Do you think these photoshop effects look good on these images ?

Question

I usally don't use photoshop for my images, but i decided to play around with some effects , what do you think of them .

Here are the links for the images:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13606906@N04/2080920883/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13606906@N04/2081706350/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13606906@N04/2081466254/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13606906@N04/2080680023/

Thank you !

Answer 1

Hi Annafur. I think you did quite well.

with the b&w and color contrast ones, it looks like you have selected the colour area, hit select inverse and desaturated?

The only problem I have is the selection isn't quite accurate and some edges of B&W are showing ever so slightly around the coloured object.

So I would suggest that you do the following:
hit Select, then All. then copy and paste it so you have a 2nd identical layer. Using the layers window select the 1st layer again and make it B&W in whatever way suits you, you might want to fiddle with the colour balace after you do that to get it exactly how you want it.
Now select the 2nd layer, using the eraser tool remove all the areas that you want to be B&W, until you are just left with the bit you want coloured, in fiddly areas the magic select wand and the delete button can be a big help. Do any adjustment you need to , eg. colour balance, saturation, brightness contrast etc.
Once it is exactly how you want it, you decide to either leave it sharp or run the blur tool around the edge of the coloured bit (at low strength).
now go to layers and hit Merge Down.



This is a simplified version, and I'm sure that mason can advise you much better than I can.
I adore the last one with the damaged rose, don't touch it! Lizzie :o)


EDIT

Annafur, there is a new photoshop yahoo group. I've joined, it might be of use for you. Here's the link: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/photoshop_extreme/

Answer 2

i would have to agree and say this pic was not photoshopped... HOWEVER.... there are ways you can achieve a similar design..... you have to have a base picture (background) and a top picture (in this case, it would be the leave and the branch hanging down this middle) now be aware this will take quite a bit of time..... 1.open a new document with your base picture. for best affects, i would suggest blurring it a bit that way it is not a distraction to the main image- and also darken it. 2. open another window (MAKE SURE YOUR TOP PICTURE IS THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF PIXELS TO GO OVER YOUR BACKGROUND IMAGE- you dont want it too big or too small)....... on this window, use a precise selection tool (this is where it gets tricky), and select e v e r y part of the picture you want to be the main image. this will probably require zooming in and using a really fine tool to make sure you get every detail (such as, every twig connected to a leaf) 3.very simple from here..... COPY the selected image (from the 2nd document) and PASTE it onto your background image (1st document) OTHER HELPFUL HINTS::: *make sure the backgound and main image look like they belong together ((don't put a snow covered christmas tree on a sandy beach,,,,)) *for an effect like the image in your link provided, you may need to lighten your main image so it does not blend in so much with the background to give that lighted sillowet effect -if you have a program like adobe, you can change the light in each layer even after you have copied and pasted to get it where you want it *sometimes darkening corners and edges of the background image will help thats basically it for that!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~... OR OPTION TWO ((a bit more simple-but same concept)) 1. open image. i'm going to use the picture on the link you provided as an example. 2. using a selection brush tool, carefully select the image to be the background. darken/blur to your desire 3. now selectiong everything BUT the background, select the leaves and tree and enhance them to bring them out but adding extra color, light, and lense affects, again, to your own desire.

Answer 3

y'know i think you're quite handy with that camera...studying and practicing with photoshop is the only thing i can think of with the rose and leaf images, and they are better than i can do at this point, so your way ahead of what i do.
ofcourse any shot with a cat or kitten in it is a great shot.
as always it is a real treat to see your work, you are gonna go places, kid.

Answer 4

Amazing, doesn't hurt that its great photography coming into play too. I especially love the leaves for the contrast and the wilted rose for the uniqueness (the others we're great too!)
Definitely keep up with your talents

The leaves could use some more attention to the green edges and sprigs of grass going across the leaves, try using the laso tool (hold shift to select more than one area) and adjust the saturation

for the kitten maybe bring the contrast up? If thats how you like it though it's still great.

Answer 5

I have no problem with this type of effects but it seems to be a rushed job. I really liked the kitten pics but next time please mask the effect carefully.

As for the flowers... well I don't think you need to make the background black and white - it's nice just as it is I think.

And... well personally I would prefer just shoot them in large aperture and instead of black and white, I just put the background in a good bokeh. But of course... it's just me.

Answer 6

I like it! For people who don't waste time on Photoshop that much, it's well enough to be above standards! :-D It makes the object stand out the most.

ME LIKE!

Answer 7

You've got yourself a fan club here, kid!