First real serious "stab" at using DSLR and photo editing

[Lynton]

Please feel free to say what you think, and how I can improve - saying "oh wow, for a first attempt that's really good", won't help me learn, unless of course for a first attempt it was really good!

Will bore you with all the details, as I am sure these make a difference to the outcome - to be honest, being a beginner I left it in full auto - should have at least turned the dial to Portrait - D'oh!

Pentax K-m, with DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6AL, Focal length 21.3mm, 1/180sec, F8.0, sensitivity 100, set up max resolution, max quality.

This is the original. Here

This is what I have done with it.

http://s113.photobucket.com/albums/n237/lyntonsmith/?action=view&current=JoeHettieRET8b8bw.jpg


Got someone to sort out the funny patch under Joes right arm - have been told its a bit of lens flare from shooting too much into the sun, but at the moment photoshop skills are noway near good enough to tackle these problems.

Cropped the pic square.

Resized to approx 8" x 8"

Applied unsharp MAsking Filter (sorry that confuses me sharpen by unsharpening) at 100% / Radius 3, Threshold 2 (as per suggestion of the guy who sorted out the arm)

Turn it to black and white using Photoshop - Image > Adjustments > B&W then played around with the colour bars.

Looking at it now on my monitor it looks a tad green ??



Anyway - over to you - feel free to say what you think - broad shouldered and thick skinned, and keen to learn!

Thanks


Lynton

 

[Lynton]

OK - so how do you get the smaller altered pic to appear in here instead of as a link.............

Lynton

 

[mtxfiesta]

use this at the start and end of the link

 

[photo-em]

I wouldn't have turned it black and white as it loses contrast and "oomph" that you get from the coloured version.

Try avoid changing the colour bars for black and white and instead bring in some contrast in photoshop and you'll get less of an overall flat grey image.

 

[Lynton]

Photo-em,

Yeah that kind of worked - have now upped the contrast a bit - looks a lot better - going to print it off in the mornign and see what it looks like........