More Filters

This one was mega work. I had the wrong ISO setting for the lighting outside and it really shows in the original. So I downloaded the G'MIC console for Gimp (you can get it here) and ran the Anisotropic Smoothing filter on E's face and hand. I used layers and paintbrush to "burn" his face and hand, too. I used Gaussian blur to blur the background a bit. It's still not perfect, but it will never be because the original is not great to begin with.

Original:


New:

Week 9: Filters

Here's another photo altered in Gimp. I used the Sparkle and Supernova filters on it. For the sparkle, I used the lasso tool and only selected the earring to add a little bling to that area.

I also used the layers and paintbrush technique to "dodge and burn" certain areas. The bottom of the couch was "burned" and I dodged parts of her face (the glisten on her lips and around her eyes). I was going for an ethereal effect. Another doctored photo to come after this, so check back!

The original:


New:

Week 9: Dodge and Burn

Hi guys. Here's a photo I altered in Gimp. I followed this tute: http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/dodge-burn/ I also used the instructions to overlay a warmer (rust color) tone for the picture.

Original:


Altered:

More Color Changes

Hey guys... still playing around with this. I have so much fun with it! Please, if you haven't already, go over to Youtube and check out Gimp tutorials. I'm sure they have tons of Photoshop ones, too. You can figure out how to do a lot of neat things from there.

Okay, here I added some gaudy makeup to myself. Yes, I do look tired. It's lovely staying up past 1AM doing work. It does wonderful things to my image. :-| Anyway...

The original:


After a little "sprucing up":



Okay, all this takes is being comfortable using plenty of layers. You open a new layer and work with your paintbrush to paint on a color over whatever you're adding to (lips, eyes, etc.). Then you'll have to mess around with the mode (I used overlay). It's in the Layer dialog box. You will also want to check out Opacity to see how thick you want the color to be. When you are done with all the layers you wanted to add, flatten the image in the Layers menu (If you forget, it will also ask you to do this when you go to save). The only thing other than a round brush shape I used was a special eyelash brush I downloaded. Go to Google and search for Gimp eyelash brushes, and up pops a ton of options. I made sure the eyelashes were each on their own layer, then I went into Layer>Transform>Arbitrary Rotation. This helps you get the right angle for the eyelashes to sit on the eye properly. You may have to go to Transform>FlipHorizontally if you don't have a mirror opposite brush for your first eyelash.

I look a bit like a drag queen, don't I? lol

Week 8: More Color Fun

Another photo I edited in Gimp, this time using Layers and Colorify and Colorize.

The original:


The edited version:



The steps:

1. Colors>Curves>Adjusted for brightness and contrast
2. Layer>Duplicate Layer
3. New/Top Layer>Lasso/Free Select Tool>Delete eyes
4. Select>None
5. Top Layer>Colors>Colorify>Custom Color #9cd9cb
6. Background Layer>Free Select Tool>Select eyes
7. Colors>Colorize>Adjust hue, lightness, and saturation to get a different blue
8. Select>None
9. Top Layer>Merge Down
   

Week 8: Light and Color Adjustments

We've been having gorgeous weather, so I took full advantage of it and have been shooting lots of photos this week.

This is Emma, who is usually my only willing subject.
The original:


This is after I adjusted light and color balance:



The steps I took (in Gimp) to get the look:

1. Colors>Curves>Adjust as needed. I usually start in the middle of the line and drag it in the direction of the upper left corner until I like the lightness of the photo. Then I add contrast by pulling up a little on the part of the line that's near the top right corner. You will have to adjust as necessary to get the look you want. I'm used to my camera's deficiencies at this point, so I already kind of know what spots to adjust in the curves line to make the photo look better.
2. Colors>Color Balance>Cyan/Red: 14; Magenta/Green: 9; Yellow/Blue: 0
   
3. Colors>Hue-Saturation> Hue: 0; Lightness: 3; Saturation: 12

Next up is a photo of some plants (daffodil, I think) pushing through the ground.
The original:


Altered in Gimp:

Steps:

1. Colors>Curves>Adjust as needed
2. Colors>Color Balance>Cyan/Red: 15; Magenta/Green: 5; Yellow/Blue:-15
3. Colors>Hue-Saturation> Hue: 0; Lightness: 0; Saturation: 5
   

Last one, for now. This was also done in Gimp.

The original:



Modified in Gimp:



Steps:

1. Colors>Curves>Adjust as needed
2. Colors>Color Balance>Cyan/Red: 5; Magenta/Green: 7; Yellow/Blue: -3
   
3. Colors>Hue-Saturation> Hue: 0; Lightness: -1; Saturation: 7
   

Week 7: More Gimp stuff

Here's my little budding artist. He's really talented, don't you think?

Week 7: Playing Around in Gimp

My grandma turned into a baby! Isn't she sweet?



Here are the two originals:

Week 6: Landscape

These are my favorite landscape photos from this week. Once again I'm unhappy with the performance of my weak camera. Its limitations really show up in wide angle shots like these. The clarity is mediocre and it's just grainy overall.

In spite of those things, I tried my best to set up each shot keeping composition and what constitutes a landscape photo in mind. In each of these photos below, you see not only natural formations, but the way in which human presence has altered nature's landscape.

This one... a mountain in the background and development in the foreground.



I took this shot from a farmer's field that was probably forest at one point. I like how the tree line draws your eye around the edge of the field.



Another view from the same field.



I like this shot for the way the road and rounded yard create movement in the photo.



Same thing here. I like how the road creates a kind of flow in the photo.




Does this count as a landscape photo? How much nature must a photo have in it in order to count as landscape? I'm not sure, but I included this one because I like the color of the barn. The overall blue cast of these wintery photos can get a bit old, so the warm red is a welcome sight.