From Picture to Portrait!

Here is a picture I took of a friend of mine and his son at scout camp this summer.  I thought it was a nice picture, but all the people and activity in the background really detracts from the subjects, don't you think?

The trees and sky are really over exposed and, since our eye is drawn to the light, we are pulled toward the trees, almost missing our subjects altogether.  No problem!  Using Lightroom and Photoshop (my two favorite programs on the planet!), I was able to turn that picture... into this portrait!

Much better don't you think?  This went from being a nice picture of my friend and his son, to being a great little candid portrait that they will hopefully cherish for a very long time.

The original picture was shot with my Canon 20D with a 17-85mm lens at 44mm; shutter speed was 1/60 @ f/8.0; ISO 800; no flash. 

Keep shooting!

Ryan