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Got blinkers?

AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
edited April 25, 2007 in People
Ugh - my oldest son is a notorious "blinker" :lol3 he cannot for the life of him keep his eyes open for one lousy, stinkin' photograph!! :pissed

47006917-L.jpg

So sometimes - big secret - it's not all about "fine art" or "fine portraiture," it's about "the family photo album" and a photo destined for a 4x6 print for that purpose. And ever more important when "we the photographer" get to be in the shot, eh :rolleyes

With digital, take a bunch of shots (if the darn kids would cooperate :lol3 ). And you can always photoshop the good eyes in to the best shot that has "a blinker" in it. Here's how, quick and dirty (yeah, there are many ways to do it, this is just one!):

Select, using the lasso tool, the good eye (or eyes, but you may have to do it in two steps):

47006743-L.png

Once you have the eye selected, COPY the selection and PASTE it on your "good" photo. Use the Move Tool and drag the "good eye" into position:

47006746-L.png

Now this "good eye" is on a new layer (automagically). Add a layer mask and then use a soft brush, make sure black is the foreground color, click on the layer mask icon in the layers palette, and then start painting away the parts of the "good eye" you don't want. Use 100% opacity (look up top in the tool bar palette) at first, then as you near closer the to part you want to keep, lower the opacity (just practice, you'll quickly get the hang of where to set the opacity).

47006758-L.png

The area in red is what I "painted away" with my soft brush and layer mask.

47006756-L.png

And in the end, you get a reasonable result suitable for burial in the family photo album:

47006912-L-2.jpg

PS: The observant among you may notice that the unretouched shot exhibits some nuclear-red in the faces. We've been discusing that here. And there's also some great stuff in our SmugBlogs and also in The SmugMug Help Pages.

Enjoy (eye-blinker) photography,

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    NirNir Registered Users Posts: 1,400 Major grins
    edited December 4, 2005
    Beautiful shot Andy! Blinkers and all! Even the beard!
    __________________

    Nir Alon

    images of my thoughts
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    AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited December 4, 2005
    Nir wrote:
    Beautiful shot Andy! Blinkers and all! Even the beard!

    Sadly, the beard is gone. :cry
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    DeeDee Registered Users Posts: 2,981 Major grins
    edited December 4, 2005
    The beard is gone?
    Andy wrote:
    Sadly, the beard is gone. :cry


    Why?
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    lynnmalynnma Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 5,207 Major grins
    edited December 4, 2005
    Nice shot Anyd but.... as you so quickly point out to me.. WHAT ABOUT THE BACKGROUND rolleyes1.gifrolleyes1.gifrolleyes1.gifrolleyes1.gif
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    AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited December 4, 2005
    lynnma wrote:
    Nice shot Anyd but.... as you so quickly point out to me.. WHAT ABOUT THE BACKGROUND rolleyes1.gifrolleyes1.gifrolleyes1.gifrolleyes1.gif

    lol3.gif that's why I said "buried in the family album hehhe
    and I DIDN'T TAKE IT :smack
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    AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited December 4, 2005
    Dee wrote:
    Why?

    Because my wife is 103lbs, 5'-4" and can kick my butt.
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    ZanottiZanotti Registered Users Posts: 1,411 Major grins
    edited December 4, 2005
    Andy wrote:
    lol3.gif that's why I said "buried in the family album hehhe
    and I DIDN'T TAKE IT :smack
    Good point about the background, but the reality is that most houses have lousy backgrounds all the time. I have some wicked good shots of one of the kids covered in snow in front of an old side by side refrigerator!

    What is the answer regarding most houses and bad backgrounds - anybody have an idea?
    It is the purpose of life that each of us strives to become actually what he is potentially. We should be obsessed with stretching towards that goal through the world we inhabit.
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    lynnmalynnma Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 5,207 Major grins
    edited December 5, 2005
    Zanotti wrote:
    Good point about the background, but the reality is that most houses have lousy backgrounds all the time. I have some wicked good shots of one of the kids covered in snow in front of an old side by side refrigerator!

    What is the answer regarding most houses and bad backgrounds - anybody have an idea?
    Photoshop!!rolleyes1.gif
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    wholenewlightwholenewlight Registered Users Posts: 1,529 Major grins
    edited December 5, 2005
    lynnma wrote:
    Photoshop!!rolleyes1.gif
    And if you're photoshopping a modified background into the shot, why not stick an egret or heron or two in the shot. Make it a shot harry, birdman, and many other dgrin regulars can enjoy.mwink.gif

    :giggle
    john w

    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


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    MitchellMitchell Registered Users Posts: 3,503 Major grins
    edited December 5, 2005
    I also have a notorious blinker, my mother. I keep a pair of her "eyes" open that I luckily got last year on file. Those eyes have appeared in countless photos since then!

    Glad to hear I'm not the only one!rolleyes1.gif
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    pathfinderpathfinder Super Moderators Posts: 14,698 moderator
    edited April 17, 2007
    I have a sheet of soft, non glare matte black vinyl cloth about 48 inches wide by 6 feet long that I keep handy for a background for just the reasons mentioned above. It allows me to capture an image and keep a nice, dark, black background like this
    109955777-M.jpg
    Pathfinder - www.pathfinder.smugmug.com

    Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
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    Barefoot and NaturalBarefoot and Natural Registered Users Posts: 586 Major grins
    edited April 18, 2007
    Andy wrote:
    Because my wife is 103lbs, 5'-4" and can kick my butt.


    rolleyes1.gifroflrolleyes1.gifrofl


    Heather
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    AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited April 24, 2007
    rolleyes1.gifroflrolleyes1.gifrofl


    Heather
    Well, it's true! lol3.gif
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    dogwooddogwood Registered Users Posts: 2,572 Major grins
    edited April 24, 2007
    Mitchell wrote:
    I also have a notorious blinker, my mother. I keep a pair of her "eyes" open that I luckily got last year on file. Those eyes have appeared in countless photos since then!

    Now that's an interesting idea!

    Isn't it strange how you can fire off 500 shots of one person and not get a single blink-- yet another person will blink half (or more) the time? I once had someone blink at the sound of the AF focus confirmation beep. "Beep"-blink-shutter click... that was a long shoot!

    Portland, Oregon Photographer Pete Springer
    website blog instagram facebook g+

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    evorywareevoryware Registered Users Posts: 1,330 Major grins
    edited April 25, 2007
    you should see the video of my wedding. My wife's eyes were fluttering like butterfly wings. We dont' know how we got any good pictures!
    Canon 40D : Canon 400D : Canon Elan 7NE : Canon 580EX : 2 x Canon 430EX : Canon 24-70 f2.8L : Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L USM : Canon 28-135mm f/3.5 IS : 18-55mm f/3.5 : 4GB Sandisk Extreme III : 2GB Sandisk Extreme III : 2 x 1GB Sandisk Ultra II : Sekonik L358

    dak.smugmug.com
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    djamesdjames Registered Users Posts: 237 Major grins
    edited April 25, 2007
    A trick that I have used is to have the group close their eyes, do the prefocusing routines and then tell the guests to open their eyes and give me a smile on the count of three. Allow just a moment for them to adjust and snap the photo.
    http://www.djames-photography.com
    In this great big world around us, we will find what we are looking for! What we do with it is up to us to decide.
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