Lots of Learnin' to do....

Since I've got my new camera I've enjoyed two photography lessons from my great teacher, Justin (thanks Justin!)!! I can NOT tell you how much I've learned and how excited I am about it. It's as if everything I've learned is finally starting to all come together....the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fit! I get soooo excited when I learn something new and I actually get it! Now, I will be the first to tell you that when I say I still have a LOT to learn I mean it...in every single sense of the word. I've decided I could study photography until I'm old and gray and still not know/understand everything about it....but learning is soooo much fun!

My lesson today focused on editing my pictures. Justin has taught me to edit on both Photoshop and Lightroom...but honestly, right now I prefer Lightroom. He also explained to me that photography is art, and in editing a photo it is all in the eye of the artist. The way that he edits or alters a photo may be completely different than the way I would alter or edit it. We discussed making a photo '"pop" as he calls it, as well as giving a photo a completely different look (such as black and white or antiqued). I learned so much, was soooo completely grateful, and rushed home to put it to use. Again, I am not by any means perfect at this...but I thought I would give you an idea of what editing a photo can do to it.

Eva Unedited

Eva edited

Do you see the difference? Do you see how the photo no longer looks "flat" and she seems to "pop" more than in the first photo. Also, notice the little spot on Eva's face between her eye and her ear? Now look at the edited one - it's gone! I'm telling you, for some of you this may be boring stuff...but I am just soaking it in like a sponge and loving it!!! Here are a few more pics I edited just for the fun of it!!!

I wanted this photo to have a "harder" look where the colors are really, really vibrant. It's much harsher than I would do on other photos...but on this one I liked it.

I wanted this photo to look aged and antiqued. I'm not completely content with this one yet...still working on getting the contrast correct, but I thought I would share it anyway! As I said, I'm still learning!

"Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all of your life."

--Helen Doherty