Falling in Love With Photography

Courtesy of Bitstrips via Facebook

Hello dear readers! I have finally managed to return to the web after two days of miserable torture of fighting with my computer for search access! I briefly mentioned on Twitter (which you should follow @CreativeCabana) about having issues with my computer which in turn affects my post schedule. Sometimes I swear technology hates me and tries very hard to make life awful. However, I've managed to successfully fix the problem and I can get back to doing what I love to do, giving you wonderful creative ideas and inspiration! 

Today I'd like to spend sometime sharing the concept of photography editing. Now this is a pretty basic principle and can be done for any occasion, at any time of the year. However, I feel like Fall is really a great time to start working that photo-edit magic to create spectacular pictures for display. Hopefully you've managed to collect some great photos over the last month consisting of fall scenery, family events, and maybe even special Halloween pictures. If you haven't, RELAX! Any picture that you find special and needs some tweeking will be perfect for this activity. The great thing about fall pictures is that not only do they make for nice home decor, but they can also bring in the season's festive feel for dinners, parties, or other social events. Photographs make for a nice alternative to decorations, especially for Thanksgiving. I didn't get much chance myself this year to do some scenic photograph work like I wanted to, so I'll be using two pictures I took last year while vacationing in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. By the way, if you've never been to the Smoky Mountains (doesn't matter what time of year), it is beautiful and I highly recommend it for a trip! Anyway, last year I traveled to Tennessee with my family in an attempt to see some good fall color in the South. This was in early October and while some color was starting to come in through the mountains it was mostly green and lush still. 

   

These are just samples of some of the pictures I took, and while they are nice photos- I think I can pump them up a little! When you have pictures like these that seem a bit dull and can use a vibrant factor to really make subjects pop out, then you're in luck because there's a few simple things to try. Please note, for my pictures I'm simply using the editing functions found in Windows Live Gallery (on Windows 7), but you can also use the same editing tools found in Adobe Photoshop or use free editing sites such as PicMonkey to enhance pictures as well. 

Mainly what I want to do for these pictures is to enhance the fall color seen in the trees and add more nature flare to scenery. In the first picture, the thing that pops out to me is the blue sky. It was very sunny the day I took this picture which is great for lighting but can also hurt exposure. So when editing photos, be sure to check the brightness and exposure of your photographs. 

So now I'm currently happy with my adjustments in brightness, I've adjusted contrast to balance the trees and rocks with the sky so now they're not fighting for brilliance in lighting terms. Which ever program you're using for editing, I always recommend hitting the undo button occasionally so that you can see what changes are taking effect. In the early stages of editing you may not see (or think) there is much change, but comparing to the original product will be helpful to you. Next I'm moving on to color- here is where my goal will be to try to make the trees pop against the blue sky for a more visual influence. When it comes to colors most programs follow either the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) palette or CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key- Black). When adjusting settings like color temperature, saturation, or tint, if you move your sliders from left to right you'll clearly see your picture change in color spectrum. What to watch for is that you don't want the haze effect, burnt look, or too much blue effect. Something I learned in college from video production is to keep your eye on something white. In this picture I have portions of white in the road for me to refer to while I adjust the color. 

One last thing I want to fix! Look in the upper right hand corner. See those white lines? That's a reflection from the car window. No, I wasn't driving when I took this picture- DON'T TEXT AND DRIVE KIDS! I'd like to see if I can delete that from this picture. In the Windows Live Gallery there's a button known as "Retouch" which takes care of that problem for me. If you're using a program like Adobe Photoshop, you'll need to use the tool "Clone Stamp" tool to color over the spot you wanted corrected. Just make sure hit alt + click on the spot you'll be using for the cover up and then use your arrow to simply cover over the area you want fixed. If you're using programs like PicMonkey, you might want to see if there's a feature available that will allow you imitate this feature as not all sites offer this ability. This would be a specific edit feature and not just filter layouts so be careful when browsing. Finally, I'm happy with the picture and here is the result side-by-side.

The second picture required many of the same edits, but just looking at the original photo you could definitely see there were some exposure problems and too much lighting. Most of it bouncing off not just the windshield of the car, but from the post on the freeway. I had also cropped the image because in the lower left corner was a dark spot that I didn't want in the shot. Here is the result from that edit as well:

Big improvement right? I gave my pictures a rich, beautiful vibrant tone. Just be careful not to throw your viewers into a massive color explosion giving them headaches! Fall is great time to really exercise your color technique because you've got a wide array of colors in the palette to work with when it comes to digital editing. Spring is also another great time of year for pictures as long it's not too cloudy or humid during the warmer periods. Humidity can affect your pictures creating a lot of haze and distortion. The key in photography though, no matter what stage, is to have fun. Don't be afraid to test the limits of what you can do with your camera (or cellphone). 

I hope this little lesson about photo editing will inspire you to enhance your precious collection of pictures and share with family and friends, not just for the holidays but for anytime. Fall pictures make for a great showcase display in the seasonal period and it's an easy concept to do! All you need is a picture, editing program, imagination, and a good sense of creativity!

Make sure you follow The Creative Cabana on Facebook and Twitter for more content updates and the opportunity to share your ideas. PLUS The Creative Cabana is also available on Pinterest with a new Thanksgiving board to help you find ideas for your upcoming holiday celebration. 

*Animated picture is from Bitstrips available through the Bitstrip application on Facebook. I do not own Bitstrips, PicMonkey, or Adobe Photoshop. Use of application mentions were only for demonstration purposes- No Copyright Infringement Intended. Pictures of Tennessee landscape and Live Photo Gallery screenshots were taken by me and I have full ownership of these images.