From the prompt:
It’s week #31 & we’re going to try something a little different than our typical P52 prompts. If you’re anything like me then you probably own a bazillion (or a few less) presets that you rarely use. Maybe they were purchased early on in your photography journey because the amazing results seen in the before/after images were so appealing that it was impossible for you not to buy them. Maybe you simply collected a bunch of freebies over the months/years (thank you CM Member Perks). Either way, they have been sitting there patiently waiting for you to have a moment of free time (ha ha) or a reason to experiment with them. Well, my fellow P52ers, that day has arrived. It’s time to play!
This prompt was set up with the intention of pulling you out of your comfort zone by giving you an assignment that begs you to be creative, experiment & have some fun with your images (& those patient presets). I know many of us in the CM community have been mildly (or maybe severely) obsessed with coming up with our own personal style when it comes to post-processing. It is not only my mission to shake things up but hopefully this prompt will also provide an opportunity for you to get more familiar with the editing process. I don’t just want you to slap a preset onto your image and call it done. I’d like you to make adjustments so that the preset can do your particular image some justice.
Assignment: Either take a new picture or use an existing one (you’re welcome) & edit it using three very different styles.
Style #1 – This is going to be “your style”. If you have one use it. If you don’t then use your usual go-to. If it’s a preset that you made or somebody else made…cool…use it. If it varies every time you edit then just use that strategy here as well.
Style #2 – Sift through your collection of presets & play, play, play!
Style #3 – Again, sift through your collection of presets & come up with a style that is completely different than the first two.
This was such a fun topic! I got this happy shot of my boy and his dad at lunch today (with me and my girl in the reflection, so it’s almost as full family portrait!). First is one of my usual self-made presets, based on one that Karlee Hooper mentioned in The Optimistic Photographer breakout. Basically, it’s a slight increase in contrast, decrease in shadows, increase in blacks, clarity, vibrance, and saturation, then I added a radial filter to increase the exposure on their faces, and added a slight vignette:
Next I used a present from the ClickinMoms Elements collection, the Earth filter tool that adds light. I use this pretty regularly for my family photo sessions, and in fact, it’s pretty close to first edit, if slightly warmer:
Next,this is a preset I have saved as “HDR creamy for bright days ST”. I have no idea where I got it!
And just for fun, I did one more — using a “Fall Base” preset that I think was from a ClickinMoms Member Perks, although don’t quote me on that! Considering we go back to school next week, this one feels timely:
Of them all, I like the Earth preset the best!
