Really!!???!!

[rjmhotrod]

I was both excited and disgusted with this pic. This was taken on Christmas Day. She is a wonderful lady - not blood related, but family in a convoluted kind of way. I was so excited when I got this. But when I saw it on my monitor and realized she was soft, I was deflated. But... live and learn. This was before I had my 430EX and was taken with the kit lens. Right place, right time, just got to work on my skills... Still it was a good capture of the moment.

[jamner]

I love her expression, great capture!

[bmoguy]

I love the expression on her face. As a rookie, I'm always tyring to improve my PP skills and thought this would be a good photo to try - not sure if I over did it or not.

[Rhinotherunt]

I think it looks fine as a snap shot. Love the expression.

[Saralonde]

Some things about the shot may not be perfect, but her expression sure is.

[JSimonian]

As a bit of an "older" lady, she may prefer the softness of the original picture. Every shot doesn't need to be tack sharp... Or is that what I just keep telling my self when I flub something up!

For the record, I prefer the original post.

J.Simonian

EDIT: After re-reading my post, it sounds as if I am also an elderly lady. I'm not yet elderly and cetainly not female. :oops:

[Mike_Canon5D]

It's definitively a great candid. After looking at it for a bit, I could see a great pic for caption bubbles.:)

[Woolburr]

The original being a touch soft is probably not such a bad thing. It takes a few years off and it still captures her expression and mood perfectly...razor sharp is not always the answer.

[Imaginee]

I love her surprized expression and think all the photo needs is a bit more light in areas :)
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/4408/pp211ct3.jpg

[ajbalazic]

You really have captured a great expression. Such joy over a cactus!

[bmoguy]

As a rookie, I'm always tyring to improve my PP skills and thought this would be a good photo to try - not sure if I over did it or not.

Re-looking at my 1st attempt, I agree with the over-sharp comments, not flattering & didn't improve anything. Here's another try, Sharpened alittle around the eyes & nose, brightened, and I also tried cloning out the shadow a bit too.

[ABrownPhoto]

awww, what a beautiful lady! i think the shot is fine the way it is! nice capture

[rjmhotrod]

Thanks for all the nice replies and kind words. Also a big thanks to those who edited the picture and reposted. It's nice to see what others would try to improve the pic. However, I'm less interested in learning how to fix it in Photoshop than I am learning how to improve my photography making skills with the camera. I hope that's worded right. I did use Photoshop to add a photo filter (deep blue). This really seemed to make the original punch a little more. I also used the sharpen feature very gently but not so much to add noise. I'd rather it be soft than noisy. For what it is, I think the picture is not bad - a good snapshot of a family moment.

BTW - this wasn't her original reaction to finding out that it was a cactus. They were talking about something else when she made this face.

[bmoguy]

For what it is, I think the picture is not bad - a good snapshot of a family moment.

Definitely priceless.