Have I mentioned lately just how much I LOVE Adobe Lightroom?!! It's an amazing program where I usually do some minor touch ups for tone and exposure, plus it keeps my photos organized for me so I can find them amongst the thousands . . . (give the
free trial of Lightroom 4 a spin . . .)
Then I usually open the current project up and do some editing in Photoshop. I really like to use many of the MCP actions for Photoshop, many of the Totally Rad actions . . . a little Florabella . . .
But today I wanted to feature something a little different!
For all you peeps out there who want to keep those expenses down (and when it comes to photography - WHO doesn't want to keep the expenses down? Oh the money that could be spent . . .)
I thought I would do a totally FREE edit from start to finish for you . . .
Yes, you can do some LOVELY things without spending any money!
Isn't THAT good news :D
I'm going to feature one of my FAVORITE websites -
Rita is the blogger behind CoffeeShop and a stay-at-home, home-schooling Mom to two naughty but adorable little boys (Duke is 7 and Imp is 4), wife to her high school sweetheart, and passionate about all things photography.
And the best part about The Coffee Shop - Everything on her blog is 100% free!
(although if you LOVE her products like I do - you can kick a little donation her way or
download her MEGA action pack with the works in one download for $49 - one of the best bargains you'll find online!)
So . . . let me take you through this fun edit - from start to finish - all FREE :D
. . . this would be the unedited start up version . . .
our first edit (left) was a run through Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait 3one of my personal favorites!Just a little adjustment to the skin softening, I adjusted the opacity down from 75% to 50%then just a little touch up to the whites for eyes and teeth.Knick the sharpen button, then I applied a mask and backed the sharpening off their faces slightly.I also used the soft glow at about 30% to lighten the center of the frame around all the heads and faces to bring some emphasis to that area.
after flattening the image, (right) next I did a minor levels adjustment with the left lever to bring up the blacks just a bit.
I noticed just a a smidged around her mouth that needed softening still - so I opening up the Coffeeshops Powder room 2 just to soften that one spot
Rita has some really amazing actions for effects!It was a cloudy overcast day - so I added in a little sun flare on the left to warm the photo up a little and give it a little more light using Coffeeshops Sun Kissed action.
On the right - a fun action called Attic Vintage - since I had a request for a more vintage look!(the action calls for a scratchy texture so be prepared with one, there isa link to many FREE ones HERE!)All FREE still! Some inspiring looks!
This one above is one of my favorites - adding a color block to a photo!The action used here is Coffeeshops AutoV Color block action.I should mention Rita's sight will talk you through all the downloads, installs . . .any question you might have!
Also her actions some with complete instructions and many tutorials are available on her website!
and added the the tiniest vingette with Coffeeshops
Burn action.
Tah dah! :D
