Family Picture 3.0

Joan really wanted to have a family portrait taken while we were all in California.  It was a great idea, and despite the fact it is impossible to find mustard colored anything in December, let alone mustard little girl clothes, we somehow managed to pull it off.

Our last big family picture has been a source of embarrassment for me.  I was the only adult wearing white, I was placed on the end while using a wide-angle lens, Livi was put on my lap and since we were both wearing white you can't tell where my body ends, AND the photographer spliced (poorly) 2 photos together, but the proportions were different, all of which made me look 400 lbs.  I have gained some weight since having kids, but not that much.  Even Eric's head looked twice as big as his brothers'.

Poor Joan had to deal with a crying daughter-in-law, and awesome person that she is, she asked the photographer to try and splice the photos a little more accurately, which they did, but I still came away looking 250 lbs.

The final product.  Everyone else looks great, except me and Ella's stink face (she was told she couldn't do her "princess pose")

So, needless to say having a photo on the mantle where I look like the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man has been a little hard to take, but I understand we had to take the best picture of the most amount of people, so I sucked it up and dealt with it, but I was enthusiastic about replacing it with something a little more flattering.

Really the photos didn't turn out bad, I just thought they could use a little tweaking:

Not bad, but we do look a little like the good vampires on Twilight.

A little change in the highlights, some color manipulation, and a few well placed shadows and we suddenly look more human (and a little thinner!).

Again, not bad, but I seem to have developed a visible aura, and we are all looking a little on the pale side.

Aura gone, more flesh colored skin, and Eric and I are missing the oh-so-lovely double chins.  Win-Win-Win!

Can you even tell a difference?   Are they any better than the originals?  I know some people like the glowy white portraits, but I kind of like the skin tone one.  It only took me a few minutes, and anyways I like the results.