In this third part, I want to tell you about Editing your Photos.

I always say a photo is never complete until its been edited.  Now that’s not to say that you need to add all kinds of coloring and distortion or vignetting to an image.  It simply means to finish it off.

Some photographers go way overboard on editing truly ruining the photograph by overdoing their edits.

Three simple things to look for when editing:

1.  Is your exposure good or should you increase or decrease it?

2.  Would this image look better as a black and white?

3.  Does it need some sharpening?

4.  Does it need some vignetting?

5.  Is there slight distortion that needs to be fixed?

A great shot? Hmm… straight out of camera no editing at all.  Yes I would say its a nice shot.  But really its up to you and your creativity.

Here is my finished image.  Why did I choose Black and White over color?  Depending on the editor you use you can have access to many versions of B&W, not just the old standard, so creating an image can be more fun.  Note the minor vignetting around the image too?  Vignetting is great as long as you don’t over use it like they did in the 80′s.

At the end of the day, all you really want is a beautiful clean looking photo…so simply put… Keep It Simple!  Use programs like Lightroom 4 or Apereture.  Adobe offer’s a free trial download for thirty days to test out the product and they are very easy and user friendly.

Try it the next time you take a picture and see the difference.

Earlier you learned about the three elements of photography.  With those three elements you can get the perfect exposure but you need a lot more than just good exposure for a fantastic photograph.

What does Composition mean?  Quiet simply put, where will you place your subject within your frame or how you will photograph it.  This includes what angle you might shoot from as well.

Whats the easiest way to achieve it?  Use a simple concept call Rule of Thirds.  The Rule of Thirds are imaginary guidelines that you can use to place your subject.  Always remember though, babies and dogs don’t sit still, so you may have to do some post editing to get the proper Rule of Thirds.

What does it do?  It turns an ok picture into an interesting one!

This image is taken with the subject straight in the middle.

By moving my subject over to one side, I’ve created a more dramatic affect giving the viewer something more to think about.  Why is he standing in a cornfield?  And what is he thinking about?

So now its your turn!

Combine both the three elements and use your rule of thirds to take you next picture.  Leave a comment and let me know how it worked out.

Next Week:  The Third Installment on how to take a great photo!

Let’s start with what I like to call the 3 Elements or as some people call it… The Holy Trinity.  What am I referring to?  Simply put, your Exposure!  You can’t have a great photo without good exposure, so lets start there.

It’s impossible to acheive good exposure without using all three elements.  I’m sure you’ve heard of them, but never thought about how they work, so here we go.

Aperature:   Aperture is where you control the light that enters your lense before it hits the sensor.  The larger the aperture the more light you let in will make the image appear brighter, the smaller the aperature the less light you let in which will make the image darker.  You can control the aperture by looking at your F Stop value on your camera.  With a 50mm lense if you set your aperture or F stop to F1.8 you will have a lot of light.  If you set it to F3.5, you will have a lot less light.

Shutter:  When you adjust your shutter speed, you are changing the duration of time the shutter stays open to allow light into the camera. If the shutter is open longer, more light will enter the camera and hit the sensor. But if you increase the shutter speed, the shutter opens for a shorter period of time and less light hits the sensor overall. This will result in a darker image

ISO:  This is a number that determines the image sensor’s sensitivity to light. If it’s more sensitive, you’ll end up with a brighter image. If it’s less sensitive, you’ll end up with a darker image. ISO speed also impacts the graininess of an image. If you pick a really high ISO speed, the resulting image will be much more grainy than if you were to use a low ISO speed.

So there you have it.  Exposure in a nutshell!

Stay tuned next week for the second part of the series… Composition!

Thank you to all the brides and grooms who visited me at The Budget Friendly Bridal Show on Sunday.  I would like to congratulate Jessica McIlmoyl who won the free Engagement Session valued at $250.00.