Is this with PS CS, or are you using some other program? I don't recognize things like Kodak airbrush filter, xero filter, etc.
ginger
Jumping in here . . . I'm not sure about the "kodak filter" but the "Xero" filters" are freeware photoshop plugin's (that also work in paint shop, I believe). Some of them are really good and others are corny (IMHO). I kind of like the soft vignette filter but only lightly used (with adjustment sliders). It can somewhat give the effect of one of those "Lensbaby" lenses.
I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself.
Edward Steichen
Jumping in here . . . I'm not sure about the "kodak filter" but the "Xero" filters" are freeware photoshop plugin's (that also work in paint shop, I believe). Some of them are really good and others are corny (IMHO). I kind of like the soft vignette filter but only lightly used (with adjustment sliders). It can somewhat give the effect of one of those "Lensbaby" lenses.
Yep! That's them! I enjoy the tweaker, porcelain and soft vignette...haven't found much use for many others yet. The soft vignette really can tone down bright highlights. Tweaker brings out shadows and adds saturation for me quick and easy. Best thing is they ARE free!
The Kodak airbrush filter unfortunately is not free. It runs kinda high but for a portrait photographer like me, it is a must have.
K.i.s.s.
Truthfully, I am far from the accomplished photoshopper, (in fact, I use Jasc Pain Shop Pro 7, which is considerably different). However, if I were going to try one very simple thing with your 2nd pic, it would just be to add some saturation. Its just a quick way to really accentuate and bring out colors and skin tones. On redheads with fair skin, it can actually make quite a difference. On this picture I'd keep the saturation fairly light..but a little bit of it can sometimes go a long way.
In the pic below, I actually ended up adjusting whitebalance to reduce some of the blue in your pic and add a hair of warmness. Then I just set the auto-saturation to normal bias, and strong color.
Wow! The little thread that grew. Lots of great info and ideas here, aren't there!
Thanks
ann
i'm so pleased you are getting some ideas here, ann ... to me, this is one of the huge benefits of our forum, getting specific step by step help and ideas... lots of great stuff in this thread... then the trick is applying it
Great job coming up with something a bit different. At first glance I wasn't sure about the color in your image, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. I'm not sure the saturation needs to be quite so high, but overall... nice work
This mornings version(I should let you all know I am a PSP 9 user, but can usually interpret PS things to PSP). Steps as I remember them:
1. duplicate
2. on background layer:
guassian blur value of 5
curves to make the background much darker
3. merge layers
4. crop
result:
On resulting image
1. curves to enhance (brighten) hair and face without brightening background too much
2. sharpen brush to the edge of the eyes (enhance lashes)
3. burn brush to the eyes to lighten
4. sharpen brush to the pupils
Still not happy with the amount of 'pop' so
5. changed white and black points - chose a point on the purse for black and her teeth for white
6. upped the saturation
7. cropped again, framed:
Comments
And did I mention, they're free to download.
Not perfect, though. But fun to play with.
Website is:
http://www.xero-graphics.co.uk/index.htm
I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself.
Edward Steichen
The Kodak airbrush filter unfortunately is not free. It runs kinda high but for a portrait photographer like me, it is a must have.
Here's the link
Photographer and Mom of Four!
_____________________________________
http://tinafolsomphotography.com
Truthfully, I am far from the accomplished photoshopper, (in fact, I use Jasc Pain Shop Pro 7, which is considerably different). However, if I were going to try one very simple thing with your 2nd pic, it would just be to add some saturation. Its just a quick way to really accentuate and bring out colors and skin tones. On redheads with fair skin, it can actually make quite a difference. On this picture I'd keep the saturation fairly light..but a little bit of it can sometimes go a long way.
In the pic below, I actually ended up adjusting whitebalance to reduce some of the blue in your pic and add a hair of warmness. Then I just set the auto-saturation to normal bias, and strong color.
MainFragger
i'm so pleased you are getting some ideas here, ann
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Nice work
I love the vignette effect. In some areas (bottom left in particular) it almost looks like frost.
MainFragger,
Great job coming up with something a bit different. At first glance I wasn't sure about the color in your image, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. I'm not sure the saturation needs to be quite so high, but overall... nice work
This mornings version(I should let you all know I am a PSP 9 user, but can usually interpret PS things to PSP). Steps as I remember them:
1. duplicate
2. on background layer:
guassian blur value of 5
curves to make the background much darker
3. merge layers
4. crop
result:
On resulting image
1. curves to enhance (brighten) hair and face without brightening background too much
2. sharpen brush to the edge of the eyes (enhance lashes)
3. burn brush to the eyes to lighten
4. sharpen brush to the pupils
Still not happy with the amount of 'pop' so
5. changed white and black points - chose a point on the purse for black and her teeth for white
6. upped the saturation
7. cropped again, framed:
Gallery link (originals still on for now):
http://canadian-ann.smugmug.com/gallery/563510
Now, how does this compare to the others here?
ann
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