My computer has been acting shady. Coming on the heels of my external hard drive woes, I am hyper-sensitive to my entire "office" croaking on me. So I have been culling through old folders, deleting the extraneous chaff that might be bogging things down. (For we all know, as a photographer, there is plenty of bogging down material. But how could I possibly delete that shot of my first born? Or that one? Or THAT one???!)
Anyway, my 2008 folder was shelter to many a terrible image. What was most horrifying is that I kept the terrible images. For I must have thought...gulp...they were good. Instead of letting these sorely unfocused, uninspired images die a gentle death in the Trash bin, I violated them further. I abused them in Photoshop.
I applied my favorite actions, Totally Rad Actions, with reckless abandon. I used them at full opacity, blanketing my images in deep shadows and unearthly tones. I had no idea what a layer was and that it could be softened by changing opacity. I was a crazed woman wielding some powerful weapons, slaying picture after picture.
Yesterday, as I tortured myself with my own images, I started to chuckle and decided that I needed to share a few of these gems. A view from the Starting Point of Julie Rivera Photography. An embarrassing ensemble of shots that I cannot deny, like the child following me in Wal-Mart having a complete temper tantrum. Yes, she's mine, I am not proud at this moment, but we do have better days. That sort of thing. So, with a blush upon my cheeks, here is the ugly side of Photoshop:
This is Straight out of Camera (SOOC). Not sure what I was thinking by adding a red blanket behind my daughter as it totally threw the white balance off. And there is not the slightest hint of a catchlight in her deep brown eyes.
And here is the "edit." Generally, I think editing should improve and enhance the original image. Not make it so over-processed that anyone, trained eye or not, can tell something horrific was done to this shot. I think I might have been in my Derelicte at 100% stage at this point.
Again, the SOOC first. A bit better composition, catchlights in the eyes, not a bad shot for an indoor experiment.
But oh my. What have I done to my child? And I remember being PROUD of this edit. Like I had discovered something amazing.
And finally, one of those satisfying SOOC images when my child was looking right into the lens. (Do you notice the deep angle of the shot? Because I was being artistic. See it? The artistry?)
I liked this one so much I printed it as an 11x14. And made wallets that were handed out to family members. The 11x14 is no longer with us. I really hope my family has pitched the tiny prints.
Just for fun, I did a modern edit this morning on this one. First of all, this isn't a shot I would keep nowadays. It was curious to me to see how much my selection process has changed in three years. But instead of adding a deep vignette and excessive softening, I tried to make her look as natural as possible. Gussied up, for sure, but with a light hand. For she is beautiful as she is.
The art of photography is a journey. I hope I never stop growing and learning and looking back to see how far I have come. While I do cringe a bit to see these, I accept their place in my path to where I am today. And where I can picture myself to be in another three years.
