Post a photo a day!

[NewAngler]

They tell me not to flush paper towels down the commode; guess what I do? I flush paper towels down the comode.

They tell me one photo day, guess what I do? I post two.

Horrible picture quality but here they are...

My girls put to work. Note the work gloves in the back, I legitimatley put them to work.

And this is our new house, which has a friggen struggle story behind it.

[nick76]

Here is my youngest catching a nap on my wife's lap.  Just used CS4 to black and white the image and then remove the B/W from the bow in her hair to add a little color to it.  Then cropped in the edges and faded them in to darken and soften the edges of the photo.

[NateFollmer]

Nice! Were you trying to add Vignette? Here's a quick way to do it:

http://blog.epicedits.com/2007/09/18/quick-tip-using-photoshop-to-add-vignette/

[nick76]

That is very similar to what I was trying to do.  I was shooting for more of "burning in" effect like you see in portraits.  I read about it in one of Scott Kelby's Down & Dirty tricks books.  I do like the Vignette idea too though.  Will keep that one in mind.

More like this one is what I did.  I found some easier steps in the book for how to do it and it works just as well though.

http://www.tutorialkit.com/tutorials/Create-A-Burnt-In-Edge-Effect-In-Photoshop-10744.html

[baluga]

[NateFollmer]

Ah ok, That's a cool trick thanks for that link!

Nice shot baluga!

[nick76]

Was that someone you knew Baluga or was it one of those happen to be there for the moment shots?  it is a great shot that defines a man and his desire to fish!!

[baluga]

Was that someone you knew Baluga or was it one of those happen to be there for the moment shots? it is a great shot that defines a man and his desire to fish!!

Thanks, actually it's me, It's in Florida. Ponce Inlet, Lighthouse Drive. Taken by my wife while I was walking back to the shed using Nikon D60. 

[J Francho]

[NateFollmer]

I thought I'd post a little tutorial with some of my photos. I'll tell you now, I am in no way an expert, so take these for what there worth I do know myself some Photoshop though haha

Anyway, here is a technique I use to sharpen my photos. I feel like I get more control over what is sharpened and what isn't. I know I could use masks to do this, but I feel this is quicker and a little easier to customize.

First duplicate your photo so you have it in 2 layers. Select the top layer and do: Filter>>Other>>High Pass

Now I should stop and tell you that I sometimes do this multiple times. I'll set the amount high for large details. Then, I will duplicate my base layer (original photo) again, and do another for medium details (set the amount lower) and then another for tiny details (set the amount even smaller). Not ALL photo's need this much work though.

You should have something that looks like this:

Now, desaturate all your high pass layers: Image>>Adjustments>>Desaturate

Next, if needed, remove the noise in all the high pass layers (if there is any hint of noise, this technique will make it show up even more, so it's best to do this anyway): Filter>>Noise>>Reduce Noise

Now all you have to do is set all your layers to 'Overlay' and see how it looks! If you think some spots are too sharp, simply mask them off! Here's my finished photo (I added some Vignette, which I usually do on most Macro shots. I think it helps push the focal point to the subject more):

[nick76]

Do you have a before shot of that photo....and BTW- thanks for the info.  Nice to know.  It is always nice to learn little tricks for those of us just starting out.  I am trying to find a new hobby and since I have a camera, time, and CS5 why not give it a go.  Not to mention that my daughter (who is 16) is infatuated with this kind of stuff too and she is currently taking a little course on PS.

[NateFollmer]

Do you have a before shot of that photo....and BTW- thanks for the info. Nice to know. It is always nice to learn little tricks for those of us just starting out. I am trying to find a new hobby and since I have a camera, time, and CS5 why not give it a go. Not to mention that my daughter (who is 16) is infatuated with this kind of stuff too and she is currently taking a little course on PS.

Fixed, sorry I forgot to link it Thanks for catching it. Photoshop is just one of those things you have to play with and see what does what

Check out tutorialized.com, they have the best PS tutorials.

[nick76]

I agree with the whole playing with the program thing.  I search for little blips here and there and it is amazing what you can do with the software now.  I will check that site out for sure.

The subtle changes in that picture really make the difference.  Thanks for the quick Tutorial.  Much appreciated.

[NateFollmer]

I agree with the whole playing with the program thing. I search for little blips here and there and it is amazing what you can do with the software now. I will check that site out for sure.

The subtle changes in that picture really make the difference. Thanks for the quick Tutorial. Much appreciated.

Yeah they do. Thanks! I have some cheap lens and they tend to not take very colorful photos. But thats ok, because I can fix that and PS haha. I would be the crappiest photographer if it wasn't for photoshop

[J Francho]

You'll want to visit http://www.thelightsright.com for some truly sick scripts and plug-ins for PS.

[NateFollmer]

Awesome site! I like that one better because it's all geared toward photography. Tutorialized is more for web and just learning the basics (theres some photo stuff on there, but not much).

[J Francho]

Friday is always Falls Day!

[00 mod]

Look back at New Orleans at sunset...

[NateFollmer]

I got nothin' to match the quality of the last two pics I stumbled upon this old graveyard one day while driving. It was under a huge old tree in the middle of a field. Most of the graves were from the mid 1800's.

Graveyard2 by nate.follmer, on Flickr

[00 mod]

ya'lls shots are just so clean!  I REALLY need to learn how to use a program to clean up my photos!

[NateFollmer]

ya'lls shots are just so clean! I REALLY need to learn how to use a program to clean up my photos!

Here's a free noise reducer:

http://noiseware-community-edition.en.softonic.com/

If you want something like Photoshop, but don't want to drop the crazy amount on money for it (I got mine with a school license, so it was cheap, I'd never pay the full price ). Look at Photoshop Elements or TheGIMP. GIMP takes awhile to get used to, but it does most of the same things photoshop does.

Another thing too is, most of my shots are taken at 10.2 MP then reduced down to usually 3 to 5 MP. Dropping that much in MP really hides the noise and hides all the imperfections haha

[00 mod]

I'm a dummy when it comes to all of that!  I'm really new at all of this camera stuff but love it!  Wish there was a program for just auto correct for dummies like me!  Just got my first decent camers (rebel eos) in Jan!

Jeff

[J Francho]

ya'lls shots are just so clean! I REALLY need to learn how to use a program to clean up my photos!

Many of my shots are straight out of the camera.  These days, if I can't get it done in DPP or Adobe Camera Raw, then its not a good shot.

[00 mod]

Well thats awesome!  ALL of my shots are straight out of the camera and uploaded to photobucket to link from!

Jeff

[nick76]

You can also use the online program picnik.  Just go to www.picnik.com

There are a variety of things you can do there for free or you can get a membership and have access to more.