It's a Classic

Before:

After:

The First Photo shown is a charming shot, the colors are good, the composition is interesting, the people beautiful. :) BUT the background is not particularly attractive, it's a little crooked, the shot was too wide, and takes in a lot of distracting objects, such as purses, bags, and a plug. So here's what I did to remedy the situation:

1. First I used the straightening tool in Photoshop, then cropped the photo.

Again, this is a nice photo BUT I thought I could get more out of it. So I...

2.Turned it Black and White

Very professional looking...BUT I still found the purses and plug distracting.

3. Taking the paintbrush in Photoshop I selected the color "Black" and less than 50% opacity. I went first over the purses and plug then, liking the effect chose to go all the way around the photo.

 So that's it. Three easy steps to turn a "nice" photo into a classic.

*Thanks Vaughn Family for allowing me to share these photos!

*Be Sure to Check out my Digital Scrapbooking Blog to see the page I made with these photos!

Mia

Here are some pictures I took of Mia then edited in Photoshop applying a new technique. Using the 'brush tool' from the toolbar I selected a 'soft mechanical brush', the color white, 'soft light' and an opacity level then "brushed" over the entire picture. The result was a misty, 'soft focus' effect.

I also discovered that by changing the brush's settings from 'soft light' to 'color' you can create varying degrees of 'black and white' for a more vintage effect.



Soft Focus-Medium Light

Soft Focus, Black and White-Opacity 50%

Soft Focus, Black and White-Opacity 75%

Soft Focus-Extra Heavy

Soft Focus-Very Light

Soft Focus-Medium

Soft Focus, Black and White-Opacity 40%

Black and White-Opacity 80%