After a break last week to get adjusted to their new digs, I ♥ Faces is back again this week with Fix it Friday! This is one of my very favorite blog hops. I find a lot of great blogs and learn tons of new tips!
If you’re visiting from I Heart Faces, welcome! Please also take a moment to check out today’s Friday Finds: Wide Angle Shots. Each Friday, I post a round-up of some great photography and photo editing articles for the week. i choose a photographic theme for the week and display photographs by others which match the theme. So far I’ve only used photographs I’ve found myself through the Creative Commons search, but for next week’s article thereafter, I would like to invite you to participate! Please check out my Friday Finds page for more information on submitting a photograph.
Now, onto the edits!
This week’s stunning photograph is submitted by Angie Arthur of a teen during her senior portrait session. What an awesome senior photo! It makes mine look quite laughable, but I am not at all a fan Olan Mills and the like.
Here’s the straight-out-of-the-camera (SOOC) shot:
I use Photoshop CS3 for Windows to edit.
First things first…
Right away I knew I wanted to try tilting it a bit so the eye was more level with the train tracks and crop it. I was pleased with the results, too! Except for one small detail…
Sampling, Cloning, Patching, oh my.
I absolutely did not want to crop out any of the train in the background as it’s absolutely perfect, so the only solution is to fill in the blanks. I’m not a master of this by any means! The first thing I did was sample some similar parts of the tracks each into a new layer. I used my eraser tool set to low flow and opacity to blend each layer into the background behind it. Once I’d sampled as much as I could, I grouped the layers together. (Shortcut Tip: Select multiple layers using Ctrl + Click, then type Alt+ G to group the selected layers.) As you can see below, this looks far from good!
After that I switched to cloning at around 40-80% opacity depending on the area and that was it! As for the header, I did try patching, but I’m new to using the tool and find these two methods still work best for me most of the time.
Hover over the photo below to see the results of my sampling and cloning. (It may take a moment to load and if you’re reading through a feed, you might want to click through to my site on this one!)
Basic Edit
Once the photo is once again whole, I can begin editing it. First up, Pioneer Woman’s Warmer (freebie), MCP Actions’ Magical Clarity and Fake Blue Sky Illusion for the blown out sky, followed by her Magic Midtone Lifter applied only to her skin. The midtone lifter is one of my favorites for skin tone! I added MCP Actions’ High Definition Sharpening Action (freebie) to complete the basic edit. Minus the sharpening, which I usually add at the end of my final edit, my basic edit is what I’ll go back to when trying out different styles.
Mouseover the image below to see the before and after from the pre-color corrected version.
Fun Edit #1
I love Patti Brown’s Kaleidoscope Light set and think most of the light overlays work well for outdoor shots. Here I used Southern Cross (X2) which I free transformed to be crossing her body diagonally. Added to that is Beach Glass 4 from her Gallery Collection (also great overlays!) and finished off with Pioneer Woman’s Quick Edge Burn with the effects erased from the model.
Again, mouseover the photo to view the comparison to the starting point.
Fun Edit #2
I wanted to try to apply a similar edit using free textures only. I used Shadowhouse’s Alchemy set at Overlay 45% and Netherworld set at Soft Light at around 50%.
Guess what happens if you hover your mouse over the photo!
Fun Edit #3
For my last edit, I wanted to try something a little different for me. I usually tend to shy away from making a photograph too artsy, but I admire it when others do it, so I thought I’d try. Here I used Amanda Padgett’s Morning Light, Paint the Moon’s Vanilla Pop and the Beach Lights 6 overlay from Patti Brown’s Gallery Collection set to screen at 93%.
Which edit do you prefer, if any?
I really like your edit, but whoa fake blue sky is fake! Does that action have the ability to shade the blues or make it a gradient? That might make it look more real. Love the skin tones and light improvements.
Twitter: @PhotoLynda
Yeah, it does. I punched it up too much.
Looking back over it, I knew it was too much, but I was too lazy to go back and undo it. 
Twitter: @PhotoLynda
Still too lazy to go back and redo everything, so I copied just the portion of the sky, pasted it into a new layer and selected Screen blending mode.
I think that worked okay for everything except edit #1.
That definitely looks more natural.
Looks like you had fun! I like the last one the best
Twitter: @PhotoLynda
Thanks Jessica!
No wonder I’m not a photographer. I don’t really see the edits.
I’m sorry! I know that’s not what you want to hear, but my eyes just can’t see it. Can you point the work out to me?
Twitter: @PhotoLynda
That’s interesting to me. Here’s the most dramatic edit side by side with the original. They look the same to you?
Oh, so one is lighter than the other?
Twitter: @PhotoLynda
Partly. The color is also different. Her skin is more blueish in the original and warmer in the one on the right.
you did an excellent job! I love the last one. Great job with the cloning..that’s no easy task!:)
Twitter: @PhotoLynda
Thank you Shawntae! I was really happy with the cloning.
I like the first, but I tend to liking natural edits. I might have cloned out the hot spot above the knee!
Twitter: @PhotoLynda
That’s a great tip. I noticed it, but I’m not sure why I didn’t think about cloning it out.
Edit #2 is my fave! It’s a perfect mix of bright, vibrant colors and low-key shadows. I can’t believe how well you cloned the tracks after straightening the image. Another thing I am still practicing!
Also, I wanted to thank you for your kind words on my proposal story post. I truly love having blogger friends like you.
To answer your questions, no, I am not living with my fiance currently. We both still at our parents’ houses. We are hoping to move into an apartment together by the end of summer (fingers crossed!). And his parents already generously offered us a honeymoon for our wedding present. We haven’t picked a place yet. I am so excited about all of it! That’s why I have done so much already. 
Twitter: @PhotoLynda
Thank you so much Amy!
Cloning and sampling is pretty easy. There’s a “You Suck at Photoshop” on sampling that helped me a lot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWn0lxRNqos
How awesome that you’re being gifted a honeymoon! My husband and I never had one and I still regret it. Hope you get to go somewhere cool. Are you staying domestic or maybe going to Hawaii or Europe?
I am not sure if you are religious? If so, most major religions offer couples pre-marriage counseling workshops for cheap or free and I highly recommend going through one. If you’re not religious, they have some if you look in the phone book, but there are also workbooks you can buy dedicated to it. Going from fiancee to spouse was a surprisingly big change, so embrace any help you get at improving your communication skills before and during marriage.
Sorry, I like to stick my nose in with advice that isn’t asked for.