Fix-it Friday #83 at i heart faces

This Fix-it Friday photo was submitted by Angie Arthur, an IHF contributor. Here is the original photo:



And here is my edit (image is clickable to see it larger):



I'm so proud of myself! I did this edit using no actions of any kind. My workflow using PS CS5:

~First I duplicated the original and renamed it.
~Cloned out distracting bit (big leaf, bottle?) from the lower left.
~Levels adjustment layer to brighten image and lighten midtones, 0/1.47/241.
~Brightness/contrast adjustment layer, increased contrast +50.
~Select->Color Range->Highlights, copy to new layer. Put a blue to white gradient overlay set to multiply over the highlights to change the sky to blue, then masked off highlights on leaves and boy.
~Added center fill light at 20%.
~Hue/saturation adjustment layer, increased saturation +30, decreased brightness -5.
~Vignette set to overlay at 20%.
~High pass sharpening layer.

Thanks for looking and come check out the other edits at i heart faces!

Fix-it Friday #82 at i heart faces

This Fix-it Friday photo was submitted by Rachel Durik, an IHF contributor.

Here is the original photo:



And here is my edit (image is clickable to see it larger):



What a beautiful little girl! I wanted the feel to be light, dreamy, ethereal, and warm. Using ACR and PS CS5:
~ adjusted the exposure and white balance (warmed it up, brightened)
~ ran Noiseware at very low opacity
~ slight levels adjustment
~ sharpened details, set to soft light at 35%
~ ran Florabella's Glam action, reduced to 30%
~ ran Paint the Moon's new free action "Jubilee", tweaked individual layers
~ added vignette set to overlay at 10%
~ sharpened

Thanks for looking and come check out the other edits at i heart faces!

Fix-it Friday #81 at i heart faces

This Fix-it Friday photo was submitted by Michelle Johnson, an IHF contributor. She took this gorgeous photo of this gorgeous couple at a photography workshop. I love this capture, it's so evocative! Here is the original photo:



And here is my edit (image is clickable to see it larger):



I wanted a very warm and vintage feeling look to this. Using ACR and PS CS5:
~ adjusted the exposure and white balance (warmed it up, brightened, added a touch of fill, and decreased contrast)
~ ran Noiseware at very low opacity
~ cropped to the ROT focusing on woman's left eye
~ slight levels adjustment (wanted to keep as much detail as possible in the shadows)
~ sharpened details, set to soft light at 35%
~ added warmth and a touch of haze
~ increased saturation
~ added vignette set to overlay at 30%
~ sharpened

Thanks for looking and come check out the other edits at i heart faces!

Fix-it Friday #78 at i heart faces

This Fix-it Friday photo was submitted by Susan Keller, an IHF contributor. What gorgeous bokeh!!! Here is the original photo:



And here is my edit (image is clickable to see it larger):



Using ACR and PS CS5:
~ adjusted the exposure and white balance
~ cloned some green and bokeh to cover the white blobs at the top of the photo
~added a curves layer set to screen at 30% opacity, masked just on the boy's face to brighten (similar to center fill light)
~ran Noiseware at low opacity
~ran Florabella Luxe's Sweet Sunshine action, lowered to 40% opacity to add warmth
~added a vignette at 20% opacity, erased over boy's face
~sharpened

Thanks for looking and come check out the other edits at i heart faces!

Fix-it Friday #76 at i heart faces

This Fix-it Friday photo was submitted by Susan Keller, an IHF contributor. Here is the original photo:




And here is my edit (image is clickable to see it larger):




I love shots of kids at the beach. This little boy is a cutie-pie! Evaluating this image, I wanted to focus more on the boy's face. I was distracted by the dark patch of sand near his nose and chin. I also wanted to give the photo a beachy tone with a bit of haze. First I opened the photo in ACR to lower the contrast and cool the white balance. Then I opened the image in CS5.

Workflow in PS CS5:
~Cropped
~Patched sand area near face
~Desaturated orange cast from shirt on chin
~Ran Pandora action (from the Florabella Luxe collection), reduced opacity 90%
~Ran My4Hens Dusy Haze action, turned on Cyan at 40% opacity
~Reduced contrast
~Added texture, 50% opacity set to soft light, masked 50% on face
~Tweaked color balance, added a bit of yellow and cyan
~Added vignette at 20% opacity
~Sharpened

Thanks for looking and come check out the other edits at i heart faces!

Fix-it Friday #75 at i heart faces

This Fix-it Friday photo was submitted by Angie Arthur, an IHF contributor. Here is the original photo:



And here is my edit (image is clickable to see it larger and the original size edit is available in my Flickr photostream):



What a gorgeous, amazing photo. The bokeh is divine and I love the movement of the little boy. We were lucky enough to get the RAW file for this photo. First I opened the photo in ACR to correct the exposure and white balance. Then I opened the image in Photoshop CS5.

Workflow in PS CS5:
~I first cropped to the rule-of-thirds to focus in a little closer on the little boy.
~Levels layer to make a few adjustments to the midtones.
~Ran Noiseware at low opacity.
~I ran Flora Bella's Luxe action called "Gypsy" and loved the effect and made a few tweaks on the individual layers but kept the opacity at 100%.
~Saved for web and sharpened.

Thanks for looking!

Thanks for looking and come check out the other edits at i heart faces!

Fix-it Friday #74 at i heart faces

This Fix-it Friday photo was submitted by Dana Suggs, an IHF contributor. I love pumpkin field photos and this one just need a little brightening up... it's gorgeous! Here is the original photo:



And here is my edit (image is clickable to see it larger):



The image is strong, it just need a bit of brightening. First I opened the photo in ACR to correct the exposure and white balance. Then I opened the image in CS4.

Workflow in PS CS4:
~cloned out the pumpkins in the upper left corner to make the edge clean
~added a curves layer set to screen at 30% opacity, masked just on the little girl to brighten her (similar to center fill light)
~ran Noiseware at low opacity
~ran Florabella Luxe's Sweet Sunshine action, lowered to 20% opacity to add warmth
~ran My4Hens Highlight Glow from Toolbox #2, lowered opacity (I love the glowy feel to the highlights!)
~ran Florabella Luxe's Sapphire action with lots of layer tweaking, lowered opacity of group to 65%
~added a subtle (10% opacity) vignette
~high pass sharpening layer set to soft light

Thanks for looking and come check out the other edits at i heart faces!

Fix-it Friday #73 at i heart faces

This Fix-it Friday photo was submitted by Keli Hoskins, an IHF contributor. What a beautiful little girl! Gorgeous eyes and I love the chalk. Here is the original photo:



And here is my edit (image is clickable to see it larger):



I wanted to add a lot of warmth, a bit of haze, and a touch of a vintage effect. First I opened the photo in ACR to correct the exposure and white balance. Then I opened the image in CS4.

Workflow in PS CS4:
~cloned out the leaves, grass, and mulch on the sidewalk around the girl, I found those bits very distracting
~also used the healing brush on the bruises on her arm and leg
~added some contrast with curves
~ran Noiseware at very low opacity
~very lightly dodged highlights in the iris of the eyes
~added yellow haze for a sunshine-kissed effect
~slightly desaturated
~added a very subtle vignette

Thanks for looking and come check out the other edits at i heart faces!

Fix-it Friday #70 at i heart faces

This Fix-it Friday photo was submitted by Amy Locurto, an IHF contributor. What a beautiful little girl! Here is the original photo:



And here is my edit (image is clickable to see it larger):



I'm working on a cleaner editing style at the moment, so hopefully I achieved that. I thought this image was really strong to begin with but had too much contrast. I'm noticing on the blog, however, that my edit looks a bit soft in the contrast department, but looking at it full-size, it seems okay? So first I opened the photo in ACR, fiddled with the white balance just a bit, upped recovery just a bit to tone down the highlights, and added a tiny bit of center fill light. I then reduced the contrast a lot. Then I opened the image in CS4.

Workflow in PS CS4:
~adjusted levels
~Noiseware at low opacity
~I thought the girl's right eye looked a little off in the lower section, so I duplicated the left eye, masked it to only cover the bright section, and lowered the opacity to 80%
~created a curves layer set to screen, masked and inverted, then gently painted in with a 20% opacity brush under the eyes to lighten the shadows there
~added a color fill layer with an off-white and set to luminosity, lowered opacity to 20% to brighten skin tones
~added a vignette
~ran TRA's web-ready sharpening action

Thanks for looking and come check out the other edits at i heart faces!

Fix-it Friday #69 at i heart faces

This Fix-it Friday photo was submitted by Rachel Durik, an IHF contributor. Here is the original photo:



And here is my edit (image is clickable to see it larger):



Doing such an intense crop on a low-res photo made it quite grainy, but you get the gist of what I was wanting to accomplish... focusing more on the couple and their faces.

Workflow in PS CS4:
~cropped
~fixed shadows/highlights
~adjusted levels
~Noiseware at low opacity
~warmed up tones by adding a color fill layer with a golden tone and set to soft light, lowered opacity
~added a vignette

Thanks for looking and come check out the other edits at i heart faces!

Fix-it Friday #68 at i heart faces

This Fix-it Friday photo was submitted by Angie Arthur, an IHF contributor. Here is the original photo:



And here is my edit (image is clickable to see it larger):



Initially I did a color edit adding a sunshiny haze to this photo but the more I looked at it, the more I wanted a vintage, creamy look with a texture to match the tall grass.

Workflow in PS CS4:
~cropped and fixed the tilt
~adjusted levels
~curves adjustment layer set to screen, masked to show only on girl to lighten dark shadows
~flatten, then Noiseware at low opacity
~slightly increased contrast
~ran Florabella's Mink action from the Luxe collection, lowered contrast, tweaked tone and other effects within the customizable action
~added Paint the Moon's Timeworn Soft texture on soft light at 80% opacity, masked, then reduced the effect by 50% only on girl
~unsharp mask at 50%, 1 px, 10 threshold to add a touch of sharpness
~added a vignette

Thanks for looking and come check out the other edits at i heart faces!

Fix-it Friday #66 at i heart faces

This Fix-it Friday photo was submitted by Angie Arthur, an IHF contributor. Look at this gorgeous boy! Oh those eyes! Here is her before:



And here is my edit (image is clickable to see it larger):



I thought there would be a bunch of gorgeous color edits, especially with those beautiful blue eyes, so I wanted to go black and white with a hint of chocolate.

My workflow, using Photoshop CS4:
~cropped
~levels
~noiseware
~unsharp mask
~convert to b/w, with custom tweaking on each slider
~curves adjustment layer set to screen and inverted, very low opacity (10-30%) brush over eyes, under eyes, and on hair highlights to add more sparkle

Thanks for looking!

Fix-it Friday #64 at i heart faces

This Fix-it Friday photo was submitted by Michelle Johnson, an IHF contributor. What a beautiful little girl! Here is her before:


And here is my edit (image is clickable to see it larger):


I wanted to try a clean edit adding just a little punch to the overall contrast, making the image look sun-kissed, and making her eyes sparkle.

My workflow, using Photoshop CS4:
~levels adjustment to brighten image and add contrast
~noiseware at low opacity, then used art history brush to paint freckles back in
~curves adjustment layer set to screen, masked, set to 30% opacity, brushed at 20% opacity over eyes to make them sparkle
~hue/saturation adjustment layer to brighten light tones and reduce yellow, masked, set to 30% opacity, painted over teeth to make them a bit whiter
~yellow fill layer at 25% to add a touch of sun haze
~high pass layer to sharpen (the size reduction to fit on the blog made it look a bit sharper than the original)

Thanks for looking!