• The Inner Photographer … Brought to You by Photoshop

    We have been helping a friend set up her website, [www.alternativelivingreiki.com]. As of yet, our progress isn’t astounding, but we have been doing things little by little as we are in Northwestern Kansas for the Thanksgiving holiday. One of those things is taking good pictures that underline what Nichole at Alternative Living Reiki does. ReikiContinue…

    Alternative Living Reiki

    We have been helping a friend set up her website, [www.alternativelivingreiki.com]. As of yet, our progress isn’t astounding, but we have been doing things little by little as we are in Northwestern Kansas for the Thanksgiving holiday. One of those things is taking good pictures that underline what Nichole at Alternative Living Reiki does. Reiki is an intensely natural treatment in which one’s energy fields are engaged to trigger healing and rejuvenation. To emphasize the nature aspect, Nichole and I traveled to a nearby lake to take pictures. Of course, we had to include a picture of yours truly getting a reiki treatment later, too!

    I proceeded to take pictures with a Fujifilm Finepix, which didn’t seem to be the best camera — but admittedly I don’t know much about cameras. It was certainly a welcome alternative to Instagram, though, so I kept shooting. I was hoping my somewhat tedious acquaintance with modifying photos using Photoshop would pull me through on this one. So, after we got done, I came home, plugged the memory card in to my computer, and browsed Pinterest for Photoshop tutorials.

    A tutorial titled How I Edit ALL of My Pictures by Jessica Drew Photography is one of my favorites.  It’s a tutorial that has encouraged me to play with the curves tool … a tool that I previously was too frightened to touch with a ten foot pole. Turns out moderation is key with that one. I also love using the dodge tool on the eyes. Brilliant.

    After reading through Ms. Drew’s tutorial, I had a couple of (what I consider) successful goes with Photoshop. Granted, the photos don’t look like a professional did them, but I’ve never credited myself as a photographer anyway. Without further ado, I present to you the before and after photos of Nichole:

    Nichole at the Lake
    Reiki Treatment

    Amazing what adding a bit of light can do, right? I think I am going to make it a goal to Photoshop all of my photos now. Go big or go home!

    On a more ethical note, I have read that several professional photographers refuse to use Photoshop. My hat’s off to them … I couldn’t do what they do! One of these superhumans is my friend Alex, who does photography as a hobby with his incredible camera that has a lens a mile long. Check out his site: [http://aumbhau.wordpress.com/] I would aspire to be like him … but I don’t because it’s unrealistic. As far as I’m concerned, give me a point and shoot camera plus some “cheating” software, and I’m set to go!

    More picture-taking tomorrow … little brother’s senior pictures!