How can I get this LOOK in my pictures???

[dkh1073]

Hi, I hope someone can help me achieve this in my pictures. I do have Photoshop CS2 but I"M NOT A WIZ BY ANY MEANS, so If you have some suggestions in PS please go step by step, SORRY. There are some great sites that I really like the look of the bright colors and the skin color. Usually when I up the contrast and or saturation I don't like how the skin turns out. Anyway I hope this is alright to list these sites with what I'm trying to achieve

These are some of the sites that I found that I like the color pop-

On this one look under kids-

http://www.alwphotography.com/index2...429fe182408035

On this on click under Children then under galleries on the top of the page click on The Loft.


St. Louis Children's Photographer-Laura Siebert



This next one under Galleries click on Children


Soul Prints Photography ~ Portland Oregon Children's Photographer


Those are just some. Thanks soooo much!!!





These are mine that I'm posting to see if with your help maybe I can achieve what I want. Here is the one before a little color pop.





After my not so good try, I want the skin more bright, whiter I guess

[DigitalDetailer]

I just increased beightness and contrast using an adjustment layer. Then increased the lightness on all the picture and increased saturation on just the magenta layer using another adjustment layer. Also burned and dodged the eyes(a little overdone I think )

Almost forgot. I also changed the color profile from Adobe RGB to sRGB. A must to post pictures on the internet.

[dkh1073]

Thanks so much!!! I really like the look!!! Debbie

[blumesan]

First of all I think the skin tones, eyes and face are just terrific in the first image. It is a bit underexposed so perhaps you can up the exposure just a bit in ACR (assuming you have the raw file). Whatever else you do I would protect the face and all skin areas with a mask before making any other adjustments. Really beautiful model, by the way.

Cheers/Mike

[Driftwood]

Look for tutorials on using "level" and "Curves".

Curves adjustment in particular can help you get the extra "pop".

This is a very quick attempt;

[dkh1073]

Thanks everyone!!! Debbie

[dkh1073]

Originally Posted by blumesan

First of all I think the skin tones, eyes and face are just terrific in the first image. It is a bit underexposed so perhaps you can up the exposure just a bit in ACR (assuming you have the raw file). Whatever else you do I would protect the face and all skin areas with a mask before making any other adjustments. Really beautiful model, by the way.

Cheers/Mike

Mike yes I noticed the same thing. This image was one of my seniors that I did last year. So no I don't still have her Raw files. I have been doing a lot of just photography studying this winter and I think I have a lot more knowledge for my upcoming shoots starting this spring. Well at least I think I do Hopefully I do I also have some pro glass this year. Will I ever be where I want to be in photography, well probably not, but I always going to keep striving to be better. Thanks!! Debbie

[wookiee2cu]

How about this?

[blumesan]

Originally Posted by dkh1073

Mike yes I noticed the same thing. This image was one of my seniors that I did last year. So no I don't still have her Raw files.

If you do capture raw images then, after discarding the obvious junk, always archive them. NEVER discard raw files of any image that you may ever want to use again.

Cheers/Mike

[eric rose]

Forget the PS cures. Get a grip on exposure control first and foremost. Understand how your backgrounds affect things, proper lighting etc etc. Once it's right in the camera it's far simpler to make it pop in the finished product and takes far less work in PS. People assume that stunning photos taken by professionals are the result of super-human PS abilities or some magic trick. They produce good work because they have studied what makes a great photograph and could probably do the same thing with film and regular colour paper. And in a lot of cases probably did for years prior to digital cameras.

Take some courses from pros who really know how to "create" a beautiful photograph. Once you master that then begin your quest for PS mastery. Just MHO.

[dkh1073]

Originally Posted by eric rose

Forget the PS cures. Get a grip on exposure control first and foremost. Understand how your backgrounds affect things, proper lighting etc etc. Once it's right in the camera it's far simpler to make it pop in the finished product and takes far less work in PS. People assume that stunning photos taken by professionals are the result of super-human PS abilities or some magic trick. They produce good work because they have studied what makes a great photograph and could probably do the same thing with film and regular colour paper. And in a lot of cases probably did for years prior to digital cameras.

Take some courses from pros who really know how to "create" a beautiful photograph. Once you master that then begin your quest for PS mastery. Just MHO.

Oh I totally agree!! I haven't owned a professional camera until May of last year, so not even a year. I've come a long way since then but have a long way to go. Will I ever be able to call myself a great photographer or someone that takes pictures probably not, but I'm doing my best by reading, studying, and shooting. Thanks Debbie

[eric rose]

Remember you don't need a pro camera to do good work. Camera skill, creativity and tons of practice is 98% of it. Good luck!

[lizziejane]

I too agree it's best to get it right in camera whenever possible, but we all know... sometimes that just doesn't happen Here's my version - perhaps a little overdone on the pink...

[Ellbee99]

How about this idea?
If you like it I'd be happy to share how I did it.
Nice portrait...just a little dark.
I use Photoshop all the time...I'm self taught not expert though.

[Mr. Pickles]

Originally Posted by Ellbee99

...If you like it I'd be happy to share how I did it.

If it is simple, most like the extra verbiage....

And nobody is an expert

[Ellbee99]

Originally Posted by Mr. Pickles

If it is simple, most like the extra verbiage....

And nobody is an expert

I'm not sure it is simple, but here is what I did...
First go to layers and create a new layer of the image
then where it says Normal in the drop down bar select screen....it will really lighten up your image...you can regulate how much it is lightened by changing the opacity of the layer...you can do the same to darken an image by selecting multiply instead of screen...then flatten the image...
Next I created a vignette and filled the vignette with white and adjusted it's opacity...
Then I added a bit more contrast to the original image which adds life and light to the eyes and hair...
I then added a bit of noise and faded that as well....
Hope that helps...
A good investment to make if you use photoshop a lot is The Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby...great basics and you can always tweak the ideas to fit your own imagination.

[dkh1073]

Originally Posted by Ellbee99

I'm not sure it is simple, but here is what I did...
First go to layers and create a new layer of the image
then where it says Normal in the drop down bar select screen....it will really lighten up your image...you can regulate how much it is lightened by changing the opacity of the layer...you can do the same to darken an image by selecting multiply instead of screen...then flatten the image...
Next I created a vignette and filled the vignette with white and adjusted it's opacity...
Then I added a bit more contrast to the original image which adds life and light to the eyes and hair...
I then added a bit of noise and faded that as well....
Hope that helps...
A good investment to make if you use photoshop a lot is The Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby...great basics and you can always tweak the ideas to fit your own imagination.

Thanks you so much for taking the time to edit my picture!!!!