What I Am Working On: Editing Small Details

I was working with this file:

ISO 800 f/11 1/30sec 21mm

In prior work sessions, I had worked with other similar files, creating a few different color interpretations. For this one, I had in mind a black and white version. Something a bit glamorous I was thinking (yup that is what I was thinking) for this photo. On the first layer, I did my basic edits, cropping and luminosity were two of them. Then I created a second layer and went searching for a look in Luminar that would closely match what I was thinking. I found it in the look called “Old Hollywood Glamor”.  Close to perfect but not exactly, so I created a third layer. This layer was really about details. Little changes that made a big difference. The first thing I did was to use the small detail enhancer and I bumped the slider up to 23. But really I only wanted those details in the petals of the snowdrops, so I used a brush to paint that in and leave the rest of the file untouched. Then I experimented with the vignette, a lot. I changed it’s location, size, and amount all several times.  Here is the final version:

ISO 800 f/11 1/30sec 21mm

If you are new to editing and reading this post, I’d like you to take away the idea that sometimes small things like a vignette can make big changes in your final photo. Vignette controls are often simple and easy to understand how to use. It makes for a good confidence builder as you are mastering the basics and then moving on to more complex editing.

Regardless of your ability and level of experience with editing, your thoughts on this version are welcome in the comment section below.

Cheers!

Added to Cee’s Flower of the Day. Picfair version is here.

52 Week Smartphone Challenge: Week 11

I’m a bit behind again for this week’s challenge, but I liked this photo enough to go ahead and publish late anyway. The theme for this week was fill the frame:

iPhone with Hipstamatic

This photo was shot within the Hipstamatic app with no further editing.

The Instagram version is here:

View this post on Instagram

Cheery. #daffodils #yellow #thingsiseeonmywalks #hipstamatic

A post shared by Amy Maranto (@marantophotography) on Mar 17, 2020 at 12:05am PDT

 

I’ve also added it to Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Cheers!

What I Am Working On: Using the History Button

It’s fair to say that when you are editing photos, sometimes you like the potential of an earlier version of your work, and you would like to revisit it. That is when the history button can be a very useful feature of editing software. This morning I was working with this file:

ISO 250 f/11 55mm 1/15sec

I wanted to make a black and white version. After a few basic edits including a crop, white balance adjustment and luminance boosting, I added a custom look I had created in Luminar. After a few more tweaks, I had this black and white edit:

ISO 250 f/11 55mm 1/15sec

I like this edit so I saved a version of it. But is also true that at one point in the editing process, I liked another idea and I wanted to revisit it.

The other idea came at a point in the edit after I had applied my black and white look but before making the final adjustments. At that point I had experimented with the slider that adjusts the amount of the look applied to the photo. Because I was applying a black and white look to a color photo, the result was that the color version begins to show through. I ended up really liking that effect. So after I had saved my version above I went back in the history to where I had been working with that slider and started reworking the edit from that point. Here is the resulting color edit:

ISO 250 f/11 55mm 1/15sec

This ability to go back through your history and rework from a certain point can be very helpful if you are interested in creating more than one version.

Your thoughts and comments on the edits are welcome in the comment section below.

Cheers!

Added to Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge, Any Kind of Geometric Shape and Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Wordless Wednesday: Yellow Snowdrops

ISO 250 f/11 50mm 1/25sec

Added to One Word Sunday, Symmetry.

Cheers!

52 Week Smartphone Challenge: Week 5

I love snowdrops for several reasons so today I booked myself a spot on the snowdrop tour at Anglesey Abbey. What fun and the weather was even tolerable. I took both my iPhone and my Canon 80D. For this post, I am sharing a photo from my smartphone:

ISO 25 f/2.2 1/50sec 4.2mm

For this edit, I’ve added the Luminar Looks, Camden Fade and Morning Fog:

ISO 25 f/2.2 1/50sec 4.2mm

I’ve added this to the 52 Week Smartphone Challenge, Symmetry, in honor of how symmetrical and balanced these lovely little flowers often are. Also, I’ve added it to Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Your thoughts and comments are welcome below.

January Squares: Sunlight in Flower Form

This photo is for the days when you drag sunlight inside and ignore the weather:

Didn’t save the original file!

This photo was created in Hipstamatic with the Jane Lens and Ina’s 1982 film filters applied.

My mistake here? I did not save the original file, so the photo specifications I usually put in the caption space are not available.

Instagram version is here:

View this post on Instagram

A bit of sun for your #friyay #sunflower #flowers #januarylight #hipstamatic

A post shared by Amy Maranto (@marantophotography) on Jan 23, 2020 at 11:32pm PST

Added to Day 24 of January Squares and Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Cheers!

 

January Squares: Stretch Towards the Light

This is a photo for one of those days:

ISO 25 f/2.2 4.15mm 1/40 sec

The kind where you really have to stretch for natural light, because winter is just like that sometimes:

ISO 25 f/2.2 4.15mm 1/40 sec

I often enjoy editing simple photos like this in Hipstamatic. The one has the Florence Lens and Ina’s 1982 film filters added.

The Instagram version is here:

View this post on Instagram

Stretching for the sunlight. #januarylight #roses #flowers #hipstamatic

A post shared by Amy Maranto (@marantophotography) on Jan 20, 2020 at 10:47pm PST

Added to Day 21 of January Squares and Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Cheers!

January Squares: Mother Nature has it all

Light tones, dark tones. When it comes to color tones Mother Nature has it all covered, sometimes all in just a few flowers:

ISO 250 f/11 42mm 1/60sec

Shot on the grounds of Sandringham Estate with my Canon 80D, it was the range of light and dark pink that caught my eye.  A square edit seemed like a good way to distil the image as the vines of the flower made it quite a busy image:

ISO 250 f/11 42mm 1/60sec

Other edits in Luminar included the use of the Orton effect and Matte look filters. The photo also has a vignette.

The Instagram version is here:

View this post on Instagram

A floral heart for the coming weekend. #friyay #januarylight #flowers

A post shared by Amy Maranto (@marantophotography) on Jan 9, 2020 at 10:23pm PST

Added to Day 10 of January Squares and Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Cheers!

Made With Luminar: Snowdrops in the Morning

ISO 400 f/11 1/160sec 55mm

Luminar Look applied, Morning fog, filter lowered to 70% and brushed out completely in parts of the flower.

Picfair version here.

Added to Cee’s Flower of the Day challenge.

The Made with Luminar Series

This image is part of a project I am calling Made with Luminar. What the images in this series have in common is the software used to edit them, Luminar 3. As with my usual blog posts particulars of the camera settings can be found in the caption below the image. The text of these posts include the Luminar “Looks” that have been applied to the photo. Each look is a series of presets that are applied to the photo. Where applicable I will mention what changes I have made to any of the looks. A full explanation of looks is available here on their website, https://skylum.com/luminar/user-guides/chapter-14-working-with-luminar-looks

You can assume other edits have been applied. My most common edits are cropping, detail enhancement, and vignette. Specific questions or thoughts on the image are welcome in the comment section below.

Cheers!

Made With Luminar: Snowdrops with Film Fade

This image is the first of a new series that I am starting on the blog. It is a result of a new workflow routine that I have been experimenting with. I have been trying out new filter combinations within the Luminar software that I am using and this series will be a way of documenting that.  If you are interested in filters, I’ll be naming the ones used. If you just like to look at photos, feel free to just enjoy these posts in that way.

ISO 400 f/11 55mm 1/100sec

Luminar Look applied, Expired L12, with an adjustment of the LUT mapping from 15 to 7.

Added to Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge.

Picfair version here.

The Made with Luminar Series

This image is part of a project I am calling Made with Luminar. What the images in this series have in common is the software used to edit them, Luminar 3. As with my usual blog posts particulars of the camera settings can be found in the caption below the image. The text of these posts include the Luminar “Looks” that have been applied to the photo. Each look is a series of presets that are applied to the photo. Where applicable I will mention what changes I have made to any of the looks. A full explanation of looks is available here on their website, https://skylum.com/luminar/user-guides/chapter-14-working-with-luminar-looks

You can assume other edits have been applied. My most common edits are cropping, detail enhancement, and vignette. Specific questions or thoughts on the image are welcome in the comment section below.

Cheers!