finally got photo shop

[DeeDee]

was playing with photoshop C&C please. I will post before and after pics

before

after

[mountaindew]

That looks awesome!

I'd add contrast a bit more. Otherwise it's perfect! How do you like photoshop so far?

[DeeDee]

I have a whole lot to learn yet but I am having a good time with it

[DonBo]

DeeDee, enough of the tropical paradise! It's STILL winter here.

[DeeDee]

I'm sorry but you will get your revenge this summer then your sitting in beautiful days and cool nights. I dont have anything cold to take a picture of

[DeeDee]

but did you like it?

[finnbay]

Be prepared - you'll spend hours of time looking at your computer screen, and you won't have a clue where the time went!

p.s. Well done!

[Steve Foss]

DeeDee, that looks great. I see you brightened the image and added saturation, and the pic has a lot of "pop" now. It also looks a bit warmer after your pp. The initial image has a cool blue cast to it.

I think your contrast if fine, but that's just IMO — it's all in the eye of the beholder, and there really is no right or wrong on those things.

If you do want more contrast, I'd avoid the contrast adjustment when possible because it's a blunt tool that can easily blow out your highlights.

When I want more contrast, I go to "image" in the top toolbar and then to "adjustments" and then to "levels." With the the levels adjustment in front of me, I'll grab the middle slider and move it to the left, which brightens mid range levels. Then I'll grab the lefthand slider and move it to the right, which darkens shadow areas and also pulls the middle slider back to the right, darkening mid range a bit. Experiment with this to see what you get and how you like it. You can totally block out shadow detail with this technique if you're not careful, but by adjusting contrast this way you don't touch your highlights at all.

[mountaindew]

DeeDee,

stfcatfish couldn't have said it better. You could really screw up the picture by adding too much contrast..or saturation. You know? I mean, long time ago I played with the photoshop on this one picture to the point where I thought it looked great, but when I showed to my friends, they have said that it looks horrible. Not realistic.

So fine tuning a picture with all the goodies from photo shopis great, but be carefull, trust your first insticts if it's too much.

Have fun!

[DeeDee]

Thanks so much guys I will probably need glasses by next week. And Donbo I will find something to take a picture of just for you. Right know I'm gonna try stf's suggestion and play with another one.

[Steve Foss]

DeeDee, the next tip is to play around with the shadows/highlights option, depending on which version of photoshop you have. You access it from the same menu as the levels, and it will emphasize detail in the shadow and the highlight areas of an image. It's a great tool.

[mountaindew]

I totally agree. In fact it's an powerful tool! Take your time with the photoshop, learn it, study it. You'll be pleased!

[mmeyer]

I think the after shot is great Dee Dee. Finnbay is right, you can spend hours upon hours learning it and still only hit the tip of the iceberg so to speak. But it is fun.

[DeeDee]

ok last one for today. I took this when mother nature couldnt make up her mind if it was going to rain or not. In the middle there is a hole in the clouds. I would like to make it stand out more, but it seems all I'm doing is turning it blue. I've tried to follow Steves instructions but was having a bit a trouble. What would you do? I'm sure I just need patience.

[DeeDee]

the way the clouds were swirling it was like a confused tornado that wasnt sure which way to go. It was pretty cool.

[Steve Foss]

DeeDee, that's a compelling photo! Great drama in the shadow and mid range detail.

If you use shadows/highlights and leave the shadows alone but add detail to the highlights you should be able to make them look less blown out. If you've already done so, then it looks to be as good as it can get, and since the most drama is in the mid range and shadows, I think it's still OK.

And if you'd like, you of course can e-mail me the untouched original and I'll take a stab at it and explain my step-by-step in this thread.

[DonBo]

DeeDee, thanks for a photo that doesn't look like paradise. I really like this one.

I used to skydive, the Florida clouds were always the best to fly around and through.

There is no way I can give you better advice than what those above have already done, so I'll just enjoy the show...

[mountaindew]

DeeDee, That is an AWESOME picture of the clouds! Very dramatic! I'm praying that you might have taken 3 shots in sequence of different exposure!? It would have looked different and more dramatic if you did this in HDR!

That is just a beautiful picture! I love it! That's the kind of weather I'm looking for!

[Steve Foss]

 Originally Posted By: mountaindew

It would have looked different and more dramatic if you did this in HDR!

DeeDee, in case you aren't up on that particular bit of lingo yet, the technique Mountain Dew is referring to involves taking multiple exposures of the same scene (almost always from a tripod) and blending them later in photoshop. At its most simple, you can take one image to get highlight exposure just right and another image to get shadow exposure just right (using exposure compensation, auto exposure bracketing or manual settings on your camera to make adjustments), and then combine them in photoshop so the whole image is evenly exposed.

It works quite well quite often, but if your clouds in this image were moving quickly, there might have been too much movement in the clouds to reconcile the images later in photoshop. Too much movement between frames will mean a blurry composite when they're blended.

But HDR can be a lot of fun if and when you get to the point where you want to try it.

[DeeDee]

Hey DonBo - I knew I'd find something. See Florida isnt all a tropical paradise.

Steve - I'll send you the untouched picture. I hope I'm not taking to much of your time.

mountaindew - you can have that weather

[Steve Foss]

DeeDee, no worries, matey!

[DeeDee]

[quote=stfcatfish

But HDR can be a lot of fun if and when you get to the point where you want to try it.

[Steve Foss]

DeeDee, just e-mail me the single image you posted here, but the original. Thanks.

[DeeDee]

just sent it

[icehousebob]

DeeDee, I know nothing of photgraphy. But if you took that photo of the clouds and in front of it, had a man named Lance, wearing a torn shirt and holding a woman named Penelope in his arms, with the wind blowing their long hair, it would be the perfect cover for a romance novel. It just has that dramatic look to it.