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: