I was so impressed with the discovery that flawed photos can be salvaged that it was naturally the first thing I posted in this mini-series. But another thing I found really interesting was that adding drama to an otherwise ordinary picture can be so easy and oh-so-worth-it that a great bonus is that I’m learning to train my eye to see beauty where it isn’t readily obvious.
So my third entry will be semi-philosophical. Why? Because I said so, and I need to feel smart and profound for once in my life. (Oh great, now I’ll be hearing both Sinatra’s and Stevie Wonder’s voice in my head all day.)
What I learned at the CS3 Power Tour:
3. If you can perceive something beautiful or visual interesting hidden in a photo somewhere, CS3 can readily help you unearth and expose it.
So here’s a small yellow flower I snapped this summer while vacationing in Trinidad. It was a pretty little thing, but the wall there prevented me from taking a frontal shot. I know, I know. I could have walked in there and taken it anyway. But we were visiting some relatives, and I don’t think they would have liked it if I stepped on their nice cordoned off garden to take a picture of this little flower. I should also note that I was starving at that time, and was more than mildly distracted by the smell of lunch cooking.
Oh, and I used my trusty videocamera to take this shot, so I know it won’t win any awards for quality or clarity. But that’s what makes this so great. (Frankly, I would have forgotten all about this photo if Scott Kelby hadn’t used a similar flower shot to demonstrate how to artfully use lighting effects.)
First, I cloned out the other stems and the little bud on the lower right. And while I liked the little bit of orange in the background, I cloned that out too because it just didn’t really belong there. (Although now I’m thinking maybe it does, but that’ll be another experiment.) Then I hit Auto Levels (hey, he said I could!) and already it started looking a lot better.
Nice, I thought. Then I added some lighting effects (I followed the workbook and used flashlight), sharpened it up a bit here and there. Then, for good measure, I slapped it on a poster. Just because I can (thanks to the seminar), and because I never know when to stop myself. Which is fine when it comes to Photoshop with the undo levels, but not so fine when it comes to chocolates and home-baked pies. Or cookies. Or cinnamon rolls.
So here’s the before and after comparison:
Now it actually looks like art. Doesn’t it?
Please tell me it does.
Totally artsy now, hut. Very interesting how the wall looks like sky now. And, I guess, appropriate that the flower is facing away from us because summer 2007 is long gone!
It really needs a TAADAA!
TAADAA!!!!
See? This is why I need wonderful people like you. To put some meaning and substance to my random photographic mistakes.
You dress up my knuckleheadedness (yeah, that’s a word) and make me look all profound and philosophical-like.
Yeah, summer is long gone. That turned away flower was intentional. That’s my new story and I’m sticking to it.
TAADAA!
I feel like I use the word amazing too often here, so I’ll try Holy Crap Batman!
No offense, but that picture would have been a delete on my computer as soon as I uploaded it. Never would have thought you could turn it into something so beautiful.
Brc, (insert Phoebe voice from Friends here) I KNOW!
Trust me, no offense taken. If not for the fact that I’m a pack rat when it comes to image files, that photo would not have survived the first pass. I only remembered it because Scott Kelby showed a very similar picture during the seminar (although of course, his was way better).
That’s why I love all these new things I learned at the seminar. I never would’ve thought that flower could look like that. And it seems to have super powers too. I mean look, it made me turn into Batman for a few minutes!
I’m trying to think of something witty and artsy to say here, but words are failing me. So I’ll just say, yeah, what they said. I guess that makes this a non-comment?
Really nice; very clever processing choice! It does exactly what a picture like that should do – it really pops off of the page. The poster frame is a good finish!
Lovely contrast!
Thanks for the encouragement, guys! I’m really enjoying all these new toys wrapped up inside Photoshop. Too bad there aren’t 26 hours in a day, or I would so be spending that extra time playing with CS3.
Speaking of which, I’m off to prep for dinner.