Plz Show Us Your Photo Editing Ability

CandidPicker

CandidPicker

Tone Matters. Use It Well.
Joined
Jan 26, 2019
Messages
4,980
Location
NW Connecticut, USA
Will begin with a couple I recently had taken with my sofa as a background...

The 2 guitar images were traced individually with Pixelmator's Polygonal Drawing tool, carefully following the curvature of the image outline with a steady hand, then, completing the trace, and copying the image from edit, and dragging a predetermined background into the workspace toolbar. Then, reversing the order in which the toolbar images appear (dragging the selected background above the original toolbar image).

What appears in Pixelmator's screen is the background. Then, selecting "Paste" and "Deselect." Deselect removes the image trace and completes the image. The image can then be exported or saved.

Then importing to Mac Photos, using the crop feature, and adjusting for definition, noise reduction, and vignette, here are the 2 images...

The tuners were a bit difficult to find my way around, but the job was easier once moving beyond them...

MVse4lP.jpg


bUDBXzl.jpg
 
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I have not come across those programs.
I did something similar a couple of days ago with 2 guitars. This is one of them (no time to do a PRS right now fellers).


The guitar was propped upright on a stand in my garden. So the edge highlights are still green! :)
The backdrop is Dominica a few years back. One of the rare times I caught a full rainbow arc.

9k4vqU3.jpg
 
merciful-evans said:
I have not come across those programs.
I did something similar a couple of days ago with 2 guitars. This is one of them (no time to do a PRS right now fellers).

The guitar was propped upright on a stand in my garden. So the edge highlights are still green!
The backdrop is Dominica a few years back. One of the rare times I caught a full rainbow arc.
Click to expand...

That's awesome! What software did you use? Pixelmator was suggested by an App Store rep for cost-effectiveness and an easier learning curve, and Apple Photos is the main photo and editing app provided with Macs.
 
merciful-evans said:
I have not come across those programs.
I did something similar a couple of days ago with 2 guitars. This is one of them (no time to do a PRS right now fellers).


The guitar was propped upright on a stand in my garden. So the edge highlights are still green! :)
The backdrop is Dominica a few years back. One of the rare times I caught a full rainbow arc.

9k4vqU3.jpg
Click to expand...
Now, if it had been a double rainbow, that would have been something...
 
CandidPicker said:
That's awesome! What software did you use? Pixelmator was suggested by an App Store rep for cost-effectiveness and an easier learning curve, and Apple Photos is the main photo and editing app provided with Macs.
Click to expand...

I used Photoshop Elements 2019 which I have on 30 day trial right now. But I started with PS Elements #10 several years ago. You're right about the cutting out. It can take the longest time. After that setting the edge refinement is key IMO. Haven't used a Mac since Tiger.

When I try this again, I may hang the guitar from a clothes line or a tree and use a wide aperture to throw the background out of focus. That might make it faster to cut out maybe?
 
merciful-evans said:
I used Photoshop Elements 2019 which I have on 30 day trial right now. But I started with PS Elements #10 several years ago. You're right about the cutting out. It can take the longest time. After that setting the edge refinement is key IMO. Haven't used a Mac since Tiger.

When I try this again, I may hang the guitar from a clothes line or a tree and use a wide aperture to throw the background out of focus. That might make it faster to cut out maybe?
Click to expand...


I've found that with Pixelmator, the key element is being sure that the background will fit correctly once it's been imported to the toolbar. I'd had a little trouble trying to work with a variety of backgrounds not fitting, so I spent some time using the Pixelmator 1920x1080 landscape, 8x10 or 5x7 portrait templates and importing various solid, gradient and textured backgrounds into Pixelmator. Some backgrounds required dragging to resize, others fit by themselves.

Long story short, the previous backgrounds that wouldn't fit into the workspace frame now do. Each background was exported to file folders with either solid color or gradient designations.

That being said, the test that will occur is checking if one or more solid or gradient backgrounds actually will import to Pixelmator's toolbar when needed and invert so the paste feature can be implemented. Here's one example of the retaken full image of the S2 SC with resized black background...have to say that my hand wasn't as steady this time and the resultant image required some highlighter brushing to remove some of the light edge area.

Anyway, here's the image...dang tuner pegs were difficult to trace around again...

yCmG04f.jpg
 
merciful-evans said:
I used Photoshop Elements 2019 which I have on 30 day trial right now. But I started with PS Elements #10 several years ago. You're right about the cutting out. It can take the longest time. After that setting the edge refinement is key IMO. Haven't used a Mac since Tiger.

When I try this again, I may hang the guitar from a clothes line or a tree and use a wide aperture to throw the background out of focus. That might make it faster to cut out maybe?
Click to expand...

Photoshop was considered, but was beyond my budget, plus the dang learning curve almost requires an associate's degree in graphic arts.

My suggestion regards the out-of-focus background is to simply take a photo with foreground in focus, background out-of-focus, and save that to file. Then when needed, trace the guitar outline from another image and import the background into your work frame window.

Regards Macs, a lot of Mac-friendly apps seem to work more easily for my needs than my previous experience with Windows. I think I began working with Macs on a 13-inch MacBook in 2005 when Tiger was the OS as well. That was quite a few years ago. iMacs have paid the tab since then...
 
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@Tosca:

Your daughter does good work. Her graphic arts training is evident.

The airbrushed surrounds on the Santana PS and shading around the 1st quilt purple PS looks really good. Something I could only aspire to myself, but your daughter has some good ability.
 
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This time, I got a little bolder and tried using a shading technique with about 80% blur, distance and 40% opacity. Here's what she looks like...

GvaLDaw.jpg


The backlit feature looks nice. Although it wasn't possible for me to use imported backgrounds the way of my original plan, this serves its purpose and looks acceptable for my standards.
 
CandidPicker said:
@Tosca:

Your daughter does good work. Her graphic arts training is evident.

The airbrushed surrounds on the Santana PS and shading around the 1st quilt purple PS looks really good. Something I could only aspire to myself, but your daughter has some good ability.
Click to expand...

Thank you. No training. Just a good eye and the motivation of an enjoyable hobby.
 
I like the inverse drop shadow (drop light?) from your 2nd image. An idea I never considered!

CandidPicker said:
My suggestion regards the out-of-focus background is to simply take a photo with foreground in focus, background out-of-focus, and save that to file. Then when needed, trace the guitar outline from another image and import the background into your work frame window.
Click to expand...

Are you saying the background image needs the guitar cut out?

I have just cut the guitar from its original picture and pasted it onto a new picture. Once there it can be re-sized, rotated, re-tinted etc before finally saving.
 
merciful-evans said:
I like the inverse drop shadow (drop light?) from your 2nd image. An idea I never considered!
Click to expand...

The shading is possible with the background paint feature. Just look for the word "shade" and use your intuition to work with blur, distance, and opacity. (IIRC, I used about 80% blur/distance and 40% opacity for my most recent image.)

merciful-evans said:
Are you saying the background image needs the guitar cut out?

I have just cut the guitar from its original picture and pasted it onto a new picture. Once there it can be re-sized, rotated, re-tinted etc before finally saving.
Click to expand...

You've got the right idea with the latter concept. With Pixelmator, what happens is that the guitar is traced and separated from the original background (my sofa) by copying it. Then, a background that works with Pixelmator (perhaps an imported wood panel, or black background generated from Pixelmator itself) is positioned in work screen and then the guitar trace is pasted to the background. (That's how Pixelmator works. Photoshop may likely be another story.)

The Pixelmator YT videos don't accurately tell the correct way of how to accomplish this; it took a bit to trial and error determining how to make it work. (Fortunately, I was patient enough to try to make it work, rather than give up on it too quickly) YMMV.

What I was saying was that if perhaps you took a picture of an in-focus foreground and out-of-focus background image, you could use that as an image file that you could import to Photoshop as your background. Something that would work with Photoshop...(I've not had much success importing images; they most often display only on a portion of the work screen window, not covering the entire work screen which is my goal).
 
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Ok, I hung three guitars from the washing line and got the out of focus thing done. It wasnt a perfect solution, but it did cut down a lot of time cutting the guitar image out.

These are 2 of the 4 PRS shots done. This guitar has hardly ever been photographed since I got it. Well, it sure has now!

UgrjSGD.jpg


yQGUjTL.jpg
 
Awesome! The shadow of the SE in the foreground was a classic move...

I still need to learn how to drag/drop a large enough size background into Pixelmator...the imported solid color backgrounds have all been displaying only covering a center portion of the screen...NOT what will produce a decent guitar image when completed...have resorted to using Pixelmator's paint feature and selecting a black background and then implementing the shadow feature...

Here's another example...

cHbBTAY.jpg
 
CandidPicker said:
Awesome. I still need to learn how to drag/drop a large enough size background into Pixelmator...the imported solid color backgrounds have all been displaying only covering a center portion of the screen...NOT what will produce a decent guitar image when completed
Click to expand...

Is there not a selection tool or a menu option for selection? It sounds as if you need to select it, grab a corner with the mouse & drag to resize. Or even a scaling option maybe?

If solid colour, is their an eyedropper and a fill option?
 
merciful-evans said:
Is there not a selection tool or a menu option for selection? It sounds as if you need to select it, grab a corner with the mouse & drag to resize. Or even a scaling option maybe?

If solid colour, is their an eyedropper and a fill option?
Click to expand...

You may be correct. There is an option for selection on the right side tools menu, but I think the only options offered are 'New,' 'Add,' (which adds areas to the selection onscreen) and a few other options that don't seem to do whatI might need to do. Am thinking the Help feature can answer my question, or at least get the ball rolling...

Will try what you suggest regards clicking on the background and try dragging to resize (had thought I'd tried this before with not much success; will give it another go and report back later tonight...) Will also check my upper toolbar menu for scaling options...there's gotta be something useful there...o_O
 
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