how to brighten up whiten up photo's?

[lilltay]

My photo’s are often flat dull, but have life in them.
I have sat up all night looking at photography blogs, and notice how white and bright all the photo’s are.

How do they do that. Some the kids eyes are amazing, some the kids eyes are not natural and look odd. My guess is it’s digital editing, sometimes. Some of them look really good and I think it’s the photographer as the entire pitcher works and they look so professional.

So my two questions are, how can I brighten up my photo’s with adjusting my camera? I had a play around in user settings, were I could pick my own contrast… that was a disaster
And what’s a good way to brighten photo’s digitally.
My daughter has photo shop 7, she said it’s really old, but it’s all we have. Any idea’s

Thanks

Ps I have a 400D

[crashthenet44]

Would help if you posted some examples with exif intact. Easier to give advice that way. Otherwise we're all just shooting in the dark.

[10megapixel]

My photo’s are often flat dull, but have life in them.
I have sat up all night looking at photography blogs, and notice how white and bright all the photo’s are.

How do they do that. Some the kids eyes are amazing, some the kids eyes are not natural and look odd. My guess is it’s digital editing, sometimes. Some of them look really good and I think it’s the photographer as the entire pitcher works and they look so professional.

So my two questions are, how can I brighten up my photo’s with adjusting my camera? I had a play around in user settings, were I could pick my own contrast… that was a disaster
And what’s a good way to brighten photo’s digitally.
My daughter has photo shop 7, she said it’s really old, but it’s all we have. Any idea’s

Thanks

Ps I have a 400D


Some posted examples of your "Flat dull" photos would help us answer your question better. You first need to properly expose the photo, and after that you can tweak the brightness if necessary in PS a few different ways. The simplest would just be Image>Adjustments>Brightness/contrast or Image>Adjustments>Exposure. Just remember that getting the exposure correct to start with is the most important thing.

[chauncey]

It is rare that you see images on blogs unless they have had some kind of post processing done to them, after having been shot in RAW.
Take a look at this thread http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=684360 to see what is possible.

While it is possible to improve jpegs, proper in-camera settings are a critical first step.

[tzalman]

My daughter has photo shop 7, she said it’s really old, but it’s all we have. Any idea’s

Photoshop 7.0 is not "really old". That's daughter-speak. For her anything more than six months old is obsolete. You can do a huge amount with it to improve your photos. To learn to really use it to its full potential may take you months, but by then you will know whether it is enough for you (and there is a very good chance that it will be) or if you want to spring for a later version (that your daughter will commandeer.)

[Todd Lambert]

If you're not doing any post processing of your photos, then you're doing a disservice to yourself.

Most digital photos have to be touched up(sharpening, minor adjustments), just a fact of life.

[PhotosGuy]

23 hours later & you still haven't answered the important request by crashthenet44? If you don't help us, then we can't help you & you may well end up on a lot of "Ignore" lists. ;) Photoshop 7.0 is not "really old". That's daughter-speak. Agree. I've taught PSCS & I still only use PS7 along with RAW processing.

First, you need to learn how to take the picture so that you retain the maximum amount of info in the file. Then, you can tweak with PS7 for the best results.

As for how you learn to do all that, look at the "Sticky"s in the various areas of the forum. For answers to your specific question, Look at the links at the bottom-left of this page.

[lilltay]

I'm here just hadn't remembered my password will post a pic
thansk for the links i ended up here though that link http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=95468 this is what I'm after though I dont have CS2

[lilltay]

in this one it's a bit much lol I tried to change some settings on my camera, through Pitcher style user Def1 http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f346/mtma/IMG_3554.jpg
I love love to do something other than snap shot's make them pop a bit
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f346/mtma/af555b6d.jpg
I tried lightroom and liked this but still wasn't what I was looking for
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f346/mtma/IMG_8727.jpg

thanks for the replies

[RyanMTaylor]

what are some examples of what you are looking for? can you post other peoples work to show us what you're aiming for?

[Roy Mathers]

what are some examples of what you are looking for? can you post other peoples work to show us what you're aiming for?


Remember you shouldn't post other people's work without their permission. Linking to them is all right.

[RyanMTaylor]

righto. my bizzle. do that then.

[Roy Mathers]

righto. my bizzle. do that then.


What does that mean?

[RyanMTaylor]

it means "correct. my bad. link it instead of post the image."

[Roy Mathers]

So if 'my bizzle' means 'my bad', what does 'my bad' mean? (You'll have to excuse me as I only speak English).

[RyanMTaylor]

it is English. it means "my bad".. "my faulter".. "excuse me sir, I seemed to mess up."

it's okay, my generation is a confusing one.

[lilltay]

23 hours later & you still haven't answered the important request by crashthenet44? If you don't help us, then we can't help you & you may well end up on a lot of "Ignore" lists. ;) .

looks like it :(