicate,restrained hand when editing photos. Less is more, easy does it, throttle her back, that type of thing....a little dab'll do ya, you know?

 

[peanut170]

Well i appreciate the time taken to help me out, gives me some new things to try out. guess practice is just the best way to learn, like everything. Apparently ur only allowed 3 thanks per post cause it dissapeared. So thanks again.

 

[cyngus]

peanut.. i dig your edit.. if willc didnt post his at the last minute i woulda said your photo was tops.. however i would bring out her eyes.. they are too dark and you cant see any color in them.. she has pretty eyes.. let everyone else know that

easy trick to do that.. take both photos.. put them on their own layers.. withe the original photo on top..
create a layer mask on that top layer and fill it with black
then with the paint brush tool .. paint white over the childs eyes.. to bring out the original image and make it shine through the new edited photo

makes sense?
pm me if you have any questions!

 

[brianT]

 

[sobolik]

May I beat my own chest? I will now say something profound:

Um uhm - clearing my throat.

If you know they suck then you must know why they suck. Think about that.

Now that profound comment is out of the way I suggest that the real issue is that you know what is wrong but don't know what to do to correct it. So please give a detailed explanation of why you think they suck and then those with the knowledge of how to correct that can help out.

Am I correct or did I just flop on a profundity?

 

[cyngus]

nice edit brianT.. dig the new crop