Photo Processing: Before and After!

That wacky Professor Harwood gave us an assignment to use Photoshop or other image editing software to show we can improve the quality of images using such tools...or just have fun and do something creative. I have a little of each in my presentation.

Before

I'm not sure why I did this but I can tell what I did.


On my iPhone I brought the selfie into the program. 

After

I used an app called Snapseed that is available for both Apple and Android phones.

 Snapseed has numerous filters to change the look of photos. I used one called "grunge" and then went to a framing feature and picked a vintage looking one. I'm not sure how to describe my new look. Maybe it's "vintage grunge"-- yeah, let's go with that!

Snapseed is fun and free. Photoshop is pricey but Photoshop Elements is cheaper and has most of the top features. Here's a list of 10 more free photo editing software programs. Have fun with your photos!

Students and teachers can get some nice discounts on computer software and other goodies by way of the Academic Superstore website.

Before

In this example, I processed my owl photo slightly in Adobe Photoshop.

I've learned about many processing tricks and techniques in my

Carolina Nature Photographers Association (CNPA) meetings.

A really basic step is to bring an image into Photoshop, then

go to Image, then Adjustments. Then in Levels, when

the histogram appears, I slide the white and black point setting

until I get an adjustment that I like. This simple maneuver can give

images a more polished look, with deeper contrast.  

Next, let's get "Posterized" with a neat free program called Photofiltre.

"Posterized"
before and
after
using the free
Photofiltre
program!

Here's another photo processed with the simple levels
adjustment in Photoshop. Before is on top and the processed
image is under it. See a difference? 

One more example in Photoshop, this time with a Glossy Ibis I

photographed on Oct. 18, 2014 at the Bear Island WMA in

the ACE Basin. Before adjustment on top, after is on the 

bottom. 

Finally, this rainbow captured in August 2014 looks that much better 

after a little processing in Snapseed.

                                                  Before                                          The original is not bad

After 
But this version is a bit more dramatic- the road and rainbow
each stand out more, as do the clouds, and the entire
setting overall.

After