Adobe Photoshop and CS

[ukcatfan]

Personally, I just do not think it is possible b/c there is so much you want re-created. It is one thing to fake some clothes or a wall, but it is much more difficult to do things like arms and make it look real.

 

[zackiedawg]

True. The man and woman in the back right are not too bad - it would be some detailed cloning, but doable. But the little girl up front would be much more of a problem, as you'd essentially have to recreate the entire young boy in the patterned shirt.

 

[anewmac]

got ya, thanks anyhow yall I just cropped some single pics together.... thanks!!!!!! (thats what I get for waiting to the last minute for doing mothers day gifts LOL)

 

[Antonia]

When I download photos from my digital camera to my laptop, the pictures in the folders show up as JPEG tiles, but the actual picture does not show up. Therefore when I go to email pix to friends I can't really see the actual little picture when I am selecting them. I am 99% sure that I used to be able to see the pictures in the folders, not just these little JPEG tiles. What could be the reason for this and how could I change it so that I can see the pictures?

 

[Disney*Dreamer]

If you are using windows, you can go up to the top of the folder and change it. I am not sure about other platforms.

 

[VVFF]

When I download photos from my digital camera to my laptop, the pictures in the folders show up as JPEG tiles, but the actual picture does not show up. Therefore when I go to email pix to friends I can't really see the actual little picture when I am selecting them. I am 99% sure that I used to be able to see the pictures in the folders, not just these little JPEG tiles. What could be the reason for this and how could I change it so that I can see the pictures?

I think your talking about Windows and not Adobe Photoshop. If that's the case just right click and select view>Thumbnails.

 

[ElizK]

Is it just me, or are the "how-to" books not just real helpful??

Anyway, I wanted to learn to do the vignetting, so I Googled it! You can find out just about anything through Google
!

I loved this picture of my puppy, but thought a vignette might improve it. Is this an improvement, in your opinion? What suggestions would you make?

 

[Chikabowa]

Vignettes are often times a VERY personal preference... especially when talking about doing a heavier vignette.

I personally love vignetting when done properly and not too heavy. This particular one is too heavy for my personal tastes and I would tone it back quite a bit. You'll also have more success with it if you feather the interior circle more - it will have a much more natural look to the over all picture while still drawing the eye towards the center.

 

[ElizK]

Vignettes are often times a VERY personal preference... especially when talking about doing a heavier vignette.

I personally love vignetting when done properly and not too heavy. This particular one is too heavy for my personal tastes and I would tone it back quite a bit. You'll also have more success with it if you feather the interior circle more - it will have a much more natural look to the over all picture while still drawing the eye towards the center.

I can't figure out how to feather the interior circle without it also feathering the outter edges more. The directions I was following had me select the area (using the oval), right click and select inverse, then feather the edges. Can you tell me how to fix that? And you're right... it is much too heavy. I need to step back for awhile and look again later before deciding it's "finished".

Thank you!

 

[annnewjerz]

I agree with Susan, it's a little too heavy for my personal tastes---but photography is art, so whatever floats your boat!!

I have PE6 and am a big fan of (what I would consider) a subtle vignette. Here is a photo that I took this past weekend and added a vignette to.

It doesn't necessarily even look like there is a vignette when you look at it alone, but when compared to the original it's actually pretty noticable.

What program are you using for post-processing???

 

[ElizK]

I agree with Susan, it's a little too heavy for my personal tastes---but photography is art, so whatever floats your boat!!

I have PE6 and am a big fan of (what I would consider) a subtle vignette. Here is a photo that I took this past weekend and added a vignette to.

It doesn't necessarily even look like there is a vignette when you look at it alone, but when compared to the original it's actually pretty noticable.

What program are you using for post-processing???

I would love to know how you did that. I'm using PE6, too.

 

[GrillMouster]

I don't like vignettes created by just painting in black. I'd prefer to create a duplicate layer in Multiply blend mode, use a layer mask to paint back the subject from the original layer and adjust opacity of the layer.

PSE doesn't have layer masks, but you can simulate them. Check out
http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/pselements/qt/layermasks.htm
or google "Photoshop Elements layer mask" to find tutorials.

 

[ElizK]

Ok, I tried again. Is this better, or shall I go back to the drawing board?

 

[annnewjerz]

Ok, I tried again. Is this better, or shall I go back to the drawing board?

To me, much much much better! To answer your question above, I created the vignette by using an action I had downloaded called "Coffeeshop Vignette." It works well, IMO and I don't know how you are supposed to do it on your own using PE6 but I bet it can't be anywhere as easy as double-clicking an action and having it done for you!

Here is the link to the site that I download all of my actions from. They've got a lot of good ones that are compatible with PE6.

http://coffeeteaphotography.blogspot.com/

 

[ElizK]

To me, much much much better! To answer your question above, I created the vignette by using an action I had downloaded called "Coffeeshop Vignette." It works well, IMO and I don't know how you are supposed to do it on your own using PE6 but I bet it can't be anywhere as easy as double-clicking an action and having it done for you!

Here is the link to the site that I download all of my actions from. They've got a lot of good ones that are compatible with PE6.

http://coffeeteaphotography.blogspot.com/

oooooo, this is fun! As much of a computer idiot as I am, I managed to download two of them... and install them! I'm very excited! So much for anything else getting done tonight!! Thank you for telling me about that web site!

 

[ElizK]

Ok, here's one I tried using the coffeshop vignette AND the coffeshop perfect portrait:

here's the original:

 

[ElizK]

Wow, it's amazing what one can do if one has the right tools! So I tried my puppy picture again:

I LOVE these actions! Didn't even know there was such a thing. Thank you again for telling me!

 

[Lizziejane]

I LOVE the coffeeshop actions! Here are a couple using the "perfect portrait" action. Just play around with them for a while - you'll soon figure out when you need to ease up on the opacity or perhaps use the eraser on a layer so as not to "over-do" it. I think I use coffeeshop on 90% of my people pictures.

Some others I really like are the Nik Efex - both color and black and white. But they are expensive. I believe you can download free trials tho.

 

[annnewjerz]

Don't forget when using the actions that you can adjust the opacity for each layer. If you are to use perfect portrait, there may be layers called "Smooth Skin" "Whiter Whites" "Bright Eyes" etc. and you can use the little slider to adjust how much you want those layers to stand out.

For me, witht he one of your DD, I would probably adjust the opacity to something a little less than what it is right now. IMO, I think her skin seems slightly unnatural looking compared to the first, but adjusting the opacity of whatever layer is causing that from maybe 100% to 50%, or 50% to 30%, etc. would help.

 

[ElizK]

I've been loading pictures on my new computer (everything was on my old one... just got the new computer on Memorial day) just so I can run them the the Coffeeshop Perfect Portrait!

I uploaded some of them to print, and when I got to Walmart to pick them up, they required me to sign something that says I own the copyright on them!!! Am I a complete nerd for being so excited about that??