The more my interest in photography expands, the more I learn. Which, in a lot of ways, is super exciting...the only problem is, it makes me want to go back in time and do a whole bunch of pictures over. I look back at even some of the pictures I have posted on this blog in the past and kinda cringe because I have since learned better ways the shot could have been taken. I guess we all have to learn the hard way, right? I still have a LONG way to go and my pictures have lots of room for improvement, but I'm having fun learning and experimenting. My latest interest is in editing. It took me quite a while before I even started experimenting with anything besides cropping the pictures. I would look at pictures taken by photographers that I really like and think to myself "how on earth did they do that." It wasn't until I started getting more into it that I realized that a lot of the cool and artistic effects I find myself drawn to are done in the editing stage. So...I did a little investigating and found that several photographers that I like use Photoshop CS3. I then found myself wanting to try it out...I was super excited when C.J. downloaded a trial version for me to play around with (because who really wants to spend $700 on something they're not even sure if they like?). Ok, seriously people...do you take classes on the darn program or what? It is SO beyond me. I have spent quite a bit of time playing around with it and am realizing that using Photoshop itself is an art form that has to be learned and improved upon. At this point, I can do nothing more than adjust exposure, colors, etc... the very basics that even iPhoto can do. So, I'm pretty much at a stand still at this point unless anyone wants to give me some lessons. But, I AM realizing that photos (at least mine...maybe if I were an incredible photographer this wouldn't be the case) can look a WHOLE lot better with just a little bit of editing. And this is one thing that I look back on and cringe...I have taken so many photos that would look quite a bit better if I had only spent a bit more time editing. Here is an example. This is a photo I posted of Grant a while ago (I originally did no editing to it and just posted it right out of the camera):
And then I went back and played around with it a little. What do you think? I personally think it has a bit more pop and doesn't look nearly as dull and flat with a little bit of editing:
Now if I could just figure out how to fully utilize Photoshop. The adjustments I made above were only done in iPhoto, which is quite limited. I know that Photoshop has some awesome features, I would just LOVE to know how to use them. But for now, my point in all of this is that I am realizing that a little bit of time spent editing a picture can go a long way...I just wish I had known that a while ago!
