I’ve shared before
a little on photo editing and how simple it is.
You can actually give photos what I call,
a “Photo Makeover”.
(We all need one once in a while, right?)
Right now there are some programs and Aps that you can upload
to your phone, ipad, kindle, computer, or whatever device you own.
(If you don’t own one, this would be a good excuse to
run out and get one).
Don’t run. Walk.
(Sorry, this popped right from my
childhood, and all those times I was running down the hall
and was stopped by a school administrator.)
…Back to makeovers. Ahem.
I just wanted to share some before & after photos
so you get an idea (if you’re new to photo editing)
how easy and fun it can be.
Here’s a before photo of my brother and my sister-in-law.
And here’s the after:
The “before” photo is not bad, but I wanted to bring the focus
into the center, and give an overall warmth to the picture.
Here’s another example, this time my son and daughter-in-law:
AFTER:
It’s just a little different look, but I like how it brings out their faces
and I also added a frame. My daughter-in-law loves the country
and the old, vintage-y look, so I thought she’d like this.
Before:
I took this one of my daughter a week before her wedding:
I cropped the photo, changed it to B&W
and made the background dark
in order to frame the Bride.
It all sounds complicated, but it’s really simple.
Before:
This one was several years ago when all I had
was a little pocket camera.
My son playing his guitar.
All I did was select the “swap color” option on my little
pocket camera, and highlighted only the guitar.
Everything remained B&W except for the original
color of the guitar.
Before:
A nice sunset shot,
on the lake
After:
I cropped, adjusted the intensity of the color, and framed it.
Before:
I told them to just act natural.
After:
Just added a cute frame to go
with the fun photo
and added just a little warmth to the color.
Before:
Senior (Graduation, not 55+) photo shoot.
You can see more of this here.
After:
I added a dark background and a warmer color tint
in order to bring out the subject
and her beautiful smile.
Before:
The photo is not great, too dark and subject is
almost in the background, you might say.
I might say.
We all might say.
Sorry.
Back to editing marvelous-ness.
After:
I changed it to B&W, but left the
stained glass window untouched.
I also made the exposure level a little higher
to brighten the picture.
This is one of my favorites.
Before:
It was a cloudy day, I knew I’d have tons
of editing to do for these wedding photos
to turn out nicely.
Or marvelous-ly?
The colors are too neutral,
nothing spectacular about this photo…
but…
I love the AFTER:
What a difference!
Now the girls are “front and center”.
All I did was crop, brighten the color,
add a frame, and a little fading
around the corners.
It’s amazing what happens when we crop,
zooming in on something special like this.
These are just a sample of what a little editing can do.
Here are some easy tips to keep in mind:
*Crop
*Brighten color
*Add a dark frame to bring out subjects
*Crop
*Try B&W
*Highlight one thing, while keeping the rest B&W
*Crop
*Zoom in (another word for cropping)
*Add a fun frame (just for fun)
The easiest thing to do is to zoom in (crop).
It does away with all the other things your eye
would normally be drawn to.
It’s another way of saying, “Hey! Look at this, here!”
Experiment! Enjoy! Try something new!
You can always hit the “undo” button.
(If only we could do this in real life
and not just in pictures! ha!)
Have fun editing,
Daisy
A Daisy Garden 
Wonderful examples, Daisy. I was wondering if you would share what apps or software that you have used. Have a wonderful day. It is a blizzard day here in Minnesota. Kandy
Oh boy! A blizzard??!! Stay warm somehow!
My favorite photo app right now is PicsArt, and it’s free! The possibilities are endless with this App. I found out about it in a magazine article and was amazed at all the features and how user-friendly it is. I also have iphoto on my computer, although that’s not as quick-n-easy as PicsArt. The most popular one is InstaGram, although it doesn’t have nearly the amount of options the others do. I haven’t used it really since I found PicsArt. The best way to find new Photo Editing Apps is just to do a search on your Apps window (on your device) and you’ll be amazed at all the variety and specialty options out there. I have fun just trying new ones out. I have about 7 on my device now! ha!
You really do some wonderful things with your pictures – and have some very photogenic subjects.
Lillian
Haha! That’s very kind & sweet of you! Thanks so much, Lillian!
These are beautiful! I love the part b&w, part color photos. My apps don’t seem to do that, so I’m going to try yours. Thanks for the tip.
I also like how the scribbled frame eliminated the background — so simple!
Ideas, ideas…
Daisy, you have done an awesome editing job on these. You seem to know just how far to go. They truly are even better after you’ve worked on them. Sometimes it is hard to decide when bloggers post before and after edits – not on yours. My daughter loves to experiment with pictures and it has begun to rub off onto me. I love it now!
Blessings ~ Wendy
Thanks, Wendy! It really is fun. So glad you are enjoying it as well. 🙂
Such a nice, encouraging post, with lots of good examples! I get a big kick out of editing photos (I use iPhoto on my Mac) and am always amazed at how a mediocre photo can be turned into a winner.
Yes, I guess that’s why it’s so fun – watching how the photo can be transformed into something special.
I commented yesterday, but I don’t see it here — I’ve been having trouble like this lately– most frustrating. But I also “liked” it, and that’s not here either. So “Like” again. 😉
ANYWAY, what I wanted to say was I love this. The photos with the B&W and color are most striking!!! And i wanted to tell you that I downloaded PicsArt last night. What fun! Now if I can only figure out all the things it can and can’t do…
So I wanted to ask you — do you have to have a fancy camera to do the part color thing? I do have a real camera, but, honestly? I use my IPhone camera for most everything because I always have it with me…
And thank you for sharing!
Thanks for all your encouragement! I know you’ll love working with the app. The more you play with it and “practice”, the more familiar you’ll be with all the options it has available. I’ve had it for months and I’m still learning. I do have a professional camera, but the effects you asked about are available on PicsArt. You can choose the B&W option, then with your finger you can touch the areas you want to be “in color”. It’s that simple. Again, play with it and you might even discover a photo effect you didn’t even know it had. There’s probably some tutorials you can watch on YouTube. Have fun!!
Wow, a wonderful collection of photo “before and after” creativity, I love the b&w of the bride 🙂 Annie
Thanks so much! That’s one of my favorites, too
I feel like I’ve gotten a little peek into your photo album! fun! Thanks for all the tips– I think sometimes I’m an impatient photographer, need to take time…
Some of those apps are so much fun, time will just fly. I think you’ll enjoy it. 🙂