Editing

Editing can make all the difference in a photo. Some people choose to over-edit (there's a term, I forget what it's called), and then some choose to not edit at all. I'm a big fan of editing photos. But not overediting. Sometimes I do over edit. Sometimes I like to use filters, and cross process, but for the most part I like to keep my images as natural and crisp as possible. I don't want people to look at my photos, I don't want to look at my photos, and think they're fake. Or that they've been tinkered with, ya know? But I think if you don't edit your photos at all you're missing out a little. Just changing a few color levels and balancing out the lighting can really make a difference on how you picture looks. Here are a few examples of my pictures, before and after they've been edited. 
First off is Callan, back in the day when I first got photoshop. And when she wore lace up converse boots, and when I had my own embossed signature I was so proud to put on all my pictures (*wince*). I don't have a before, since back then I just saved the edited version on top of the original (not recommended), but here you see Callan with neon pink hair. It was an edit gone wrong, but it was really funny and we both really liked it (still do hehehe) so I kept it. :P It's not something I would probably do again.                                    

Here's another great example of an over edited photo I took just recently. Obviously this didn't get published in the finished work on the blog. :P It's still a pretty photo, but over edited. 

Here's a before and an after of changing the color balance. I think the after ended up a little green, but I'm not very good about changing the green levels yet. :P It's definitely an improvement from before though! Same with the photo of my dress below that. Just one tweak with color balances, but man did it make a difference!! 

This is an example of how I typically edit portraits. The first picture is a great picture of Caroline. But you can see in the second how with a few changes in curves and levels really made the picture pop. 

Cropping. It's a great way to edit. You can take something, like the first picture, which is just you know, a big circle with a bottle in the middle and make it something a little more intriguing by just using crop. I did adjust the curves though to make the picture a little bit lighter. See how much nicer it looks afterward? 

And while it may take a while to edit all the photos I take, I really think it's worth it after all. It might take a little time, but if these are pictures I'm going to have for the rest of my life, I think it's not a bad idea to put in a little extra effort. :) 
If you want me to do like a "tutorial" kind of thing with screenshots and stuff on how I edit photos a little more specifically just comment and let me know!