What are some of the basics for editing portraits?

[dabairs]

I like to take my own yearly pics of the kids and would like them to look more professional.
I was reading through the "eyes" thread and saw a lot of "unsharp mask" - what exactly does this do? Do you do the whole pic or just the person?

Is there an action (hopefully that I can download for free) that you like that works well on most every shot? Or one specifically for portraits of the kids?

Is there a rule to cropping? How much of the body should you include. Should the face be on the intersection of a grid dividing the pic into thirds?

Is there a correct order to do stuff so things end up looking better? Like crop first, then adjust colors, then tinker with X and Y...

And how do people kind of blur the background in portrait shots?

And how in the heck do you take a pic of an 8 m.o. without finger sucking, looking away or having her eat nature? ;)

Thanks for all of your help - looking through some of your photos I see I have a lot to learn!

I have Photoshop CS and Elements 4. Here are the pics I'm looking to fix up...
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh51/dabairs/IMG_0030-1.jpg http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh51/dabairs/IMG_0078-1-1.jpg
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh51/dabairs/IMG_0058-1.jpg http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh51/dabairs/IMG_0032-1.jpg

And just for fun - the only one where she's smiling (I really don't want to take her out again - can it be saved?)...
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh51/dabairs/IMG_0219-1.jpg

[clarktami]

Have you tried using some free programs online? I just checked out picnik.com - you can upload your photos, change the tint, fuzz some background, etc. It is pretty cool and free! Check it out!

[dabairs]

Thanks! I'll surf on over and take a look.

[PaisleysMom]

I will see if I can answer some of your questions.

The blurred background comes from the settings on your camera, which you cannot do with a Point and Shoot camera. You need a nice lens with the ability to change your aperture.

There is no action that works well on every shot. You can find some that work well on most shots. I like Pioneer woman's actions a lot. They are free. Just google it.

The problem with using the same action on every photo is that skin tones vary. Some actions will make your skin look VERY orange. Especially color boosting ones.

Here is my basic editing routine. I make sure that my exposure is correct. Then I check my white balance. (which makes sure the skin tones are correct and the whites are correct) remove any blemishes or fix minor problems in the picture. Then I use a color pop or action or do my own color tweaking as I see fit.

When I was first doing photography it took me forever to edit one picture. There are so many different ways of doing things and I never got consistent results. Now a few years later I have a system and do things the same way so I get consistent results. It just takes practice until you develop a routine.

I like to crop last. This way the whole picture gets edited and if you need to crop to a different size you can go back later and do it, you won't need to re edit the whole picture.


There are so many different rules of cropping. And rules are made to be broken right? In general you don't want to cut people off at the joints, meaning wrists, knees elbows, hands, knuckles, waists. Especially at the knees.

You also don't want to cut off chins. Cutting off tops of heads can look okay but you have to be careful with that too.

As for rule of thirds there is a good thread on another board that talks about this. (let me know if this link is not appropriate)

http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&thread_id=2687795

As for the 8 month old...put her in a basket and then use a squawking rubber chicken to get her attention and hurry and get a shot...LOL but I am serious.

[dabairs]

As for the 8 month old...put her in a basket and then use a squawking rubber chicken to get her attention and hurry and get a shot...LOL but I am serious.
LOL! Oh man - I love that! Off to find a rubber chicken...

[dabairs]

And thanks A LOT for your other tips of course! I just loved the chicken comment!

[sherriwj]

I use Corel Printshop Pro Photo. I have found that the first thing that I have to adjust is the histogram -- which correct me if I am wrong in the white balance. Then I usually apply a filter. The photos of my daughter I used a glamour filter with a warm color.

[dabairs]

I use Corel Printshop Pro Photo. I have found that the first thing that I have to adjust is the histogram -- which correct me if I am wrong in the white balance. Then I usually apply a filter. The photos of my daughter I used a glamour filter with a warm color.
Thanks for posting - I thought you did a great job with your pics (I peeked on your blog)! Is there something you aim for on the histogram - like where to move the arrows?

[sherriwj]

Thanks for posting - I thought you did a great job with your pics (I peeked on your blog)! Is there something you aim for on the histogram - like where to move the arrows?


Well --- I cheat! I let the software suggest the settings. I can't think of a time that I haven't been happy with the settings.

If you look at my blog the post below my photos where I have the slide show.... those were before adjustments/filter

[beckiann13]

Thanks for posting - I thought you did a great job with your pics (I peeked on your blog)! Is there something you aim for on the histogram - like where to move the arrows?

As a general rule-of-thumb I like to move the arrows on either end over enough to take out any flat-line section of the histogram. But, you don't always want to go all the way if the picture is too over- or under-exposed.

Once I have the side arrows in place (to remove to flat line section), then I will adjust the middle arrow according to how the skin tones look. It's just one of those things that you get used to how it should look.

My general editing process is similar to PaisleysMom:

1. I actually crop first-- I size all my pics to 8x12 (which it the equivalent of a 4x6, and it's easy to adjust later to an 8x10).

2. Then I adjust lighting/histograms.

3. Next I edit the hue/saturation of the pictures

4. At that point I make the colors pop by using the contrast adjustment

5. And then I finish with the fine editing of blemishes, eyes, stray hair, etc

I don't have a set amount that I adjust each picture, it really depends on the individual picture itself.

One important thing to be aware of: many of the photo print locations will automatically adjust the coloring on your pictures. If you make a lot of changes with the lighting/coloring etc it can really mess your pics up when their machines do the auto-enhancement stuff. Just make sure to turn OFF the auto enhancement feature when you have your pictures printed (because you have already manually enhanced the pic), and they will turn out much better.

Hope that helps!

[sherriwj]

One important thing to be aware of: many of the photo print locations will automatically adjust the coloring on your pictures. If you make a lot of changes with the lighting/coloring etc it can really mess your pics up when their machines do the auto-enhancement stuff. Just make sure to turn OFF the auto enhancement feature when you have your pictures printed (because you have already manually enhanced the pic), and they will turn out much better.



So if I send photos to Costco or Walmart how can I have that turned off?

[beckiann13]

So if I send photos to Costco or Walmart how can I have that turned off?

Yes, usually there is an option to turn off the auto-enhancements. I'm not familiar with Walmart or Costco's print process-- but somewhere along the ordering process there should be an option like "Click here to turn off auto-enhancement" or something along those lines. It's usually just a simple box that you need to check (or uncheck depending on the store) and it will remove the auto-enhancements for the entire order. HTH!

[beckiann13]

BTW-- I just ordered some 4x6 prints on the Sam's Club website, and the exact wording on their website is:

"Turn off in Club color correction for all prints and posters in your order"

And there is a little box that you need to check next to it. I'm guessing that Walmart's photo website says something similar?

Also-- if you order your prints from Replicolor, you don't need to worry about turning off the color correction/auto-endhancements. I don't think there is an option for that on their website (not that I can find, maybe I'm blind, LOL!), but their prints always turn out fabulous. HTH!

[dabairs]

As a general rule-of-thumb I like to move the arrows on either end over enough to take out any flat-line section of the histogram. But, you don't always want to go all the way if the picture is too over- or under-exposed.

Once I have the side arrows in place (to remove to flat line section), then I will adjust the middle arrow according to how the skin tones look. It's just one of those things that you get used to how it should look.

My general editing process is similar to PaisleysMom:

1. I actually crop first-- I size all my pics to 8x12 (which it the equivalent of a 4x6, and it's easy to adjust later to an 8x10).

2. Then I adjust lighting/histograms.

3. Next I edit the hue/saturation of the pictures

4. At that point I make the colors pop by using the contrast adjustment

5. And then I finish with the fine editing of blemishes, eyes, stray hair, etc

I don't have a set amount that I adjust each picture, it really depends on the individual picture itself.

One important thing to be aware of: many of the photo print locations will automatically adjust the coloring on your pictures. If you make a lot of changes with the lighting/coloring etc it can really mess your pics up when their machines do the auto-enhancement stuff. Just make sure to turn OFF the auto enhancement feature when you have your pictures printed (because you have already manually enhanced the pic), and they will turn out much better.

Hope that helps!

This totally helps! I'm very excited to go play! I'm so glad I finally got the password - I've been itching to read my thread!