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.

April Squares: Top Shots, Snowdrops

ISO 250 f/11 0.1sec 27mm

Day 30, find other responses here.

Date and Location of Photo: January 30, 2020. Anglesey Abbey a National Trust site with much to see. This particular shot was taken on a visit where I had secured myself a spot of a behind the scenes tour of their snowdrop collection. It was a great tour that I would highly recommend.

Thoughts on the Edit: Luminar Look, Retro Film, added.

April Squares, an Explanation:

When Becky announced that the April Squares theme was going to be “top”, I thought it over and then sent her a message, then pitched my idea. She was open to my theme within the theme and the result is my response to the April Squares challenge.

I move a lot and I have a move pending. I’ve lived here in England for about four years and will be heading to the United States. Exact dates to be determined, given the current world situation, details have yet to be worked out. My April Squares is a “top shots” reflection on the last four years. Each square represents some moment or place that was meaningful to me. They are in chronological order moving forward in time. I’m attempting to post every day. All photos will be edited in Luminar 3. I hope you enjoy following along, I’ve enjoyed the process of creating. Your comments and thoughts are welcome below.

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.

52 Week Smartphone Challenge: Week 6

For this week’s challenge, which is #nofilter, I went with an image that I thought was more about the storytelling possibility than the technical perfection of the image. This is my choice:

ISO 25 f/2.2 4.15mm 1/100sec

I think there is a lot of tension between the living and the dead in this image. The photo challenge for this week stated that there were to be no added filters but allowed for basic edits. I opted out of editing at all, so this is an “as-shot” image. Your thoughts on the image are welcome below.

Added to Week 6 of the 52 Week Smartphone Challenge.

Cheers!

Wordless Wednesday: Yellow Snowdrops

ISO 250 f/11 50mm 1/25sec

Added to One Word Sunday, Symmetry.

Cheers!

January Squares: Light at the End of the Tunnel

Ah, winter, who doesn’t love winter? Me. When snowdrops begin to appear it signals the beginning of the end:

ISO 400 f/11 55mm 1/100sec

This edited photo of snowdrops is available on my Picfair portfolio. As shown, it has been edited in Luminar with a film fade look applied. For the square version, I simply applied a crop:

ISO 400 f/11 55mm 1/100sec

This post is the last in my January Squares series. I’ve really enjoyed this challenge, so thanks to you all who have followed along or checked in over the month. My biggest thanks though is to Becky who graciously hosted this challenge. The challenge will run again in April, with the theme being announced in March. If you would like information about how the challenge works check here.

I posted all my images for this challenge also on Instagram, today’s is here:

View this post on Instagram

Spring is coming. #fridayfeeling #spring #snowdrops #januarylight

A post shared by Amy Maranto (@marantophotography) on Jan 30, 2020 at 10:30pm PST

Added to Day 31 of January Squares, also to Cee’s Flower of the Day.

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.

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!

When Light Suggests the Framing

This past weekend I went for a walk at Anglesey Abbey. I was looking for snowdrops and they are in season at the Abbey, which boasts that they have 300 varieties. The grounds at Anglesey are fairly extensive and the snowdrops were indeed out pretty much everywhere. I spent some time looking for the images I wanted to capture. Really what I was looking for was light. Then I came across this scene:

ISO 400 55mm f/11 1/200sec

This moment of light, an unexpected window; I only got a few shots before it was gone.  But it was enough for me to then go home and create this image:

ISO 400 55mm f/11 1/200sec

Framing is something that photographers think about, where to place their subject in an image. In this case, the light suggests the frame, literally illuminating the subject and throwing everything else into darkness. The edits I have done are minimal. The crop to accentuate the lit snowdrops, and a bit of sharpening.

What do you think of the edit? I feel like I am often looking for and chasing light, do you identify with that statement? Your thoughts are welcome below.

Cheers!

Added to A Photo A Week, Unexpected Windows.

Also, City Sonnet, Starts with the letter G.