No Such Thing As a Bad Picture

Really....there is no such thing as a bad picture! Something can always be done to fix what you think isnt a perfect photo. I'm totally in love with picnik. com for enhancing my photos. I know that not everyone likes the look of a photo that has been played around with...but I do. If you saw some of my favorite scrapbook pages, you'd see that my style is somewhat vintage or perhaps antique. One of the reasons I like this style is that you simply CAN'T screw it up. Often, I add brown ink to the edges of my paper to antique them or even purposely crinkle up the paper. I've found a real freedom in this style of crafting. No more agonizing over whether edges are perfectly straight and pictures perfectly spaced. No more frustration over not having perfect handwriting but rather embracing the fact that my handwriting infact is MINE alone...and that my children will appreciate seeing it preserved many years from now.
I think that the more accepting of myself and my abilities I am at the time I am crafting, the better things come out AND the more fun I have doing them...such is life!
Maybe someday I'll take pics of some of my favorite pages and post them for you.
Anyway, the point of this post was to just show you how you shouldn't ever give up on your photos...here are some examples:

Before:

Perhaps this isn't a highly flawed picture...but it is blurry...and there is a shadow cast on the wall which a professional would probably not care for. Lorelai looks a little sad...and her dress and the stool kinda clash (if you're a stickler like that).
After:

How cute is this? No more worries about clashing...the sepia tone wipes that out. Now Lorelai's serious look complements the antique look of the photo. Her name at the bottom adds some interest and highlights what I think is the mood of the photo.

The next example is much more dramatic. Hopefully Jesse and Amber don't mind me posting this! I really love taking photos...but I didn't want to get in the way with my camera. I decided I'd just take a few pics from my seat and make them work.
Before:

I kind of panicked when I saw this photo...I was hoping to get something really nice that I could pass on to the family for their albums...now that's one good looking wedding party...no problems there! But, obviously the picture is far away...there's an exit sign in the photo (not too romantic if you ask me).
After:


I just LOVE the feeling of this suped-up version...it looks like a movie! It really conveys the feeling of a wedding ceremony to me...the wedding party is looking on and it really does feel like a snapshot of a movie-like moment of time! It's still not a "perfect" photo, but it's so alive and real...this is what their family saw as they were getting married...and those are the memories you want to look back at and cherish.