A New Header and Some Cool Sites

I've been wanting to figure out how to make a header for my blog for a while, and I finally got the inspiration after coming across this site which has tons of really cool fonts you can download. I used one of the fonts, Milk and Cereal, as the font in my header. I made my header in GIMP, which is a free photo editing program that is similar to photoshop (at least from what I've read, I've never used photoshop). I've been enjoying learning to use GIMP to make my photos even better. Eventually I'll get more creative with my header - right now though I'm just proud I figured out how to do it in the first place!

Constructive Feedback Friday at I Heart Faces

I'm still very new to photography, as well as editing, so I'm really looking forward to today's "Constructive Feedback Friday" at I Heart Faces. I'm ready to learn from the great readers at I Heart Faces! I would love to know what I could do to get a better shot straight of out the camera, as well as any comments about the edit (and editing process).

This is the photo SOOC (I'm being brave and posting it pre-crop . . . please ignore my somewhat messy house in the background!). The background is a thick roll of wrapping paper. I wish it was wider, but it is all I had to work with at the time. She is facing a window. (Here is the image uploaded on Flickr).

Here is the EXIF data:

• Canon Rebel EOS XS with 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens
• f/4.0
• SS 1/25
• ISO 400
• 24 mm focal length
• Manual mode, no flash

First, I straightened the photo slightly (it seemed like it was taken at a slight angle), as well as cropped the photo.

Next, in GIMP, I cloned out the spots on the wrapping paper.

Finally, I opened the photo in Lightroom (I'm checking out the beta version right now) where I increased the fill light, as well as increased the blacks. I feel like it may be too dark in the bottom right corner (as well as too wrinkly).

Thanks again for the constructive feedback! Be sure to check out other entries in "Constructive Feedback Friday!"

Fix-It Friday #36

Once again, I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to practice editing photos by doing I Heart Faces Fix-It Friday. I made my edits with GIMP.

Here is the original:

And here are my edits:

Check out other edits here.

Fix-It Friday #35

Once again, I couldn't resist trying my hand at the "I Heart Faces Fix-It Friday" - it gives me such a great opportunity to learn more about editing. For this image, I made my first attempt at making eyes "pop" by following this tutorial. However, I don't have photoshop, so I made my edits using GIMP.

Here is the original:

Here's my edit:

And one more . . . because I think my original edit was too bright.

I Heart Faces Fix-It Friday #33

One of the things I really want to include on this blog is my photography. I'm really just starting out. I only got my DSLR a few months ago, and I still only have the kit lens. I've been doing all sorts of reading, trying to learn how to use my DSLR, as well as how to edit my photos after I've taken them. I came across this site. Every Friday they do "Fix-It Friday" where everyone edits the same photo and we can all compare the edits. Here's my first attempt. I used Gimp to make my edits.

Here's the original image:

And here is my edit: