We had to create a print package as part of our final exam in Digital Darkroom class... so I made Merlin!
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Showing posts with label cats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cats. Show all posts
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Project 365: July 3, 2008
We had to create a print package as part of our final exam in Digital Darkroom class... so I made Merlin!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Project 365: May 12, 2008
When too tired to take a real photo for Project 365, take a crappy one and turn it into art! Sorry, guys... too busy to be a photographer today, and too sleepy to be a photographer tonight. In the meantime, meet one of my cats: Goose!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Project 365: April 15, 2008
Artsy Maverick. Who knew he had it in him?
He can relax. He doesn't pay taxes.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Project 365: Jan 31, 2008
Strangely, the thing I start out intending to photograph is often not the shot I end up keeping for the day.
(P.S. Please forgive my slacker ways. Work kicked my arse this week and I missed a couple days of posting).
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Goose: Before and After
Let me tell ya... the people at the DPS forums are fantastic! Here's the entire thread on my critique and post-processing of a cat named Goose.
I posted that pic of Goose from the other day for critique on DPS. I knew it could be improved in post-processing, but had no clue what to do next. They gave me some tips, and - holy cow! Goose is one handsome devil :)
Goose - BEFORE:
Goose - AFTER:
Much improved, no?? I think so!!
The greatest part is, I had no clue how to do the things they had suggested, so I had to look it all up... I learned a ton just from messing with this one picture of Goose!
Here's what I did:
First, I worked on the blur on the background. I never knew you could feather a selection - so I feathered it at 30px around the top of his head and body to prevent that unnatural line I was getting before. I did a lens blur, and pretty much maxed out all of the blur values. I also de-saturated that area and darkened it a bit.
Next, I learned how to use the quick mask tool to make a selection out of the inside of his eyes, and then I just increased the brightness there (which amazingly brought out the green in his eyes! I was shocked - I had no idea that could be done!)
Then, I upped the yellows and reds in the whole picture to warm up Goose's browns a bit. I was really unsure here - I'm not sure if there's some magic formula as to how much yellow/red one should have in a photo, but I went for as warm as I could without making it look fake. (Did I go too far?)
Finally, I used the unsharp mask on his facial area. I think I ended up with a radius of 2 and about 40%. Honestly I have no idea what exactly this tool does. I do know that when I went too far with it, his fur started to look like sticks :) So I went far enough to make his fur a bit more defined but stopped when it started looking weird.
Oh - and I cropped the left side down to his paw. I like the tighter crop, now that I see it :)
I posted that pic of Goose from the other day for critique on DPS. I knew it could be improved in post-processing, but had no clue what to do next. They gave me some tips, and - holy cow! Goose is one handsome devil :)
Goose - BEFORE:
Goose - AFTER:
Much improved, no?? I think so!!
The greatest part is, I had no clue how to do the things they had suggested, so I had to look it all up... I learned a ton just from messing with this one picture of Goose!
Here's what I did:
First, I worked on the blur on the background. I never knew you could feather a selection - so I feathered it at 30px around the top of his head and body to prevent that unnatural line I was getting before. I did a lens blur, and pretty much maxed out all of the blur values. I also de-saturated that area and darkened it a bit.
Next, I learned how to use the quick mask tool to make a selection out of the inside of his eyes, and then I just increased the brightness there (which amazingly brought out the green in his eyes! I was shocked - I had no idea that could be done!)
Then, I upped the yellows and reds in the whole picture to warm up Goose's browns a bit. I was really unsure here - I'm not sure if there's some magic formula as to how much yellow/red one should have in a photo, but I went for as warm as I could without making it look fake. (Did I go too far?)
Finally, I used the unsharp mask on his facial area. I think I ended up with a radius of 2 and about 40%. Honestly I have no idea what exactly this tool does. I do know that when I went too far with it, his fur started to look like sticks :) So I went far enough to make his fur a bit more defined but stopped when it started looking weird.
Oh - and I cropped the left side down to his paw. I like the tighter crop, now that I see it :)
A cat named Goose
I posted this for critique at DPS: A cat named Goose
Yes, his name is Goose. I have a cat named Goose. (It makes more sense when I explain that the other two are named Merlin and Maverick).
Anyhooo I really like this shot of him, but I have a few critiques of my own and would love your feedback. (I know, you must all get tired of pet shots, and I can't even begin to compare with shots like Kitty Toes from KagoGrl - that shot was awesome!) But, I'm learning :)
First, I like that I got the focus on his eyes (or eye area, since his eyes are all sleepy-closed) so that his nose is a bit out of focus and the rest of his body is a bit out of focus.
I don't like the background. I wish the mess on my shelves was a bit more blurred. I tried to do a lens blur in Photoshop, but I really need to learn more about post-production, because I couldn't get the lens blur to look natural. It made a very fake looking line along the cat's head.
I wish Goose hadn't laid on his whiskers such that his right-hand whiskers were tucked under his face. I probably could try cloning his left whiskers and putting some on the right, but I think that's a bit beyond my PS skill level at this point!
I don't mind his ears being cut off. I don't think it hurts my ability to know what the photo is of, and I don't think that seeing his full ears would necessarily add anything.
What else could I do to improve this shot? It's straight from the camera, uncropped. I shot it without looking through the viewfinder, as that is MY arm he's laying on! (I do wish I had a nice tan or something, haha).
Thanks!
Yes, his name is Goose. I have a cat named Goose. (It makes more sense when I explain that the other two are named Merlin and Maverick).
Anyhooo I really like this shot of him, but I have a few critiques of my own and would love your feedback. (I know, you must all get tired of pet shots, and I can't even begin to compare with shots like Kitty Toes from KagoGrl - that shot was awesome!) But, I'm learning :)
First, I like that I got the focus on his eyes (or eye area, since his eyes are all sleepy-closed) so that his nose is a bit out of focus and the rest of his body is a bit out of focus.
I don't like the background. I wish the mess on my shelves was a bit more blurred. I tried to do a lens blur in Photoshop, but I really need to learn more about post-production, because I couldn't get the lens blur to look natural. It made a very fake looking line along the cat's head.
I wish Goose hadn't laid on his whiskers such that his right-hand whiskers were tucked under his face. I probably could try cloning his left whiskers and putting some on the right, but I think that's a bit beyond my PS skill level at this point!
I don't mind his ears being cut off. I don't think it hurts my ability to know what the photo is of, and I don't think that seeing his full ears would necessarily add anything.
What else could I do to improve this shot? It's straight from the camera, uncropped. I shot it without looking through the viewfinder, as that is MY arm he's laying on! (I do wish I had a nice tan or something, haha).
Thanks!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Assignment: Pets
I found this web site called Digital Photography School. It's a discussion forum for people to discuss photography and post pictures and whatnot. They have "assignments" where you can share your shots and get feedback. Since I have some photographers here on my LJ as well, I'll post what I post there to here, too. Feedback welcome!
Assignment: Pets
http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=102
I have 3 cats. After reading the assignment and the "how to photograph pets" tutorial, I grabbed my camera and thought, "Who will be my first victim?" My black cat happened to be in the room with me, but I silently groaned, as he is so NOT photogenic. I don't think I have a single good picture of him, from the hundreds I've tried snapping over the years. He's skittish and doesn't do the typical "cat poses" that most cats lavish all over the cameras.
Nonetheless, I got down on the floor with him and figured I'd give it a go. He thought I was down there to pet him, of course, so I placated him for a while trying to get him to sit or lay down still. Then I noticed a DVD case on the floor next to him.
In order for this picture to make any sense, I must explain - my 3 cats are named Maverick, Goose, and Merlin. (This is Maverick). :)
I was in low-ish light so I used shutter priority mode at 1/20 (I was hoping to hand-hold the camera as I don't yet have a tripod). I didn't have much time, as Mav gets antsy sitting still, so I used auto-focus and tried as best I could to get the auto focus on his eyes. (I think it ended up more like on his forehead). I'm still trying to figure out how to manually set the focus points on my Canon Digital Rebel XTi. I know it can be done - I just haven't gotten around to figuring it out.
I lightened the exposure a couple notches in Lightroom (just downloaded the demo - considering buying it. I have Photoshop CS3, which I use for web development [my day job], but it seems like overkill for 90% of what I tend to want to adjust in my photos). Any advice on Lightroom? Worth the purchase?
Anyhow I'll stop babbling now and get to work on another assignment!
Assignment: Pets
http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=102
I have 3 cats. After reading the assignment and the "how to photograph pets" tutorial, I grabbed my camera and thought, "Who will be my first victim?" My black cat happened to be in the room with me, but I silently groaned, as he is so NOT photogenic. I don't think I have a single good picture of him, from the hundreds I've tried snapping over the years. He's skittish and doesn't do the typical "cat poses" that most cats lavish all over the cameras.
Nonetheless, I got down on the floor with him and figured I'd give it a go. He thought I was down there to pet him, of course, so I placated him for a while trying to get him to sit or lay down still. Then I noticed a DVD case on the floor next to him.
In order for this picture to make any sense, I must explain - my 3 cats are named Maverick, Goose, and Merlin. (This is Maverick). :)
I was in low-ish light so I used shutter priority mode at 1/20 (I was hoping to hand-hold the camera as I don't yet have a tripod). I didn't have much time, as Mav gets antsy sitting still, so I used auto-focus and tried as best I could to get the auto focus on his eyes. (I think it ended up more like on his forehead). I'm still trying to figure out how to manually set the focus points on my Canon Digital Rebel XTi. I know it can be done - I just haven't gotten around to figuring it out.
I lightened the exposure a couple notches in Lightroom (just downloaded the demo - considering buying it. I have Photoshop CS3, which I use for web development [my day job], but it seems like overkill for 90% of what I tend to want to adjust in my photos). Any advice on Lightroom? Worth the purchase?
Anyhow I'll stop babbling now and get to work on another assignment!
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