Experimenting

I stumbled across a tutorial for using the Vibrance tool in CS4. I've since made adjustments to most of my photos using it.  I'm going at a snails pace, perhaps even slower, but I did learn something new!

Before:

After: 

To be honest, neither version is particularly good but I think the bottom one is a little bit better. I'd like to see her skin look a little less, ghostlike for lack of a better term but I haven't figured out how to do that yet.  And I did more than adjust the vibrance. I played with the saturation and tone as well.

Playing with Photoshop

I have no idea what I'm doing. Perhaps it's time to buy Elements and start there instead of jumping in the deep end with CS4?

Calibrating

I got some pictures "developed" at Costco the other day and noticed the colors didn't look right.  All the editing in the world isn't going to help if what my monitor shows isn't correct.  So I've decided to calibrate my monitor and found this page on WikiHow.  Let's hope it works!

http://www.wikihow.com/Calibrate-Your-Monitor

One of my favorite photos from Pioneer Woman's blog. 

I love macro photography but am not sure I have the patience for it.

Becoming

I really want to become a better photographer and I've started this blog to try and help me.

As photographers we need to be willing to step out of ‘learning’ mode and into ‘doing’ mode.

• This starts with picking up your camera and taking it with you – everywhere
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• It continues with a commitment to regularly lifting that camera to your eye and taking shot after shot
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• It means sometimes stepping outside of one’s comfort zone and feeling a little awkward or self conscious to get the shot.  This is especially hard for me as I get frustrated easily and give up.
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• It means a not being satisfied with the first shot but experimenting with new angles and fresh perspectives on subjects
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• It means not only knowing the ‘rules’ or principles of photography – but having a commitment to practice them (and breaking them)
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• It means going beyond understanding the ’specifications’ and ‘features’ of your camera and actually experimenting with using them
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• It means ‘thinking’ about your photography – planning shots, setting yourself challenges and then critically reflecting upon the photos you take to work out how you could improve. I get into   what I call "snap" mode and stop thinking and just snap away. 
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• It sometimes means sharing your images – not simply to show how good you are and get ‘nice shot’ remarks – but in the hope that others will point out where you might improve
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• It means all of these things and more but most of all it means picking up your camera and using it.

Read more: http://digital-photography-school.com/its-time-to-become-a-better-photographer#ixzz0jrgUwNa8