Here are two edits, one with texture one without:

There are a lot of edits to this one: first, I got rid of the fence and everything in the background except the trees. Next I added gaussian blur then paint daubs to the background. Then I boosted the color with brilliance and warmth, then adjusted the hue and saturation (blues only) a bit. I also did a little edit to the eyes. Then I added texture (in PSP) to the background, just for added interest.

And this is the original SOOC shot:

I really love the way the backgrounds turned out… and I’m pretty happy with their sparkly eyes too (honestly, I didn’t realize how lifeless eyes are in pictures SOOC).  I’m using Pioneer Woman’s eye technique… slightly modified for my program and for the size of the pictures.  I like how they turned out.

I also adjusted the brilliance and warmth of all three pics.  I love the vibrant colors.  And I’m sure if I sit and look at them long enough, I’ll find a million other things to change… but these are done for now.  My goal was to edit them so they look nice and crisp in my header, and I like how my header looks now.  Plus, any excuse to play in PSE.

I’m hoping to spend some time taking pics this weekend so I’ll have more to play with; and it’ll give me a chance to play with the settings on my camera too.  I’ve been thinking of shooting in RAW but, to be honest, I’m kind of intimidated by it.  I really want to learn to use my camera’s full potential though so I can get the best quality SOOC as is possible– less editing is my ultimate goal!  Yeah.

Okay, let’s see… I first played with the background.  I ended up using the paint daub filter (I played with the watercolor one too, but really liked the effect of paint daub more).  It gave it a nice blur with a bit of texture.  I love that!  Next I boosted the color a bit and adjusted the brilliance and warmth (nic Color Efex Pro).  Then I boosted her eye color following Pioneer Woman’s technique– which I must say is so incredibly easy and so brilliant at the same time!  Of all the eye popping tutorials I’ve looked at, hers always comes out looking the best!  (I know that she wrote it for Photoshop, but it really wasn’t that hard to adjust it for PSE… just a matter of finding things in different places really.)  After I boosted her eye color, I opened her up in Paint Shop Pro and did a little noise removal (I absolutely LOVE that feature of PSP… and don’t have a clue if it can be done in PSE, yet.)  After I removed the noise, I removed some shadows from under her eyes and… voila!  This is the final product!  I am really very happy with the result I got.  It’s pretty much dead on with what I had in mind when I started!  Priss came in from school and watched as I finished it up and, well, she LOVES it… so, yay me!!

Oh, and did you see my watermark up there in the corner?  It’s new.  I just did that today.  I don’t know why… maybe I read somewhere that you should watermark your pics?  Anyway, in case you’re getting confused… Amber is my formal name.  So -if- I ever (in about a thousand years or so) learn enough, get good enough, and go pro, that is what I will call my studio. 

Then I removed the digital noise, sharpened the edges, and boosted the color slightly. (All in Paint Shop Pro– I have more experience with PSP from doing web graphics, etc):

Then I decided to play with it in Photoshop Elements. I played with some filters and ended up really liking this one– it is Monday Morning Violet; I lowered the grain, brightness, and smear; and bumped up the color. I also didn’t sharpen it because I kinda like the softness of the way it looks:

Christ Wishes Religious Christmas Card

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And yes you are seeing the same photos on the card as is in my header. I took them Thanksgiving day for the purpose of creating our Christmas card… but I love them so much I had to use them in my header too!

That’s my Little Man… but don’t tell him that.  He says he’s Iron Man.  And he’s not little.  He’s big.  A big boy.  Like Daddy.  (yes, that is an Iron Man shirt he’s wearing… on of his many.)