Not So SAHM

Hazy Days

The tree swing is an integral part of our summer trips out to Grandpa and Grandma’s.

A girl sits in a swing under a tree in summer Not So SAHM — Hazy days – ProjectEdit365 – 14 June

The original was dark and out of focus. This editing challenge is to take any kind of quality of picture and try to make it look better. I couldn’t sharpen it up much without adding a lot of noise, so I softened the whole picture by decreasing the clarity while using an adjustment brush to sharpen her eyes. I decreased the contrast and played around with the shadows, blacks, and whites until I got it where I wanted. I adjusted the temp and tint towards the warmer and magenta sides.

14June

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Golden grass

Shenandoah as seen along Skyline Drive

The original wasn’t taken in RAW and is pretty low resolution. I cropped in, first to get rid of the pony tail and then just to reframe it. I decreased the clarity to soften it up and increased the saturation. I then adjusted individual colors, increasing or decreasing saturation and luminance. I used a graduated filter on the sky, decreasing exposure and cooling the temp. I also added a little vignette.

13June

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The girl in the boots

And I had to post this picture after posting the one yesterday.

She loved these boots and wore them for several years.

And got compliments every time she put them on.

A girl in red boots plays in a swing Not So SAHM — The girl in the boots – ProjectEdit365 – 12 June

The original was dark and not sharp. I did my best to sharpen it up. And I did a lot of little adjustments, not in this order:
Increased the tint towards magenta and cooled the temp just a tad.
Barely increased the exposure.
Increased the contrast.
Lightened the shadows.
Decreased the clarity and saturation.
I used an adjustment brush to sharpen her eyes and created a small vignette.

The original:

12June

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Red Boots

What’s better in life than a swing and some red cowboy boots?

Girl on swing with red cowboy boots Not So SAHM — Red Boots – ProjectEdit365 – 11 June

The original was cute enough but I wanted it to have an aged effect. I cropped in to get rid of the distracting leaf and sharpened the whole picture (it’s still not sharp – she was swinging and my shutter speed wasn’t fast enough). Then I ran a Lightroom preset, one native to the program. I increased the vibrance just a bit and then added a vignette.

11June

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Naked Poppy

A poppy flower without its petals. Googling that, I ran across this page that explains the parts of the poppy flower. Fascinating! I love the detail (and the bokeh!). I love shooting shallow depth of field.

A poppy has lost its petals Not So SAHM — Naked Poppy – ProjectEdit365 – 10June

I didn’t do too much to the original photo. I cropped in for more of a macro look; I’m so glad I had it in focus! I increased the saturation a little of the flower and decreased the saturation of the background. The original:

10June

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Refuge of the Wild

In Eureka Springs, Arkansas there is a refuge for exotic cats that have been rescued from people who want to own them and then realize they have no idea what they’re doing.

A tiger sits behind two sets of fences to keep itself and the human visitors safe. Not So SAHM — Refuge for the Wild – ProjectEdit365 – 09 June

The original. I cropped in to the tiger’s face to focus on the face and to de-emphasize the fence that was closer to me (the fuzzy tan lines). I sharpened the whole picture and reduced the noise just a little. I used an adjustment brush on his eyes first to sharpen them. I then used another one on his face to sharpen his whole face. I increased the contrast and clarity sliders to make the colors more distinct. I increased the vibrancy just a little.

09June

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