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shoot now and create later

mregnier

Senior Subscriber Member
Uwe suggested this thread, so here is the idea.
You're out shooting and you come across an interesting subject or landscpe, but maybe the lighting isn't quite right. The composition is great, but it's missing something. You may never get back to this spot, so when I shoot, I am looking for a beautiful subject or landscape with the right composition. I still need a great shot, but I'm not too worried about the light or that perfect moment. Usually, what I do with the layering effects will add that special magic to the image. I love to travel and shoot different things and I believe what I shoot and how I shoot it is the most important part of my work, but I always know that this is just the beginning.
So the idea is to show the stages of an image. Here is the base of my sunflower image. There were many textures and of course retouching too numerous to post.
Hope this is clear. And any suggestions are welcome.

Mike



 

vincechu

New member
Have to say that the final image above is really stunning! I love how their are sunflowers but with darkness hanging over - kind of 2 things u dont normally expect together, which is why i guess this image has so much impact one me. I really love it!

I'll try and post my attempts later :)
 
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Diane B

New member
That's a good one to start with, Mike, because its so dramatic from original image to final one.

Diane
 

ustein

Contributing Editor
Mike,

thanks for starting this thread. We are not the type of photographers that wait for the light to be perfect (whatever this is). As you said it may not even be possible in many cases.

The main issue we also often have is the boring sky as in your example. Not even sure dramatic clouds would be what we like.

I always say Blending is like: 1 + 1 = 3.

I even created a script that makes some operations more simple (like resizing):

http://www.outbackphoto.com/CONTENT_2007_01/section_workflow_basics_2009/20090512_TextureBlending/index.html

Sample (blend from two images using our script):







I nearly always find the blended result more interesting than the original images.

Mike, your are very good at it. We are at a good start I would say. Lots to explore:

- Finding Textures
- New Blending options
- and more (maybe we learn this in this thead.
 

mregnier

Senior Subscriber Member
Thanks everyone for joining in. This should be an interesting thread. So many possibilities. If nothing else, it should help develop everyone's photoshop skills!
When I started working this way some 15 yrs ago, I learned to start carrying a camera with me everywhere I went to capture possible elements for an image.Skies,foregrounds,textures etc. etc. I wish I was a bit more organized so that I could find all these elements easily, but I find that if I just start working on an image, ideas will start coming forward. I'm not trying for a conceptual image, but for an improvement of a real scene, but with the freedom that a painter has.

I'll post another image soon.

Mike
 

ustein

Contributing Editor
Using the same texture:



Same base image and different blending:

 
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mregnier

Senior Subscriber Member
this image is a good example. I was traveling with someone and we came across these trees along the road. It caught my eye, but we were in a hurry, so I had just enough time to jump out of the car and shoot a quick shot.
I stretched the image and the texture that I added gave a sense of light.

Mike


 

ustein

Contributing Editor
this image is a good example. I was traveling with someone and we came across these trees along the road. It caught my eye, but we were in a hurry, so I had just enough time to jump out of the car and shoot a quick shot.
I stretched the image and the texture that I added gave a sense of light.

Mike
Works very well.
 

TRSmith

Subscriber Member
I really like this kind of image "play". I saw this thread last night, decided to try it and went to some early files picked out of lightroom almost at random. I hope you don't mind, this is not 4/3.
 

mregnier

Senior Subscriber Member


IR shot



Result

Hello Uwe,
I like the final version. Is the first shot also layered. Quite like that one too as it is a little more abstract since you can't make out what it is that is causing the shadowing effect.
Mike
 

mregnier

Senior Subscriber Member
I really like this kind of image "play". I saw this thread last night, decided to try it and went to some early files picked out of lightroom almost at random. I hope you don't mind, this is not 4/3.
Very nice, how many images did you use to create this? If you could show the base image that you start with, it would be interesting to see where you went with it.
Mike
 

TRSmith

Subscriber Member
Thanks! I used 3 images and played with the layer blend mode and inverted a couple of them. A long way from where they started! Here are the original three:
 

ustein

Contributing Editor
Hello Uwe,
I like the final version. Is the first shot also layered.
Mike

Yes it is atexture that is blended from paper, pebbles and ocean sunset.

I like hte trees and the interesting thing is that it is hard to make an interesting image from the IR shot itself but it is a good pattern IMHO.
 

hodad66

Member
Both shot in St Augustine, Fl..... the lighthouse was first
and on the way home, down A1A came the longest line
of pelicans that I had ever seen. Not a blend but an
example of a shot made more interesting through addition.



Again, same morning but the low sun wasn't in the shot
until I inserted an earlier shot.

 
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ustein

Contributing Editor
Both shot in St Augustin, Fl..... the lighthouse was first
and on the way home, down A1A came the longest line
of pelicans that I had ever seen. Not a blend but an
example of a shot made more interesting through addition.



Again, same morning but the low sun wasn't in the shot
until I inserted an earlier shot.
I loved this you posted it the first time.

Did you mask the Pelicans. By the way try to blend the lighthouse.
 

hodad66

Member
The sky was blown out so a simple select / erase
did the trick. I would say that the line of pelicans
was, at least, twice the number used in the shot.
 

ustein

Contributing Editor
The sky was blown out so a simple select / erase
did the trick. I would say that the line of pelicans
was, at least, twice the number used in the shot.
You also needded to mask over the lighthouse, right?
 
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