Rhythm

For this picture I used the selection tool to place the subject (Bridget) across the wall. When all the photos were moved I used the curves and brightness tool to brighten the picture. While using selection, I used the quick selection tool. I had troubles when selection though the small details like her hands and sweater outline. The other downfall was the last phot to the left was blurry because I had to enlarge it a little bit from the original photo. But by the third selection, it was easier for to select and move the subject.

For the second picture I had a little more difficulty selecting the subject and moving her to the right spot on the couch. The previous photos were a little more detailed and not exactly what I wanted to capture in the photo. I had a litimited of photos that I wanted to use and that made it more difficult. I used the quick selection tool once again but then had to use the magnetic tool for two of the subjects. The editing process was also an issue because they weren't all the same brightness which made the photo look less natural.

Portraits and Lighting

The photo above was edited by adding a lens flare at the top left corner creating the illusion that sun was pouring in as morning natural lighting. I would call this photo a 3/4 lighting with natural light because only a part of her face is being illuminated coming from the back corner. I also used a little spot healing technique to clean up an impurity. A strength I had when taking these photos was that it was a comfortable setting and I was able to capture what I imagined the picture would be. The new editing tools were a great addition that I learned how to use. A weakness was finding the blanance between the original and editing it to look realistic.

For the photo of Lauren I used a slight surface blur and a photo filter with a warming effect. The photo filter was a little more difficult to work with because it was almost little difference at first but then I was able to change the opacity and it helped to create the warmer feeling to the picture. Some downfalls though were editing and croping and recroping until I knew I had the picture and the subject position I wanted.

In this photo I used artificial lighting and it was directly on her face. The subject (Lydia) was dressed up ready for a dance and I thought it would be the perfect time to capture her. I used surface blur to edit out her imperfection and blotchyness in her face. I went over the surface blur with a paintbrush tool to harden her eyes and mouth. The difficulty I had was the lighting because none of the lighting (3/4, back, etc.) wasn't capturing what I wanted. Also was erasing all of her imperfection to make her skin seem almost flawless.

Selection Tools

This photo was originally a leafy background with bright greens and stems coming from every angle. When I used the selection tool I inverted it so that the background would become darker and black and white. In doing so, the flower pops in the picture and creates for a more interesting picture. This was pretty simple of a subject to select with few intricate lines. The editing process was simple as well when I just darken the background then made it black and white.

In this photo, I used the lasso selection tool because it had more detailed lines that wouldn't be able to capture in using the magic wand or quick selection tools. Once again I inverted the selection and made the background black and white but kept the details bright. The subject (Lauren) was kept in color and already edited by brightning her face and surface blur. This was a little more difficult than the first picture because she had so many details around her hair and it was hard to keep the lasso tool steady with the mouse.