First Timer

[gnelson]

Hello! I'm a first-timer here, so please be gentle I just got my Canon XSi with a 50mm f1.8 II lens last week and have been shooting pictures like crazy. I'm learning the ropes, so I have been struggling with the AF and getting good shots of my extremely energetic 10 month old. The shot below is one of the really good ones I snapped last night.

I edited it in Photoshop CS3. I used a healing brush to get rid of the dried snot, runny eye and blotchiness of her skin (she had just woken up from a nap). I then added a new layer set to "Screen" at 80% opacity with a copy of the touched up original. I followed up with another copy of the touched up original on another layer above the Screen layer, but set at "Soft Light" at 20% opacity to give some contrast. I had to adjust the colors a little with a color balance adjustment layer, since it was a little too yellow/red. Finally, I made the eyes pop a bit with some sharpening, dodging, and sponging

BEFORE:



AFTER:

[Quo Fan]

I like what you did. The eyes really pop now.

BTW, I love my 50mm 1.8.

[captainkimo]

You have a cute subject there. What a lovely little girl. With regard to the post-processing, I think you did a decent job. The photo became "livelier". Nice job! Hope to see more shots from you.

Cheers!

Captain Kimo