Wednesday, September 29, 2010

BW Wednesday: My Own Sweet Isabel

And now time for a picture of my Isabel. After years of loving to have her picture taken, she has not been all that interested lately. (I am sure hoping it is a stage!) However, experience has taught me that a little bribery has been known to work at times. So... last weekend we headed out to the beach for a shoot late in the day to catch the sunset. I was excited to work with evening light, as I have only shot during the morning. Unfortunately, we got there too late and the pictures came out way too dark. I was really disappointed. This was an example of what I got.


I have to say, had I not gone to Lisa's photography workshop last July, I surely would have deleted all of the pictures. Fortunately, (despite the breakdown on the grassy knoll on day two of the workshop) I actually DID learn to shoot in RAW and was able to put what I learned to the test. It's amazing what you can salvage in this format. And, with the help of Maddy, I also (finally) figured out how to use textures.

The first image below is with the editing in Photoshop with the exposure, including my first attempt at textures. I really like how it came out but was still a bit confused on using masks to soften the effect of the texture overlay on the subject.

I went back through my notes and finally figured it out. I continue to be amazed at all I learned at the workshop. At times I thought my brain was going to burst but slowly... it is all starting to click. A big thank you to the wonderful ladies who were so very patient and kind. It paid off. I never would have guessed that this final picture could have come from that first dark one.
I really love it. What do you think?


And, as always, be sure to pop on over and see more B+W photos by clicking here:

the long road

16 comments:

Diana said...

i really like your editing! Lovely!

Kayce said...

I love the editing! That is a wonderful capture!

Wanda said...

Really, really REALLY well done girl!!! Funny, how it's all slowly seeping in. It's the same for me too. Slowly being the operative word here.

Seriously, you did a great job with this pic.

Annelie said...

Good work on both of them, I love to play with photos, just like did here!

Buckeroomama said...

I think you did really well at salvaging the original picture! The textures work perfectly. :)

Erika B said...

Beautiful editing. You must be so happy that you didn't deleted anything. Really well done!

Erika B

Justine said...

you've done a fantastic job on the editing and textures, they are great.

Love Letters To China said...

You did a fantastic job at post-processing. Love the final results!

Ewa said...

I love your edit! great!!!

Laura said...

Wow - great job lightening up the photo! I love the black & white conversion and texture! :)

Faith Hope Love Photography said...

Wow...stunning and I love what you did to it!! I LOVE RAW too!! he/he

LivingSimply, SimplyLiving said...

WOW, that is amazing that the final product came from that original photo...and your sweetie is looking as cute as ever:)

Freckles & Dimples Photography said...

Beautiful job with the editing! I love the feel you captured with the end result.

Mackenzie said...

Adorable! What a beautiful photo transformation!

Half Gaelic, Half Garlic! said...

It is BEAUTIFUL!!! You did a fabulous job saving the photo........she is gorgeous. Great job my friend....so proud of you~

xoxo,

Lisa

Donna said...

So pretty! I don't use textures as much as I should. They really do make a photo special!

Isn't it amazing what you can fix if you shoot in RAW? :)

Donna
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