Each of the pictures you see above are my own personal photographs from a selection of my Christmas albums. I took each original photo and did a little enhancing using one of my favorite websites PicMonkey. If you haven't used this website before, I can honestly say it's very user friendly and a lot of fun! It's a great, FREE, yes I said FREE, alternative to programs like Photoshop. I used each of the four photos shown above with PicMonkey and each one has distinctive feature effects, that I'd like to share with you to give your pictures the "perfect touch".
This first picture was taken several years ago at a family Christmas Eve party. At this stage in my photography career I was just getting warmed up and still practicing with holding the camera straight. The unique thing about this picture was that even though it was a little shaky, it still turned out pretty nice to me. I mainly fell in love with color that showed up in the picture, sometimes it's hard to get the color temperature in a picture just right, especially when dealing with low lighting. In this case the Christmas Tree lights helped to give enough color support to really make the photo come to life. For this particular photo, I chose to do a Polaroid Make-up which turned my picture into a vintage Polaroid color shot, then I simply added the text "Merry Christmas!" for caption purposes. This is a great feature to use for those individuals who enjoy the vintage look of photographs. This a great effect to keep that vintage classic look alive without destroying the physical quality of the picture.
(Before) (After)
This next picture is what's often called a "selfie". It features myself on the left, to my right is one of my best friends Colleen. We took this picture last year at the Wildlights Christmas Display at The Columbus Zoo (which is a lot of fun and really neat to see!). I love this picture so much because it reminds of the classic phrase "Awww, it's a Kodak moment". This picture simply captured a great moment in time where I shared a great night with a great friend. When I saw this picture blown up on my computer I was tickled by the lights in the background and how they made for the perfect backdrop for me and my friend. I didn't really do a whole lot of editing to this picture, but what I did change is very simple and perfect for fixing little issues in your pictures. I added a feature called "Frost" which is the white fog around the corners of the picture. This just gives my photo a little artistic touch and is perfect for creating the "winter feel." I also added a slight color boost because this was taken at night, and naturally the picture was slightly too dark and dull. The last thing I did was a favorite feature of mine and is quite popular in photo editing- the blemish fix. This is a simple brush technique that instantly removes your unwanted blemishes, cuts, and even zits! It's a great tool to ensure you have the picture perfect look!
(Before) (After)
My third picture features the Christmas Tree found just outside of the campus Chapel at my college, Ashland University. Each year, there was a special celebration for the Christmas Tree and I happened to take a picture of the tree one night on my way to my room. Because this picture was taken at night, and it was extremely dark where I was standing, much of the picture was blacked out except for the tree and colors of the building around it. So I decided for my little editing trick that I would make the entire photo black & white, except for the Christmas Tree which pops against the black background. I used the reverse tint effect to color the picture black except around the tree. PicMonkey also has some Christmas stickers available to be placed on your pictures. I chose "Seasons Greetings" because, Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas can get old very fast- so freshen it up a bit!
(Before) (After)
My fourth and final picture I'm sharing with you is another Christmas Tree that I took a picture of at The Columbus Zoo last year. I loved how this tree was decorated and it was perfectly placed by the entrance giving all of the visitor that instant welcome feeling. I have to admit though, as pretty as this picture is I wanted to do a "silly" example of how you can take your photographs put a slight twist to them. This particular tree didn't have anything on top of it- no star, angel, not even a decorative bow! So, I found the perfect opportunity by placing a Santa Hat sticker at the top, along with a sticker of the Merry Christmas emblem which resembles an old-fashion stamp. This picture should give you the impression, do not be afraid to be a little "funny" in your editing. The holidays are meant to put a smile on everyone's faces, so make sure you really take the opportunity to have a little fun in your work!
(Before) (After)
So, do you think you can handle four festive photos? I'm sure you can! Even if you have access to more advanced photo editing programs, take advantage of free tools that can you can easily learn and have fun with. I always learn best when I can just play around with the tools given to me. Photo editing works the same way. It's a lot of trial and error, and experimenting with color, shades, effects, and designs. Creativity knows no boundaries, so find yourself some good pictures you'd like to enhance and you're off to the races! Don't forget to stop by tomorrow to see what special surprise the 5th Day of Creative Cabana will bring!
Also, I'd like to ask my readers to please bear with me in getting my posts online in a timely manner. I am currently in the process of moving and have limited access to my laptop and the internet. But don't let my moving spoil your fun! I'll keep you updated on The Creative Cabana's social media sites. Check back each day for a new Christmas Activity! Have a fantastic night everyone and sweet creative dreams!
*All photos used in this post belong to me and they are from my personal collection. Some of the photographs were edited through the online site PicMonkey. I would like acknowledge and thank the developers for the creation of this free editing tool. I do not own PicMonkey or have any connections to the company or owner(s). No Copyright Infringement Intended.
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