Before and After #54

[TheSonofDarwin]

This game is to help those of us who are trying to learn new tricks when it comes to editing.

Here's the breakdown of the game. I will post a picture that I choose, resized to exactly 800 pixels maximum on the long side. Outside of being resized it has to be unedited...meaning no adjustments to any levels, it has to look like it did as it came out of the camera.

The game will last 48hrs and whoever can produce the best edited image (as judged by me) will be picked and it'll be their turn to post their unedited picture for all of us to take a crack at.

The participants must have their "Image Editing OK" turned on and they must provide at least a simple breakdown of how they edited the image, some entrants are a little vague on this point, please give us all details so we can learn and share tips. For instance if you use the unsharp mask tool or Smart Sharpen, provide us with the adjustments you used so others can try them out.

You can post multiple images, but the first image you post will be the one that is judged - all other images will be considered for knowledge and tip use only.

Also, please keep all comments, be they positive or negative, to yourself until after the game has ended.

If you happen to be the winner of the game please start the next one with the title of the game and the following number. For example…the next game should read (Before and After #55).

This is all about having fun so have at it!!!

This game will end on Sunday, May 4th at 11:30AM EST.

Hopefully this isn't a flop going with such a limited subject, but we'll see how it goes.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y173/thesonofdarwin/BA54.jpg

[BitterSweet]

Hopefully it looks as good as it does on my desktop then it does on my laptop (desktop having problems with network card)

-Low key filter
-Photo Stylizer filter (cool silver) (added a slight bluish tone)
-Bi-Color filter (added more brown and yellow tone)
-Darken/Lighten center filter (does what the name is I lightened up the center and darkened it around him)
-did another low key filter on a very low opacity
-brightened
-added border.

[Permagrin]

-blended 3 exposures (at 2/3 diff)
-Tonal contrast filter (2x)
-glow filter
-frame
http://lcimages.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p390069115.jpg

[SQuiP]

Hue, curve and colour adjustment
Put a smile on his face :D
Little liquid to make it fit...
Sharpened fore- and blurred background
Removed white reflection under his chin
Diffuse Glow (yellow tint)
Cropped, border

EDIT: Added the first one as my official entry ;)

[Elizabeth44]

Selected toad and used colour balance to get it greener. Selected eyes and used colour balance to change colour. Added border and cropped a bit.

[Ocron]

I really had to restrain myself from giving the frog a top-hat and cane and just try to make it look good as is. :)

- bumped the exposure almost a full stop
- fixed a couple of blown highlights
- LAB apply image, soft light blend mode @75% opacity to bring out some color in the frog
- curves adjustment layer on the green channel to tone down the green cast I ended up with
- shadow/highlights layer to recover some highlights from the exposure bump
- shadow/highlights layer on just the water to bring the shadows up a bit
- there were still too many distracting highlights so I added a CEP soft focus filter w/luminosity blend mode which really calmed them down.
- bunch of minor curve and color balance tweaks until I liked the color (actually ended up adding back in some green)
- frame from an action someone posted here a couple days ago (phaunt Fun Pak)

http://ocron.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p574627328.jpg

[qtaran111]

Hi folks,

No rocket science this time:

- Cloned out flash highlights
- Curves and Hue/Saturation adjustment layers
- Selective USM of frog & slight gaussian blur of background
- Cropped
- Added border in colours taken from frog (or is it a toad?)

http://camdenphoto.smugmug.com/photos/288869460_ruegH-O.jpg

[TheSonofDarwin]

Good job everyone. Sorry I'm running a bit late here.

Bittersweet - I really liked yours, except the flash highlights look a little out-of-place in such a dark picture.

Squip - LOL. I don't know what else to say. I was actually expecting some sort of monster like that since I had just finished watching an animal morph/blend tutorial before I posted this competition. In your newly edited one it took my a few glances before I realized what you'd changed regarding the subject itself. The smile was a very nice touch.

Elizabeth44 - Your's looks scifi/magical - like a picture a witch would take before she tosses him in the pot :p

Ocron and qtaran111 - Your two look the most realistic given the actual scene.

But.. Permagrin, even though it accentuated the unnatural thing the toad was sitting on, I really liked this edit. The only thing I'd have changed is fixing the blown moisture reflections, but I know how long that takes cause I did it when I edited it myself (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3089/2446463427_ef7066f852_o.jpg). So you are the winner for this competition :)

[Permagrin]

thanks :)
This is my first time doing one of these competitions but I really like the idea of seeing how different people process a photo. I'll get #55 set up.

[BitterSweet]

Congrats Permagrin (great edit love the colors) and to everyone else.


I didn't even see the flash highlights until you pointed them out TheSonofDarwin. I guess I was so wrapped up on trying to do a spot light feel I didn't see them. For some odd reason I got a image of a frog on stage with a spot light on him so that was what I was trying to go for lol.

[qtaran111]

Well done everyone, think they all looked great!

[SQuiP]

Sweet, Permagrin! Yours was my favorite too, the skin looks amazing! The reason for the grin in mine was that he initially had a thinking bubble above his head with a beautiful girl kissing a frog :-). Couldn't do it so well so that had to go....
Great edits everyone!

[Ocron]

Congrats Permagrin, that's a real nice edit. I love what you posted for #55, that's going to be a fun one.