wine on the keyboard

Messing with a Photo

by Kay~Kacey on 5/28/2009

You know sometimes you have a photo and you just can’t make it look like you have it pictured in your head? Well, here is one photo gone bad. Really bad. Yes, sometimes I like to show you my failures. If this were as good as I could get my photos, I’d have to give up on the idea of a photography biz, now wouldn’t I?

boy-on-stairs-reg

This photo of The Impish One. I’ve messed with it a bunch of times. As an aside…there is way too much green stuff growing on those stairs, must write it on SuperGuy’s to do list… No, I’m SURE he wants it on his list. Positive… Anyway, the lighting wasn’t so good, The Impish One was pale (he’s always pale), but there was no light reaching his eyes. I should have used my reflector. Sigh. But I wanted to save this snapshot.

boy-on-stairs-colorpop

I did a color pop. (That was HORRIBLE!) An action gone bad. Really bad. Okay, I masked back his skin and did make it look a bit better than this one I’m showing you, but I wanted to show you how terrible one this was.

boy-on-stairsbw

Of course I tried out a black and white conversion because, well, that is the theme of this month’s photo of the month’s contest. But, alas, no matter what I do to this photo, I just don’t like it. Love the kid, hate the photo. Sigh.

Back to the drawing board on a black and white photo to enter in the contest. Do you get photos like that? No matter what you do to them, you just aren’t happy with how they turn out? You realize that if you had just moved over a bit, got a bit different light, it would have made all the difference in the world? Hm, maybe one month we should have the theme be photos gone wrong…

LauraP May 28, 2009 at 5:51 am

The b&w version has a certain noir quality. Not quite what I’d want in a portrait of my kid, but interesting.

Mango Girl May 28, 2009 at 9:03 am

I like the steps with all the green stuff on it…except I bet it is slippery…

annbb May 28, 2009 at 9:15 am

That B&W is interesting. Brooding. And I know IO is – impish – and not brooding. So tho I like the photo, maybe not so much what it seems to be conveying.

Suzanne May 28, 2009 at 1:23 pm

Well, I didn’t think the first one was that bad! I kinda like it.

Kate May 28, 2009 at 6:23 pm

I think the black & white is quite good, actually.

However, I am doubtful that it shows your son’s true character and that’s where the trouble lies.

It’s difficult sometimes, isn’t it?

Amy May 28, 2009 at 7:40 pm

I like the first one because he looks like a vampire – Robert Patterson from Twilight. My tween daughter would be all over him:)

This Eclectic Life May 29, 2009 at 4:29 pm

So, do you ever crop the photos try to get something of interest? I’m thinking, just the eyes…or just the feet? It’s a weird idea, I know…but sometimes you can get interesting shots that way….I dunno. YOU are the photographer. I just hate to give up on a picture of a cute kid….

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