Indie Art Photoblog: i didn't forget =)

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

i didn't forget =)

Alrighty, all you patient bloggers, here's the answers to your questions! (in the order they were asked):

Q: I would like to see a tip on giving your photos a color punch in Photoshop. I have PS Elements 2.
A: I use my actions to give my pics a punch of color, but they don't work yet in PSE. In PSE, I would play with brightness/contrast, hue/sat and Soft Light.....i need to freshen up on PSE, it's been awhile.

Q: I would like to know how you make the photo mosaics you post?
A: Go to www.bighugelabs.com & click on "Mosaic Maker".

Q: how do you make a face look flawless?
A: I make a duplicate layer & use the healing tool. When i'm done re-touching with the healing brush, I turn the opacity down on the top layer anywhere between 70-90% to restore the original texture a little.

Q: Just how you get this perfectly clear image? Is it all you and the camera, or does photoshop tweak any of it??
A: From my experience, i'd say it's MOSTLY finding really good light - that will solve most of anyone's issues, be-it focus, clarity, color, sharpness, exposure. Next, good exposure is key. Then, Photoshop definitely improves pics most of the time. Also, your camera and lense are very important - not saying you have to have the best stuff, because i lot of my fave pics are taken with the cheapest DSLR and the cheapest lense. But i LOVE my 5D and nice lenses, and they DO make a difference (despite what some say =) & where you really see the difference is in print quality.

Q: Color..color..color..give me the scoop on the rich color you get!
A: I use my actions, which a lot of you have, so i don't have any ps secrets, although, there is definitely some skill to that. It must be the light - I pay VERY, VERY close attention to the light - "it's all about the light!"

Q: I would like to know what your typical post-process workflow is. For example, the girls below - do you defog? Pop the curves?
A: I shoot in raw because i've only learned to shoot in manual a few months ago. but i'm hoping to not do raw, because it adds a lengthy conversion step, and i usually don't adjust anything anyway. Once i have jpgs, i don't do defog [maybe i should?!??]. I then run one of my actions. If I need to, i might adjust levels, brightness, curves. I always finish with a little burning. I think that's it.

I hope that helps! And I love seeing people's sooc image and then their edit, but you rarely get to see it from people. So here's one of mine, sooc (and underexposed, i might add [i never claimed to be an expert, lol, just answering your questions based on my experience!]) I did the following steps:
1. ran Indie Subtle Color action, which i use as a basis for my ps'ing (that or Color Foundation).
2. re-touched skin very slightly [using above-mentioned technique]
3. added red and yellow in "Color Balance"
4. did a slight s-curve
5. re-size and sharpen for web (crop 552 px on long side & USM 500, .2, 0]BEFORE:
AFTER:

21 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

SO cool Anna! Thank you, thank you. You're fantastic. Seriously. Beautiful pictures...always. Thanks for the before and after too...LOVE those. Amy (Carrie's friend)

8:53 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you for this post! VERY helpful. Looks like I should probably get some of your actions because they do amazing things. :o)
I am so thankful for all this info.

9:44 AM  
Blogger Melissa Fullmer said...

I love to see sooc pics and even though your's are still awesome sooc, it is nice to see you don't get those awesome beautifully colored pictures sooc. Makes me feel better about myself :) You're great!!

10:32 AM  
Blogger Angie Penrose said...

Thanks so much for such a helpful post! I do have your actions, but its so nice to see how you put them to use!! I hope you will share your secrets with us again. Thanks Anna.

11:05 AM  
Blogger erin said...

you rock Anna!

12:55 PM  
Blogger Cathy said...

Anna, your generosity is really something!...thanks for sharing your workflow.

And I can't wait to get a 5D! (saving saving)Could you share what your fav lens is?

10:38 PM  
Blogger Lindsay said...

Thanks for sharing your tips, Anna. Now if you ever get your actions working in PSE, I will....well, I don't know what I will do besides be so totally happy. I recognize that actions do not magically fix anything but I love what your actions do.

11:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

great post! you do do amazing things with light :o) love that you showed the sooc image...love seeing that along with the pped one too

8:55 AM  
Blogger Melissa said...

Wow Anna! Your generosity blows me away! These are awesome tips! I will be prtinting them and trying to learn, learn. Wish you were still down the street so I could use you for your knowledge! ;)

8:28 PM  
Blogger Carmen said...

Thanks so much for posting these tips...I love all of your pics. And I was always wondering where those mosaics came from! I now have one on my blog...LOL!

11:46 PM  
Blogger The Runyans said...

How awesome you did this!!!

8:15 AM  
Blogger Audrey said...

You are just absolutely the sweetest for doing the Q&A! Great stuff there....you definitely have an eye for finding the right light!!

12:50 PM  
Blogger Victronica said...

anna, i put those pics on my blog, so you can check it out.

5:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

thanks for posting all of this! i love your actions and they have become a part of my pp'ing as well! :)

love the before and after! i always love seeing that!

10:58 AM  
Blogger Megan said...

Well, I know they won't solve all of my problems..but I'm thinking I might need to grab your actions..hopefully the "kink" is gone, and they will attach :)

Thanks for spilling some of your secrets!!

9:14 PM  
Blogger Megan said...

BTW, I emailed you...look for it :)

9:10 AM  
Blogger Jeanelle said...

Thanks for the tips!!!

2:42 PM  
Blogger Amanda said...

Awesome Anny! Thanks for the tips!

5:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am already enjoying your actions after getting them just yesterday! So happy I found your blog and thanks for spilling some of your secrets! Love your work!

8:17 AM  
Blogger Ania said...

How very cool! I'm one of those who bought your actions and I love learning more about the manual side of editing. Thanks a bunch!

9:34 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you for this!!!

I'm French, but I have PSE in english, can you please let me know where can I find the "healing tool"???? I don't found it!

Thank you so much

6:26 AM  

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