Photography: Kicking it Up a Notch

Jen is teaching me how to use Lightroom to do some basic photo editing.  I was really hesitant to get into post-processing at first because I don't have a lot of time I'm lazy.  But then I tried it and now I'm hooked.  Mostly what it's helping me do is just make a good picture (above)...

...look great!  Okay, now that I look at the edit of this one I think it might be a little too saturated.  But it's still kind of fun.  It definitely pops more than the original.  

Here's a great example of how it's helping me with light.  I love the look of natural light, but here in Germany we don't often have great lighting... read: it's pretty cloudy.  And while cloudy can be really awesome for outdoor shots (no squinty eyes on your kids' faces and no crazy shadows) it's not the best for food photography when you're trying to use light from your window.  So with a little editing, I can get the feel and color I was going for.  (though the original is kind of interesting with it's dreary feel)

Here's a perfect example of how Lightroom is going to save my photography life.  The boys were moving too fast for me to get the settings right.  So the original is way under exposed.  The edited shot still isn't perfect (Easton's a little blurry) but it's still better than before!

Yay for playing with your pictures!  It really is a lot of fun.  Not that I quite have the hang of it... but I'm getting there.  Thanks, Jen!