buckwheat wrote:
I don't think I could get away with posting this in the PG section. I have a number of images that are "almost" good pictures. I think there is potential in this one, but all of my post processing attempts don't make the potential come out.
So here it is. Let's see what you folks do with it.
Ed From NYC here! A lurker on this forum since its inception. I started photography and shooting fashion models in 1963. After college and the military, I started my custom photo lab business in the "Photo District" of NYC (along 5th Avenue between the Flatiron building on 23rd and 14th Streets). Stopped shooting models when I got very busy with my business until the early 1990s (opened 7 days a week, 8 AM to 11 PM!) when digital reared its face. After using digital point and shoots (and film), I finally got a Nikon D70 and a D50 as a backup in 2005. Retired since 2008 but try to shoot models every few weeks.
Here's my version: a quick edit using whatever software is on the laptop I'm using (I have 6, several Win 7, the balance with Win 8 and 10.) On this Win 7 laptop, I'm using Adobe Elements 11, Nikon Capture NX2 and Micrografx Picture Publisher 10 (my favorite) 10 years "obsolete" and bought by Corel to incorporate certain features in their other programs. I also have PS and LR but not on this computer.
1. Used the selection tool (PSE 11) around the model and then a light gaussian blur to defocus the background.
2. Used liquify tool to shape up model's contours (tummy and increase breast a cup size), move the near shoulder a touch forward (to the left and up).
3. Used expand tool (MPP10) to increase left side 1.5," used crop tool to cut and paste a 1" portion of the dessert on the left. Used clone tool to smooth out
match areas of sky and dessert and remove vertical seam where needed; used the clone tool to smooth out shadows and creases on the body from twisting to her left and removed stray hair and frown lines on the forehead. Also smoothed out tan lines on the butt.
4. Used touchpoint tool (Nikon Capture NX2) to isolate face and extreme shadows along the front of the body and lighten them as well as decrease contrast.
5. Warmed up skin tone slightly.
6. Cropped 3:2 horizontally using "rule of thirds."
The editing took about 30 minutes; my limit is no more than an hour on any image! My likes are medium contrast images, not HDR-like. I like skin tone in the highlights and I want to see stuff in the shadows if there is significant detail.
I hope to post images on a regular basis in the future and tell a little bit more about my story. Happy holidays! Cheers. Ed