Before/After ~ Theme Thursday

Fun! We get to see some before and after photos today over at Theme Thursday. I have had a few inquiries about what I do to my photos lately, so this was perfect timing.

Here are a couple before/after pics from the park this past weekend.

Before:

After:

What had to be done:
I know all of the photography rules – the rule of thirds, framing, etc…but trying to actually follow the rules while chasing the girls usually proves impossible. So frequently I crop and remove unwanted stuff from the photos. How much time I have usually determines how much I actually do. But you can see I cropped this one considerably to get the focus on the “follow the leader.” And I took out some of the distractions in the background as well.

I also bumped up the color and contrast to make the color pop a little bit more. I added an unsharp mask and ran it through an Imagenomic filter because I am usually not a fan of the “noise” in digital photos – well, I think it looks great in some photos, when it can add to the mood of the photo – but I liked this photo a little “smoother.” And then I put a black border around it. I actually do this with all of my photos (I’m sure you have noticed) I think it just makes them stand out a little – kind of like a mat for traditional printed photos.

A few others.

Before:

After:

What had to be done:
Again, bumped up the contrast, color, ran unsharp mask and the noise filter. I also applied a vignette on this one (the dark shadow around the edge). I am trying to not be so heavy-handed with this since I have been known to use this A. LOT. But I do like, again, how it draws the focus into the middle of the photo – and I’m all about focusing on my cute girls. I am aware of my compulsion for the vignette, so I’ll try to keep it in check. I sent someone a little tutorial on how I do the vignette, if you’d like a copy of it – leave a comment and I’ll send if off to you, too.

After, b&w:

I kinda like this one as a black & white, too. I use LightRoom for easy b&w conversions. Sometimes I really hate to lose the “color” of the photos, but the light wasn’t that great on Sunday – and I think this one doesn’t lose anything by losing the color, but makes it a little more dramatic.

Before:

After:

What had to be done:
Oh, I love this photo so much. I cropped it in, did the color/mask/filter thing and then “matted” it. I really like the balance and motion in this shot. And, I love Em’s expression. And, I love the peek of pink shoes coming down the slide.

Before:

After:

What had to be done:
The same as with the others – cropped, bumped color/contrast, noise filter, unsharp mask, vignette, matted. Done.

Don’t forget to stop over and see what other before/after magic is happening at Stacy’s today.