To edit the soft lighting portrait I used the Gaussian blur filter go get a bokeh effect. I also used the soft healing brush tool and tried using the dodge and burn tools but they were not as effective. I really like the edits that worked, I think they enhance the subject and the few touch ups give her face a smoother, cleaner look. The eye does not go to anywhere specific, just to her. For the edited golden hour portrait I used a variety of edits to try something fun, clearly giving it a very unrealistic feel. It was hard to keep the girls in the picture because the area below the sky is so dark so I did something fun and made them black and white. I think the sky looks cool but I am not a fan of unrealistic edits on pictures if they are going to be used for anything. To me, a portrait is capturing a person in a specific place or in a specific way. Usually you can tell a lot about the subject by how comfortable they look in the pose and environment they are in. You can give more meaning and life in a portrait by capturing the subject in their favorable setting. A portrait is so much more effective when the subject enjoys where they are/how they are posing. The lighting also plays into effect, soft lighting is less dramatic and almost friendlier and harsh lighting or dramatic lighting can either make the subject disappear or it can enhance the entire portrait an immeasurable amount.