Flowers in a clay pot

[enaiman]

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:



Result:



Thank you,

[dje]

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

[Mike Buckley]

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.

[enaiman]

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

[Mike Buckley]

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

[wlou]

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?

[FrankMi]

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!

[enaiman]

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.

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.

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.