Fix it Friday

Every Friday the website "I Heart Faces" posts a photo that needs to be "fixed" up a little bit or allow us to tackle it with our post processing creativity.  Here is this week's photo:

It is a great photo that was more or less a self portrait snapped quickly with little regard for composition and more focus on the subjects in the photo. It ended up being a fairly easy fix and I am not sure which one I like the most!  Here is the original, first fix.

How I fixed this photo:

1. I increased the Gamma a good bit
2. Cropped the photo so the angle was a little better and more focused on the faces.  
3. Increased the saturation, especially in the blues.  Decreased the saturation in the greens and yellows
4. Adjusted the Channel mixer so there was less contrast
5. "Dodged" both faces to lighten them, the teeth, and the eyes slightly. 
6. "Burned" the side of the woman's face slightly to reduce the sun glare and "Burned" the sun rays in the right corner.
7. Adjusted the curve.  
8. Removed a sun flare that was on the woman's eyebrow.   
9. Sharpened the image

Here are some other "fixed" examples of this same photo.  Like I said, I can't choose which one I like!  I used the photo above as a base for creating these other images.   Let me know which one you like the most!

Warmed-Up

Vintage Blue Wash

Classic Black and White.

Of course you can always check out other Fix it Friday photos by visiting the "I Heart Faces" website