I ♥ Faces - Fix it Friday!

What a great photo they have for Fix It Friday this week!  Here's one of my takes on it (more to follow).  Head on over to http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ if you want to play along or just see other renditions of the photo!

The biggest problem is underexposure. Here is the before.

Here is my 'regular' after.

Here are my steps!
Lightroom

Used eyedropper on white of eyes to adjust white balance.  This changed temp to +41, +48
Manual Adjustments to:
Exposure +75
Fill Light +21
Brightness +50

Did you know you can adjust luminance sliders of orange, red and yellow to remove ruddiness out of skin?  I didn't until about a month ago and it's been my new favorite thing.  SO easy!  The key is to move the saturation slider DOWN and the luminance slider UP. 

Red
Saturation -19
Luminance +23

Orange
Saturation -19
Luminance +23

My last step in Lightroom was to do a noise reduction of 50, there was inevitably going to be some noise from the underexposure and I like to touch that up in Lightroom.

Now off to Photoshop!

MCP Actions Magic Powder - opacity adjusted to 50.  I then masked it off her lips, I still wanted them to look dewy.  This step almost COMPLETELY fixes the face.  It's a godsend!

MCP Eye Doctor - I only used Sharp as a Tack and Enhance Catchlights on eyes - both at 50% opacity.  I then used the 'Darken Pupil' step on the LIPS at a 20% opacity :)

I then brightened up under the eyes and smoothed it out just a bit and spot removed some of the leftover blemishes and stray hair :)

Here is the same edit but with my FAVORITE 'Chocolate Covered Strawberries' from MCP

Creative Aged Preset in Lightroom

Here is the color one again but with a bit of a 'Boost' from Pioneer Woman and then I used Heavy Fog Fixer from MCP to clear up some of the haziness. :)

I ♥ Faces - Fix it Friday!

I'm a bit late because we spent the day having fun and riding horsies! Was a pretty good day but I just could not resist adding some edits to the Fix It Friday mix.

Here is the 'Before'. This photo really did not need much touching up. It's a great shot from the getgo - good exposure, good composition, great expression. Here are a couple of my edits.

Before:

After - my 'straight' edit.
I adjusted white balance just a bit.   I then used a few of my MCP Actions.  I used the 'Extreme Fill Flash' action to take out some of the shadow from the left side of her face (her right).  I then used the 'Pop' action to bump up the contrast.  I then played around with MCP Dreamy Color action.   I also used the 'Eye Doctor' actions to bring out the eyes a bit. 

Straight edit with a bit of a crop.  As much as I love the original, I think I like the crop version just a bit better.

One of my favorites - Chocolate Covered Strawberries (from MCP Actions)

 MCP Actions - Throwback Vintage

I ♥ Faces - Dramatic B&W

This is a photo I took of my good friend Rachel for one of my classes this semester and I think it really fits into this weeks theme. I've titled it 'Isolation'.  I must admit that I've never really been a fan of B&W but I'm definitely getting when it fits a photo better than color and I think this is definitely one of them.  I'm learning to like it, a lot.

Please make sure you stop by http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ to check out all of the other fabulous entries.  I'm sure this week is going to be a big one.

I ♥ Faces - Fix it Friday!

What a great photo they have for Fix It Friday this week!  Here's one of my takes on it (more to follow).  Head on over to http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ if you want to play along or just see other renditions of the photo!

Before:

After:

1. Imported to Lightroom and adjusted temperature a tad to warm up the photo a bit.   I used the dropper on the white of the eyes as my basis for the adjustment.

2.  Still in Lightroom, I adjusted the brightness just a bit (+40).  I took a free online class recently on Lightroom and the instructor suggested that it is more beneficial to adjust the brightness instead of exposure so that highlights and shadows don't blow out.

3. Then I used the adjustment brush at a +75 exposure to bring out the catch lights in the eyes and then a new brush with a +100 clarity to sharpen the eyes.

4.  Then I hit the 'Punch' preset to just pop the photo a bit.

5. I imported the photo to Photoshop and cloned out some of the spots/blemishes on her face.

6. Ran MCP Actions 'Powder Your Nose' to smooth out some of the roughness of the skin and work on some of the blotchiness around the eyes and mouth. 

7. Ran MCP Actions 'Magic Skin'.  Because I had just done the powder your nose, I reduced the opacity on the layer to 23% - I didn't want it to look like too much.

8.  Almost done!  I ran the MCP Action 'Crystal Clear Resize and Sharpen and then masked out the sharpness of the skin, kept the clarity on the eyes for sure and the rest of the image.

Pioneer Woman's B&W and MCP Actions Burnt Edges

MCP Actions - Chocolate Covered Strawberries (I think this one is my favorite)

MCP Actions - Throwback Vintage (at 65% opacity)

and finally...one with a Texture!  It's called Cream Bokeh Swirls and the creator is  Pareeerica on Flickr.  There are so many textures in his free set and they're all gorgeous!

I ♥ Faces - Jump for Joy!

 

I know it's not the most amazing photo in the world to most, but it sure ranks up there for Hope's Dad and I.  It's not often that you let loose and do something that is only for the sake of making someone else smile, except Hope's Dad does it all of the time.   He's still in Afghanistan and we miss him dearly but we have moments like these to look back on and they make us both happy we have him at all and anxious to have him home again.

Thanks for stopping by to see my entry and please make sure you head over to  I ♥ Faces (http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/) to check out all of the other great entries!

I ♥ Faces - Fix it Friday!

It's Fix-It Friday times over at I ♥ Faces (http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/)and I decided to play around with this weeks photo a bit.
Here is the before photo:

 

Here is my first 'after' photo:  I did a bit of a crop and adjusted white balance in Lightroom.  In Photoshop, I used the clone tool to get rid of some of the more noticeable blemishes.

Then I used quite a few actions from http://www.mcpactions.com/

I used the 'Magic Skin' action to even out the skin tone.  I then used the 'Eye Doctor' to enhance the eyes just a tad bit.  I added a vignette using MCP Burnt Edges.    I then used MCP Touch of Light to add just a bit of brightening to the skin, just a little bit. 

MCP has some GREAT free actions (click the link, really go ahead), I suggest you download them and try them out a bit.  That's how I got started and then moved on to some more advanced editing after purchasing a few of her sets.

 

Same edit (but additional crop and angle) but then used Lightroom preset 'Aged Photo' and made a few adjustments.

Using PW's B&W

I ♥ Faces - Hilarious Outtakes

My hilarious outtakes are all about faces.  I really don't think I need to explain much except that I am surrounded by the most hilarious and personality filled children on the planet.  Love them all SO much!

I hope you enjoy mine and make sure you check out the rest of the entries from this week over at http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/.  You're sure to be entertained!

Safiyyah and Hope clearly having a good time at playgroup.

Seriously, what was she thinking??

Xaveir makes some of the weirdest faces I have ever seen!

Safiyyah does too now that I think about it.

I think I told her to smile and she did this instead.

I ♥ Faces - Hands on Fun

I know we've all seen this coming our way at some point.  We point the camera until they can't stand it any more and they come at us like this!  I'm happy that at least she was smiling in the process. :)

I'm sure there are going to be more than a handful (HAHAHAHAHA) of awesome entries this week...make sure you check them out at http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ 

Thanks for stopping by to see mine!

I ♥ Faces - Fix it Friday!

It's Fix it Friday over at I ♥ Faces. The original photo is such a sweet one and I'm happy to show my fixes and fun edits to this cute photo.  Make sure you head over to http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ to check out all of the other creative edits you'll see!
UPDATE:  Here is the link to the texture used in the last edit. It's called Cream Bokeh Swirls and the creator is  Pareeerica on Flickr.  There are so many textures in his free set and they're all gorgeous!

Original:



















Fix 1:  Here is the more normal of my edits.  I did some adjustments in Lightroom and then got used some actions from MCP Actions (tough of light and darkness) to adjust some of the dark and light spots.

Here is the same crop but with PW's Heartland added for some effect

Here is another more creative edit with a texture I found on Flickr.

I ♥ Faces - We Love Kisses!

Here is my entry for week 6.  It's all about kisses this week.  Who doesn't love kisses?  This shot of KJ and Avery ranks up there as one of my all time favorites. So much so, I think their mom adores is just a tad bit more than I do.

I'm sure there are going to be a TON of awesome entries this week...make sure you check them out at http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/

I ♥ Faces - Textures!

So, I thought I wouldn't be that into this week's theme since I really like organic photos but seriously, this turned into a LOT of fun. I have so many versions of this photo it's not even funny and I'll put a few others on my Flickr page.

The one I'm posting uses a texture I got from Patti Brown's Gallery Collection - Impressionism (which I won recently from an i heart faces contest). The color treatment is from Totally Rad Actions - it's either the Troy or Lux treatment, not sure which. I really should write things down as I do them.

I'm sure there are going to be a TON of awesome entries this week...make sure you check them out at http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/

I ♥ Faces - Fix it Friday!

The dad in this family has been struggling with cancer for years and they found out the devastating news in December that his cancer is now terminal. They are now doing everything they can to enjoy the rest of the time they have together on this earth.

We would love it if you would stop by Adrienne's Blog or Jeff's Caring Bridge site to leave a kind word of encouragement today. If we have learned anything over the past year, it's that we have the kindest, most caring, compassionate participants in the blogging world and we would be thrilled if our community overwhelmed this beautiful family with kind thoughts today.

Here is the original photo:

Here is my edit:

1. I opened the file in Lightroom and used the preset 'Fix the Highlights' to help with some of the blown out highlights on the children in front
2. I then opened the file in CS4 and used the clone tool to take out some of the distracting toys and the extra swing.
3. Then I used boost action (with a slightly reduced opacity) from Pioneer Woman.
4. Then I used MCP Color Flair and MCP Crystal Clear Web Resize and Sharpen.  I think I also used another MCP action but forget which one - sorry!

Here is the same edit - but converted to black and white with a slight vignette.

Here is another treatment - this is the lightroom preset 'Aged Photo' and then I reduced the brightness and exposure.

Thanks for looking!  Make sure to head on over to http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ to see the other creative edits to this great family photo!