Results 1 to 8 of 8

Thread: Flowers in a clay pot

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Hobart, TAS
    Posts
    212
    Real Name
    Eugen

    Flowers in a clay pot

    Today I did the most complex editing of an image (I'm quite a newbie in PP and I'm pretty sure that it does look complex to "me" )

    Anyway - here is the result, and the original image to make it easier to spot what I've been working on.

    C&C are welcome - I'm really interested in other opinions because I would like to get the best out of it.

    Original:

    Flowers in a clay pot

    Result:

    Flowers in a clay pot

    Thank you,

  2. #2
    dje's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Brisbane Australia
    Posts
    4,636
    Real Name
    Dave Ellis

    Re: Flowers in a clay pot

    Eugen you have done a good job with the edit IMO. You've certainly given the image more "pop" as they say. The colours are richer, and there is more contrast and clarity. The first image looks fine but the second has much more impact.

    Dave

  3. #3

    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    northern Virginia suburb of Washington, DC
    Posts
    19,064

    Re: Flowers in a clay pot

    That transformation would surely seem complex to anyone. Great job of postprocessing!

    However, I do have to mention that it would have been so much easier and you probably would have achieved even better results if you had captured the image more like the final version and then applied such excellent postprocessing skills. As an example, notice the out-of-focus area of the wall where it meets the table. Though you have done a wonderful job of skewing the image to provide more of a frontal view than a view from above as in the original, that area of the image seems odd. That's because that area would have appeared differently if you had shot it as in the final version, unless you had "altered" the capture using a LensBaby or similar product.
    Last edited by Mike Buckley; 17th August 2012 at 12:01 PM.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Hobart, TAS
    Posts
    212
    Real Name
    Eugen

    Re: Flowers in a clay pot

    Thank you Mike and Dave for your kind comments.
    The image was taken about an year ago and recently I was going through some old images. It caught my attention and I tried to see what can I get with some processing.
    About 80% of the whole job was cloning and making sure it looks "natural" - most difficult part was extending the table to the right and creating the table pattern from scratch.
    Other than that, I have selected the pot on a new layer and applied quite a heavy Unsharp Mask to enhance the design which was out of focus.
    In the end I did some levels adjustments to improve the contrast and just a small saturation increase.

    That quite odd area is due to my imperfect cloning job

  5. #5

    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    northern Virginia suburb of Washington, DC
    Posts
    19,064

    Re: Flowers in a clay pot

    It's such a remarkable job, Eugen, that I have to ask how long it took you to complete the project.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Québec,Canada
    Posts
    696
    Real Name
    Louise

    Re: Flowers in a clay pot

    Yes, it is quite a remarkable job, I am impress but the I am just starting with PS Element 10. Can you tell us what program you used?

  7. #7
    FrankMi's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA
    Posts
    6,294
    Real Name
    Frank Miller

    Re: Flowers in a clay pot

    Hi Eugen, as you have discovered, some of the benefits of taking the time to thoughtfully apply post processing is that you not only achieve the satisfaction of a pleasing result, but because you are examining the scene very carefully, it can help you to 'see' and plan similar future shots thus improving your camera shooting technique as well.

    The crack in the wall, the table, the papers, the left edge of the frame, these are all things that you will be looking for and correcting before pressing the shutter next time around.

    I suspect that those that refuse to learn post processing are missing out on a great opportunity to improve their in-camera composition and shooting skills.

    Very well done!
    Last edited by FrankMi; 17th August 2012 at 01:26 PM.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Hobart, TAS
    Posts
    212
    Real Name
    Eugen

    Re: Flowers in a clay pot

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Buckley View Post
    It's such a remarkable job, Eugen, that I have to ask how long it took you to complete the project.
    Thanks Mike, it was about 3-4 hours.

    Quote Originally Posted by wlou View Post
    Yes, it is quite a remarkable job, I am impress but the I am just starting with PS Element 10. Can you tell us what program you used?
    Louise, I have used CS 5.5 but I can tell you that PS 9 or 10 can do the same job. It was basic PP, it took so long because it involved an extended area.

    Quote Originally Posted by FrankMi View Post
    Hi Eugen, as you have discovered, some of the benefits of taking the time to thoughtfully apply post processing is that you not only achieve the satisfaction of a pleasing result, but because you are examining the scene very carefully, it can help you to 'see' and plan similar future shots thus improving your camera shooting technique as well.
    Definitely Frank,
    To see that if I had spent 5 extra minutes planning the shot and just moving the table and the pot a little bit, could have saved me 3 hours worth of PP - that is an eye opener.
    Unfortunately, it takes at least a couple "bad tries" to learn that one had to plan the shot.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •