School Pictures

I LOVE school pictures. It's so exciting. It brings back the days of when I would plan out my outfits (not always the best choices), my hair, etc. And then...it's like old school film. You have absolutely NO idea what they look like until the pictures come home. 


Surprise!!!


School pictures are now digital. With the digital technology - you can now pay for touch ups and buy the disk straight from the studio. Last year I paid $6 to have a scratch removed from Brady's cheek. Call me vain - I don't care. It was a gross scabby scratch and I didn't want that hanging up on the walls. Well...I got what I paid for. Yes, it was removed. But...I'm guessing the studio had preset colors that they just stamped on over a scratch and didn't really take the time to properly edit the photo. So...we ended up with a cute picture of Brady with a noticeable (but, not too too bad) edit of a scratch on his cheek. It wasn't bad enough to warrant re-takes, so we lived with it. 


This year was Lily's first official picture day as a Pre-K student. And guess what...she had a cold. Not only that - but, she had this ginormous scratch/scab in the corner of her eye from being hit with a hula hoop at a Labor Day party. Yes...only our Lily gets hit with a hula hoop...but, that's a whole other story from our klutzy girl. Her nose was red - her lips chapped and her eye scabbed. Makes for a reaaaaaaaalllllly nice first picture, right?

So, I was filling out the picture day form and I was about to check the box for the edit and I remembered Brady's "standard" skin color edit. I decided I'd try to edit it myself. So - I bought the disk and hoped that I would have the permission to edit the photo and send them to Costco. Whew! I do.


We got the pictures yesterday. Boy oh, boy - I forgot how much that scabby scratch was visible. So - I took a few minutes and edited away in my good 'ole trusty Lightroom that I so, so love and......


Voila!!

Perfect? No. But, definitely not just the "fair skin, white child" preset that I'm sure was used last year on Brady's scratch.


I'm avoiding retakes! Yahoooooooooooooooooo!!


p.s. - Buying the disk is soooooooo the way to go. You get the disk for $25 and then you can send them to Costco to print the sizes that you really need for a fraction of the cost. The packages at the school always sell me on too many sizes (for waaaaaaaaay too much money) that I don't even need. This way - I order EXACTLY what I need for literally pennies. 


LOVE it!