Blending Images [Edit]

BLEND 1

For this photo, I blended 2 images. One was a texture that you can't really see, but it helped to brighten the icicles. I placed the texture image over the ice photo, and then used overlay. I also changed the texture to black and white so that it went better with the colors in the picture.

Originals:

Sparkling Ice. Taken on 4/30/2011 at 8:43 a.m. Cabin in Tetons.

F-Stop: 13 | Shutter Speed: 1/320 | Nikon D5000

Tin Can Texture. Taken on 4/30/2011 at 10:18 a.m. A cabin in the Tetons.

F-Stop: 1.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/640 | Nikon D5000

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BLEND #2

I added a texture image to this photo as well. I used the same technique as the one above, using the overlay. I lowered the opacity of the texture. I also used a layer mask and used the paint brush to lessen the texture on the piano keys. I also brightened the image in photoshop and edited the levels.

Originals:

Old Piano. Taken on 4/30/2011 at 10:15 a.m. Cabin in the Tetons.

F-Stop: 3.5 | Shutter Speed: 1/60 | Nikon D5000

Cement Texture. Taken on 4/30/2011 at 10:15 a.m. Tetons.

F-Stop: 3.5 | Shutter Speed: 1/60 | Nikon D5000

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Text:

I followed tutorial #18 for the text on this photo. I also edited the levels on the original picture.

Original:

Peaceful Snow. Taken on 4/30/2011 at 10:06 p.m. Tetons.

F-Stop: 1.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/4000 | Nikon D5000

Color Study [Natural Brown]

Sweet Plant. Taken on 4/30/2011 at 10:19 a.m. A cabin in the Tetons

F-Stop: 1.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/640 | Nikon D5000

I took this photo outside a cabin that I stayed in for a life skills retreat this past weekend. It is some sort of dead plant. :) I liked the colors and the detail so I decided to use it in my color study. I cropped the photo a little bit, and I edited the levels and contrast.

Brown Field. Taken on 4/28/2011 at 12:56 p.m. Rexburg, ID.

F-Stop: 22 | Shutter Speed: 10/1250 | Nikon D5000

For this photo, I used a small aperture because I wanted everything to be in focus. The sky was really cool, so I took the picture a few times to get the cloud detail. I tried to use rule of thirds when I set up the shot as well, making the ground one third of the photo and the sky two thirds. I edited the levels and saturation in photoshop.

Tree Rings. Taken on 4/30/2011 at 5:38 p.m. Rexburg, ID.

F-Stop: 7.1 | Shutter Speed: 1/100 | Nikon D5000

This ancient tree trunk was really cool, and it matched my natural brown color so I snapped a shot. At first I had a larger aperture, but I put it up to 7.1 so that there was some texture to the ground beneath. I think it adds to the photo. I edited the blacks in camera raw, and then edited the saturation in photoshop to give it a sepia tint.

Beautiful Barn. Taken on 4/30/2011 at 10:26 a.m. Tetons.

F-Stop: 16 | Shutter Speed: 1/125 | Nikon D5000

The wood on this barn was beautiful and full of natural contrast, so I decided to use it for this assignment. I would have liked to take a picture of it head on, but there were people standing all over in front of it, so I tried to make the side angle interesting. I did quite a bit of editing on this photo. I straightened and cropped it, and I also edited the levels to make the sky show more. I used a layer mask and the paint brush to hide the levels adjustment layer.

Railroad! Taken on 4/30/2011 at 5:36 p.m. Rexburg, ID.

F-Stop: 2.5 | Shutter Speed: 1/250 | Nikon D5000

When I brainstormed cool places to find brown the railroad was my first idea. I set of this shot to create cool focus on the rail road nails. I edited the levels in Photoshop.

Chain. Taken on 4/30/2011 at at 5:49 p.m. Rexburg, ID.

F-Stop: 5.6 | Shutter Speed: 1/400 | Nikon D5000

I used my zoom lens for this picture, which helped with the blur. In photoshop I edited the levels and used saturation to give it a sepia color. The chain was brown, but since it was silhouetted it looked black.

Cut Outs

Full Cut Out:

For this photo, I actually cut out two different photos and merged them together. The puzzle and the two spare parts on the left side are one, and the hand holding the smiley faces is another. My dad sells these puzzles, so when he asked me to do this for him I was excited to use it as a part of this assignment. I used a white background when I took the pictures so that it would be easier to cut out, and I adjusted the saturation a little bit in camera raw. After refining the edges, I used a layer mask and refined the edges a little more with the paint brush.

Original Photos:

Puzzle. Taken on 4/24/2011 at 4:30 p.m. Pleasant Grove, UT. 

F-Stop: 7.1 | Shutter Speed: 1/1000 | Nikon D5000

Hand. Taken on 4/24/2011 at 4:41 p.m. Pleasant Grove, UT.

F-Stop: 7.1 | Shutter Speed: 1/1000 | Nikon D5000

Partial Cutout:

For this photo I edited the levels and gave it a little bit of contrast. Then I used the rectangular marquee tool to select the top area, and I used the quick selection tool to go around Futbol's head. I followed the directions in the tutorial and this is what I came up with. I also added a layer mask and refined the edges a little more with the paintbrush (mainly on her ears). 

Original:

Futbol. Taken on 2/15/2011 at 3:47 p.m. Colorado Springs, CO.

F-Stop: 7.1 | Shutter Speed: 1/1000 | Nikon D5000

Pictures From The Past

Erica, Or Tyra? Taken on 4/12/2011 at 11:15 a.m. Colorado Springs, CO.

F-Stop: 2.5 | Shutter Speed: 1/1000 | Nikon D5000

The sun was shining really bright the day we went out for this photo shoot, so we found shade next to a pine tree. I used a large aperture to blur the background, and tried to focus on her eyes. I made minor changed in camera raw & photoshop, adjusting the exposure, levels, and a little contrast.

Baby Julius. Taken on 1/3/2011 at 10:27 a.m. Helena, MT

F-Stop: 2.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/300 | Nikon D5000

I took this photo a few days after my nephew was born. I had just gotten my new 50 mm lens for Christmas, and was learning to use it. It only has manual focus, so I had some issues with focusing correctly. This is one of my favorite shots from the shoot. In photoshop I edited the levels, and changed it to black and white. After that I gave it a little more contrast.

Baby Blue Eyes. Taken on 3/2/2011. 9:41 a.m. Colorado Springs, CO.

F-stop: 1.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/1000 | Nikon D5000

I did a photo shoot of baby Madison in March, and she was the perfect model. The window light was great, and she was happy the whole time. I tried to focus on the eyes on most of the pictures. I edited the levels, and the contrast in photoshop.

LOVE. Taken on 1/14/2011 at 5:41 p.m. Colorado Springs, CO.

F-stop: 1.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/40 | Nikon D5000

It was dark in the apartment, I used the light from my kitchen to create the cool shadows, but I left the lights off in the living room. I took lots of pictures until the focus was just right, making the love stand out like a sore thumb (or maybe it should be called a sweet thumb?). I set the camera on the edge of the ledge to avoid camera shake. I edited the levels in photoshop, and also used a blue photo filter adjustment layer to get rid of the yellowish light from the kitchen.

Water Bubbles. Taken on 2/17/2011 at 11:40 a.m. Colorado Springs, CO.

F-Stop: 1.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/3200 | Nikon D5000

I took this photo in my kitchen sink. I plugged it up and ran the water, trying to capture bubbles in a new way. I changed the metering (I think that's what it's called) so that what was in motion would blur a little bit, but tried to make it fast enough that the bubbles would be in focus. I really like the way it turned out.

I'm A Little Tea Pot. Taken on 2/10/2011 at 1:39 p.m. Colorado Springs, CO

F-stop: 1.8 | Shutter Speed: 1/10 | Nikon D5000

I didn't have very good light for this photo, so I had to use a big aperture and a slow shutter speed. I rested the camera on the counter to avoid blur. I focused on the reflection of the kitchen in the teapot. I wanted the photo to represent my love for herbal tea, and the kitchen. I tried to set up the photo so that people would get lost in the reflection, and then after a while realize that it's a picture inside a picture.

Drip Drop. Taken on 2/12/2011 at 11:34 a.m. North Cheyenne Canyon Park, CO.

F-stop: 4 | Shutter Speed | 1/2000 | Nikon D5000

As my husband and I were on a hike, we found some melting snow on the side of the trail. I composed the shot trying to use rule of thirds wanting to take the picture when the drop was in position. I took lots of pictures, at a fast shutter speed so that it would be in focus. I used a large aperture for shallow depth of field, making the drop the focal point. I love that you can see the reflection in the water drop. I did have to crop it, and I edited the levels.

Big Wave. Taken on 2/9/2010 at 4:04 p.m. On coast of Haiti.

F-stop: 11 | Shutter Speed: 1/500 | Nikon D5000

I took this photo on a cruise that I went on with my husband. I got really lucky because right when I set up my camera, this giant wave came. I stayed there for at least 15 minutes waiting for another big wave, but none came. I edited the levels, and added some contrast. I also saturated the rocks to make them more orange, so that they compliment the blue sky.

Mexican Bliss. Taken on 2/12/2010 at 11:01 a.m. Tulum, Mexico.

F-stop: 4.4 | Shutter Speed: 1/640 | Nikon D5000

When I saw this view, I knew I had to get the shot just right to capture the beauty of the scene. I used the rule of thirds to make a focal point, and used the plant in the right corner to create good visual pace, keeping the eye moving around in the photo. In Photoshop I edited levels, contrast, and I saturated the greenery a little bit.

The Sky is The Limit. Taken on 2/12/2011 at 11:08 a.m. 

North Cheyenne Canyon Park, CO.

F-Stop: 14 | Shutter Speed: 1/100 | Nikon D5000

I tried to get a unique perspective with this shot by setting the camera on the trunk of the tree looking up towards the sky. I tried to focus on the branches at the top. I edited the levels and contrast.