Okay, so thanks to my friend Shaina and my husband, I have come to the conclusion that the enhanced photo of the plumeria (which is now in the blog header) was superior to the original straight-out-of-the-camera photo that I once thought was rather pretty and now seems somewhat bland (my poor photo! Ha ha). So with that in mind I decided to play around with Photoshop again today and then post the results here to see what you have to say (if anyone has anything to say at all that is :). I'll post the original first and then the two enhanced photos below it. Can I say in advance that I'm aware of the fact that the lines around the clover leaves are not perfect...I couldn't figure out how to go back and correct the 'overflow' of green. If anyone reading this can tell me how, please do!
Alright here is the straight-out-of-the-camera photo:
Now, here is the first enhanced version (what I did before my husband came home and gave me his input, ha ha):
And here the one my husband likes (because the green "pops" out of the picture more):
I know it's not necessarily the most attractive photo to begin with, I just saw it as an opportunity to experiment with...gosh, I don't even know what this result in a photo is called.
Anyhow, thanks for looking and for any feedback you may have (good or bad -- I don't mind if you critique my pictures because that is how I will be able to improve).
Wow…I feel like I just checked your blog, but apparently it had been longer than I thought! :-)
ReplyDeleteI think the key to Photoshop is enhancement without completely changing the picture (obviously this applies only to the pictures you're touching up, and not ones like the clover where you're trying to change the picture). That said, I like the Photoshop version of your white flower on the previous post, because the colors are more vivid and pop nicely. I wouldn't add anything else to that picture, though (without taking some of what you've already done away), because I think that would push it over the top. So, for that picture, I think you're finding the line between enhancing and artificiality! :-)
For the clover, I like the second edited one too. The green looks really nice in it. Great job! To fix the line around it (although I can't really tell at this size—it looks really good!)…did you use the pen tool? If so, you can select the white arrow tool and double-click on the path, and that will show you all of your lines again and will allow you to click on them and change them. If you just want to change one pin point, though, be sure only that one is selected. Nothing is more annoying than to start moving things around and realize you're changing the entire thing! If you didn't use the pen tool, let me know what you did use, and I may be able to give you advice on how to change it.
All of your Photoshopping thus far looks really nice. I'm impressed you've been able figure out so much already, after only playing around with it for a couple of weeks. Keep up the good work! I can't wait to see your work as your photography and editing skills continue to become more polished. Keep up the good work!
Hey Karissa! Thanks for the feedback! If only I could remember everything you showed me when you were down here a couple of weeks ago!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked the Plumeria picture...that makes me feel like I've won an award or something, ha ha! :-)
With the clover I honestly didn't think of lightening it up to make the color more vibrant until The Hubs said something. I can't wait until I can start editing my photos on the new desktop (though I wish it were and iMac instead of a PC...oh well at least the screen is A.W.E.S.O.M.E. :-).
Oh yeah, for the clover picture I made a duplicate layer, made the duplicate B+W and then used the eraser tool to erase away the B+W to reveal the green...I'm guessing since you mentioned using the pen tool that I completely forgot what you showed me while you were here.... :-( Karissa come back!! :-)
I guess I will have to go back and do the same thing with the pen tool here in the near future so I can be more accurate.
I'm going to be sad when my free trial is up as I won't be able to get it for a little why, but I'm glad I'm getting to give it a trial run. By the way, have you heard that CS5 is going to be released sometime soon? I'm not sure when, but Adobe is showcasing it on their Photoshop page....
Thanks again for your help! I think you should just move in with me so Peanut Butter Cup and I can always have you around. ;-)
I find myself really liking the origial picture (but then again, green is one of my favorite colors! Hehe!), but I think it's really cool what you did with making most of it B&W, too. And the last one is definitely the best with making the green pop out more (although I myself wouldn't have thought of that, either! Maybe that's what I need a husband for, hehe!).
ReplyDeleteI love your photography and editing skills, Heather! I really want to take a photography class to learn how to take great pictures and use photoshop. I love taking pictures and trying to enhance them, but I really don't know that much and it's rather overwhelming. :-)
I admire you for taking the initiative to teach yourself. I guess I'm too lazy -- I'd rather have someone show me. :-D
I like the first and third one for different reasons :) I like the pop of the third one, but the simplicity of the first. You seem to be getting the hang of color enhancements! You (and your husband) seem to have a great eye for color :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Stacey! Definitely try to get into a photography class if you can! If I didn't have Peanut Butter Cup I would definitely try to take a class at a community college or something. Since I can't do that now for obvious reasons I just try to learn what I can from reading, video tutorials (go to the Photo Tips link on my list of 'Favorite Links' the guy that owns the site puts out some awesome instructional video podcasts that you should be able to watch on the site...). I would love to have someone show me as well -- *ahem* Karissa if you are reading this: I expect you to move in with us, follow us to the ends of the earth, and be my personal photography and Photoshop instructor. Ha ha! Just kidding, though that would be lovely. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Shaina! The more I look at the third one the more I like the pop of the green, though I do like the original one's simplicity as well...it just seemed like a good photo to try out color enhancements (I'm going to assume that is what it is called since you called it that :-).
"Karissa if you are reading this: I expect you to move in with us, follow us to the ends of the earth, and be my personal photography and Photoshop instructor. Ha ha! Just kidding, though that would be lovely."
ReplyDeleteDon't tempt me…I'd take you up on that offer in a heartbeat! :-)
Ha ha! I wish you could! :-)
ReplyDelete