Cartwheels In My Mind: Through The Lens: Beginners CAN Have Fun.

August 20, 2010

Through The Lens: Beginners CAN Have Fun.

Hi loves. As you all know I'll be the girl helping you make those visual memories shine a bit more brighter.

Have you ever looked at your photographs and thought to yourself, "I feel like this is a good image but something is missing"? Well, that's where i come into the picture {not literally... that might be a bit strange}. I know what you're thinking right now but don't be scared. Trust me, I've always told myself that if I can properly edit photos then ANYONE can. All you need is a little bit of guidance.

Okay, now remember this is basic editing. I won't throw any curve balls at you ... yet. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve that I want to try but first i need to make sure we are all on the same path.

::In case you were wondering:: I use Photoshop CS4 for all of my editing. If you don't have Photoshop then don't worry. Most of the tips I give out can be found on most any basic editing program.

Ready to get started?

Step 1: Open the image of your choice. The image I'm using is one I took at the foot of a statue while on vacation to Scotland.

::Step 2:: Change the saturation level to -48 (you're basically desaturating the image. aka: taking color away)

::Step 3:: Don't be afraid to boost that contrast WAY up. My contrast was set on +25 and so i moved it to +82.

::Step 4:: Set your clarity levels from 0 to +36. Keep in mind some editing programs call it something other than clarity. Your program may call it SHARPEN.

::Step 5:: Find a picture frame ASAP and hang it up!

Can you believe that's all it took?!? Easy, right? I hope you can see how a little bit of tweaking can really go a long way. I absolutely LOVE playing around with these 3 tools. Every photo is unique from one another so keep in mind that the levels I use will differ from the levels you need to use. This is a basic formula for you to play around with. So, what are you waiting on?!?! Start playing... NOW!