by successfulbob | fine art musician portrait, musician photography, photography, photography creativity, photography education, photoshop tutorial
Photoshop Tutorial Creating Photo Art
Let’s go into a little more detail on the creation of the photo art for the Sound Bites Grill ‘Wall of Fame’ with guitarist Ottmar Liebert as the subject.
The process is one I’ve dubbed Photo-Synthesis taking multiple images and using Blend Modes, Layers, Masks, Fx, Adjustment Layers and more to create the final piece. First here is the final piece as it now hangs at Sound Bites…
Finished ‘Wall of Fame’ image featuring Ottmar Liebert
Raw materials for the final photo art.
Here’s the Layers Palette with Layer Modes and Opacity Levels indicated. I recommend reading from the bottom to the top to get a better feel of my process.
I usually start with the base Layer and add a texture I feel will blend well. Then I experiment with different Blend Modes and Opacities to get the effect for which I am looking. On the MAC if the Move Tool is highlighted then holding the Shift key and hitting the + & – keys you can scroll through the various Blend Modes seeing their effects in real time.
This should give you an idea how I work with Adobe Photoshop in creating photo art projects.
Have any questions?? Let me know.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – Textures are available everywhere. Even from fellow photographers. I have a large library of different kinds of texture but for some reason I found myself attracted to two textures from one of the people who inspire me, Thom Rouse. That’s a link to some amazingly fantastic images. Thanks Thom!! BTW if you ever get the oppourtunity to see Thom speak don’t miss it. It’s a fabulous walk through the art world
by successfulbob | black & white, cloud photography, infrared photography, landscape photography, Lumix G6, photography education
As you can probably tell by my lack of posting the last few days it has been extremely busy in bob’s world. Had a full two day shoot for the Sky Ranch Lodge after their remodel. I’ll share some photos with you as soon as the processing is done along with some of the techniques I used to get the images.
In the meantime, I did have a chance to process another image from my infrared photography. I really enjoy black and white images and the infrared adds another whole new dimension to it. I converted my Lumix G6 through LifePixel with a 750 NM (standard) IR filter. This gives you images that are on the pink side and of course need some processing to get them into final shape of Infrared BW images. As I practice and process more I am able to get a better range of tones throughout the photo.
Captured in the Village of Oak Creek, Sedona, AZ. Courthouse Butte is the main rock formation.
Here’s the IR image Straight out of Camera Note the pink cast. Finding I need to underexpose a bit in order to not loose highlights even though the histogram indicates it is with the scope. You have to remember that the histogram is letting you know about visible light not necessarily infrared exposure.
One of the really great things about having a dedicated IR camera is the ability to set recording for RAW + jpeg and have both images to work from in post production. If you shoot only in RAW you don’t get the processing from the camera. I set the camera to capture BW images so I can get a ballpark preview of the scene as I work.
You don’t need to convert a camera to IR you can always go ‘old school’ with a Wratten IR filter in front of your lens. The problem with doing that is your exposure time will be lengthy and focus can be a bit of a pain as IR light rays and visible light focus at a different depth on the sensor so additional calculations need to be made. (although the extended time might be cool for capturing cloud movement!) Might have to pick up an IR filter myself too…
Best part is infrared photography really opens up the mid-day time slot for creatively capturing images as it is usually too much contrast for regular photography.
Are you shooting IR yet?
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | photography - art quote, photography creativity, photography education, success education
In seeking inspiration I will often head out of the photography realm and today is no different. Marcel Proust was a French writer of novels and essays. His quote that I share today has a lot to do with observation. And if we are to become excellent photographers we have to do more than just see what is around us. We need to be aware of possibilities that live around us all the time.
Many times when we travel we will get more creative because we are being exposed to new stimuli. What will help us be more effective image makers is being able to see the new among the apparent mundane around us all the time…
“The journey of self discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust
Proust’s quote obviously doesn’t deal with image making but I feel the sentiment that he expresses for self discovery can be applied to our vision.
Remember, there is looking.
There is seeing.
And, then there is vision.
Go deeper.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | photography, photography - art quote, photography education, success education
W. Clement Stone added to the quote by Napoleon Hill to add in the information that essentially is Newton’s Law of Motion, and I believe, effects each of us every day. If we are not aware of the forces of our mind and nature we suffer the consequences.
“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. That’s why many fail – they don’t get started – they don’t go. They don’t overcome inertia… They don’t begin.” W. Clement Stone (Napoleon Hill)
After Napoleon Hill’s book Think and Grow Rich he teamed up with W. Clement Stone to write Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude and added these words to the well known phrase, “That’s why many fail – they don’t get started – they don’t go. They don’t overcome inertia… They don’t begin.”
And there is the crux of the problem leading to success. They don’t get started. If you have an idea, act upon it. Get going. Apply Newton’s Law in Physics. Newton’s first law of motion is, “An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.” We human beings are the same way. Once we start on a project it is fairly easy to keep going. Getting started can be the hard part, excuses abound.
Get in motion.
If you have trouble with that get Hill’s Think and Grow Rich and read a chapter a night. Put the book up for a month and then read a chapter a night with a highlighter and note the passages that will help you. Put the book up for a month. Repeat with a different colored highlighter passages you didn’t note before but for which you are now ready. Now the book is ready to be reviewed on a regular basis and can be gone through in a very short period of time. We need reminders when we get off track and I’ve found this to be very handy (matter of fact, it’s time to break out my well worn copy…where did I put that??)
You ask, “Bob what does all this have to do with photography??” Personal photography projects are one of the best ways to refresh you. To change your business in the direction you want to go. But we often don’t get started on them because we “don’t have time.” I disagree and I think you’ll find the motivation you need following some of the ideas above.
Good luck!
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | art books, photography, photography books
Reminders.
New ideas.
Insight from another photographer who has excellent skills.
And, some pretty darn nice photography all wrapped up in a beautiful package.
I’m talking about Bruce Barnbaum’s book The Essence of Photography – Seeing and Creativity published by rockynook. Bruce starts with a narrative that in the beginning I felt was a little too ‘I’ centric. But, he was sharing information as he saw and experienced it trough his career and I actually enjoy seeing through his eyes this way.
Bruce’s book cover.
Bruce gives lots of information on creativity and getting out of your own way. Suggestions on how to be a great photographer are there for the picking. This is not light reading but get you gets you to examine your photography and creativity in-depth.
Here’s a quick sample paragraph from the book…
The Importance of Defining Your Expressive Goals
“Sometimes a photographer has an idea of what he wants to accomplish, but he doesn’t really know how to achieve that goal. Mapping out that pathway can be the most difficult part of the process. Prior to that, figuring out exactly what you want to say about about your subject matter – whether it’s the character of the person you want to bring out in a portrait, the forces in nature found in the sandstone walls of a slit canyon, or anything else -can also be challenging. This is where the combination of drawing upon your deepest interests and fully understanding the technical aspects of photography – digital or traditional – gives you the tools you need to accomplish your goals.”
From the rockynook site on what’s inside…
• Defining your own unique rhythm and approach as a photographer
• How to translate the scene in front of you to the final photograph
• The differences and similarities between how an amateur and a professional approach photography
• The differences between realism and abstraction, and the possibilities and limitations of each
• Learning to expand your own seeing and creativity through classes, workshops, and associating with other photographers
• Why the rules of composition should be ignored
• How to follow your passion
• When to listen to the critics and when to ignore them Here’s one particular passage I want to share with you…
Lots of inspiration for creativity. This will be a book I return to for a refresher on an ongoing basis.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – You can get Bruce’s The Essence of Photography on Amazon
