How do I get this effect?

[sumancaudhuri]

I'm not sure what effect to call this, but in my layman terms, I call it the "photo realistic sheen effect". Please see the images below:







I am a newbie photographer and I scour photographer websites and came across this person's website. She photographs children and I like how her pictures turn out photorealistic with an effect that you just don't get normally on a middle category DSLR. I have the Nikon D90 and I would love to take pictures that look like that out of the camera, but being a newbie maybe I still need more time to learn. However, I am guessing that she takes some help from Photoshop.

Here are my questions as a newbie:

1) Do most accomplished photographers still use Photoshop to add final touches on their images? Or is it possible to get these kinds of rich colors, tones, saturation, etc from a good DSLR?

2) If the former, then how can I enhance my images to get this rich, deep, photorealistic sheen look?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
SC

[bzy1]

Ok, I am not a pro in either category but from the shots shown, it can be done straight out of the camera with proper aperature, shutter speed, ISO and of course a good subject, background and lighting.

I think every photographer now days uses photoshop to tweak their photos, even just with simple enhancements. It is quick or at least can be for some simple tweaks.

I have taken many shots with my camera in automode simply because I needed to capture the shot as soon as possible and dindn't have time to dink around with the manual mode which is prefereable when shooting.
Because I was in auto, I got the shot but everything was in focus and I wanted only the subject in focus. One way to do this is through Photoshop.
Play around with layers, masking the subject, selecting invert and then under filters, use gaussian blur to blue out the background a little. It takes some time and practice, but once you get it down it is pretty easy. You can also use filters to soften, glow, etc. on the subject.
There are also some good free actions available for download that you can use although you will have to tweak them also to your photo but they get you started.

There are lots of tutorials about this and plenty of blogs and websites that teach you how to enhance digital photos.

Good luck and remember it takes only practice behind the camera and in Photoshop to get the effects you are looking for.

[macfan6]

The first thing which stands out in the first photo, is that it's a sunny day. The sky is blue with clouds. I've taken photos on days when the sky is white, and the photo has come out with a glare over it. The rest would be to do with the camera mode and Photoshop like bzy1 said.

The photos have a nice soft glow to them.

[zipykido]

The eyes may have been enlarged to increase the "cuteness" factor. Other than that I would say only minor touchups.