Photography Photo Edit Critique?

just doing a test 'edit' of some photos from a doll meet i went to today. would anyone like to weigh in with their opinion?

i use the liquify tool to give dolls facial expressions from time to time, which may or may not go down well with people (curious to know if people "like it" or not)

i also have a problem with sometimes over-editing my photos. FYI: i had no control over the lighting in these photos, they are all naturally as yellow as the 'before' pic and thus will appear somewhat monochrome even after i adjust the Color Balance. any opinions welcome.

the doll does not belong to me. she is owned by Sjaan, and is a DC Bella named Fiona.

Before & After





please let me know what you would change - or leave unchanged. thank you.

 

thanks, i personally think i'm going to re-do the lips as the liquify tool distorts the sharpness of the image and i blurred them too much.

i only use it for 'artistic' photos etc - reference photos i obviously keep unedited so that people can see what a doll really looks like. however i enjoy making dolls come a little 'alive' by tweaking their faces from time to time.

i appreciate your kind comments, thank you.

 

thanks a bunch kirika, i know how to use all of those photoshop tools so it should be np for me to try using them on this pic and it does look better. i kind of left the flyaway in on purpose but you were right, it was too distracting. alternately, i could have flipped the photo possibly (people's line of site tends to gravitate to the right side of an image, or so i read once) and then use the blur and smudge tools

thanks for the complement on the mouth tweak, i actually save all my edits in PSD layers so there should be no problem finding the untweaked layer and re-doing it. i do my own dolls' mouths often and they don't "smudge", i guess i just used the wrong size liquify brush that time.

it was also my intention to bring out the green in her eyes, i just couldn't get the color-contrast values right. i even saturated them using the sponge tool and added light to them with the dodge tool, just not enough i guess, plus too much monochromatic filtering may have undone that since i could have done it in the wrong order.

i'm a real noob with my camera (it was a gift) so i'll see if i can fix the white balance on it. i think your edit is great, the only thing i have to say i would not do is i wouldn't sharpen her eye area so much- stylistic choice though, there.

 

Ok, doubleposting again. based on the crit i received i made a new edit in 2 colorschemes, 'natural' and 'cold'. would appreciate crit on these "re-edits" and you can compare them to my original post for reference, if you like:

Natural



Cold




i redid her mouth - unfortunately this is as unblurred as i can get it while still giving her a nice smile (unless possibly i sharpen that area only? could be difficult)

i made sure to extra emphasize her eyes by using more saturation, sponge, dodging etc. i also tried to bring out more color in her hair and other parts of the photo (BG)

i ran into one problem - i've used clone stamp before but never on a BG like this and i couldn't get it right. eventually i just used lens blur filter, blur & smudge tool, and eraser at various opacity degrees to get this effect instead. anyone a pro at clone stamping?

i also made a few mistakes regarding layers when blurring etc. also as i mentioned, i don't feel like i should sharpen the image from a stylistic POV but if you disagree please argue your point!

Edit: also, if anyone thinks my original edit had a 'nicer' expression or was better in some way, point out how i degraded from that, thanks!

Second Edit: not going to post it but i made a variation on Natural with a more relaxed expression that i put on my flickr @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/leitan/7717459024/

 

thanks so much for your help, Kirika, i wouldn't have made these re-edits without your help and advice! i have used Photoshop for ages but i'm still only an adept, not a pro. i ended up favoring 'Natural' as well, and while it's not perfect i do feel it's a huge improvement.

really appreciate all the tips regarding the tools i am not so adept with as well. BTW - flipping the picture is also a good way to check the composition in general, if it looks "odd" when flipped it can mean something needs altering. in this case while i was editing, i flipped it and realized there was a detail i missed and went over it, before flipping it back.

also agree about the color scheme in the cool version - it could be fixed, but i went with Natural when posting to my flickr.

thank you ^_^

 

thanks Zag, i often use it on "art" edits like i said, but most people don't actually know or notice unless i tell them (or show the before-after pics). i think maybe a thread with people giving their dolls "expressions" would be a fun idea if enough people know how to use this technique (not sure if other programs aside from PS have a similar tool)

Kirika pointed out the white balance thing, so i will google it and try to fix it. i did not really know such a thing existed beyond the non manual settings (and i *have* to use manual focus due to my OCD), but duh, it makes sense now.

by 'what are you shooting' - do you mean what type of camera I have?

and i already implied it, but to clarify, i pretty much only ever use the Manual setting on my camera so i can adjust the focus and ISO etc myself. i am just very nooby about this camera still as i was never a photographer more than casually before someone gave it to me at Christmas.

obvious exception to the above is i also take iPhone pictures, of which this is not one.

 

it's a Canon Eos Rebel T3i - yeah, i know, a camera that costs as much as a BJD, and i'm still a noob at using it. i feel really bad that i don't know how to use it to its full potential yet. if you can't help, i'll research the problem online, as the person who gave it to me is my boyfriend who isn't a photographer himself, he just was hoping to encourage a hobby (and it worked).

i would happily draft up a Doll Expressions Game, the only catch is i don't know how easy this is for people who don't have Adobe PS, i have no idea if equivalent or similar tools exist outside of PS. seeing before & afters would still be super fun.

also, since you are in my thread, can i ask if it's permissable to post other edits i'm working on as part of this set (it's from a doll meet), or if there's an image limit/it would be considered spamming up my own thread? i wouldn't make separate threads for each or something silly like that.

 

bumping with a new edit of a different pic. appreciate any crit you guys have on this one.


ariella by ___rei, on Flickr