Delicate. Gradients.

This is the result of using a gradients layer on a picture.


Here is the process:
I took this picture on a rainy day. I liked the drops and the lines of the cold plant.

First, open the picture in Photoshop. Then the first step is to change the background color. To do that, go to Image > Adjustments > replace color.

Once there, you'll find the menu for replacement. Select the background with the eye-dropper, then alter the lightness to the maximum.

Now it's time to add a new layer. Select the color to use in your gradient. I chose light pink and violet. Then select the kind of gradient you want. In this case it was lineal. Situate the mouse at the bottom of the picture, then move upwards, left button clicked. Experiment with different results, until you get the most convincing.
Then, time for the blending mode. I usually choose overlay or screen. The idea is tomake the layer kind of transparent.

And finally, I added a slight vignette, using a superthick brush, painting very close to the border on a new layer.


The process is quite easy. However, should you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.
Hope you liked it.

autumn fruit, textured.

Autumn is here, trees are so beautiful, but I have not had time yet to enjoy my time photographing trees and leaves.
So, at home, I found this treasure: Beautiful pomegranates.


The base is the following

combined with this texture

I applied the texture twice, first as it is, then I turned it vertically to create a slight criss cross of lines. For both textures, the blending mode was multiply.
I hope you like the result. Feel free to use this or other textures at my flickr album of textures.

From my window. Sky.

The wiew from my windows is not spectacular at all, but the sky, oh the sky...
The colors in the early morning are just awesome.
The lines of the houses in front seen as silhouettes look more interesting than in daylight.


This sky was not processed.




Here I added a gradient layer, purple to pink and then chose blending mode till I liked the result.




The clouds made the picture.
I have a passion for skies. Lines, colors, clouds, silhouettes, flares ...
Look up and shoot.

Do you know Amy-Rose?

I first knew about Amy-Rose when I saw her work at Digital-Photography-School. I was fascinated at her creation: the color, the clean lines, ... everything was gorgeous!
Then I tracked her at flickr. Really inspirational work. I love the way she sees the world, so full of color.
Then, the blog. Just have a look and you will agree with me: She is an artist of colorful portraiture. She nails it with kids! Hers are a pair of cuties, by the way!
This is Amy-Rose

Check her blog. You'll love it.

And you can enter her contest for her Taste the Rainbow Actions!

Do you vignette?

Vignetting is a technique to add some drama to any shot. We usually think of vignetting as adding a black halo all around the shot,as if slightly framing it.
But vignetting can be done in white or any other color. The most usual, black.
I do vignette many of my photos. It adds an interest sometimes, or focuses the object, or even eliminates some disturbing elements!

The easiest way to vignette is, in Photoshop, using a filter. It is in filters > distort > Lens correction;
Then the menu for lens correction opens, you click on vignette and use the slide to go to black (left) or white (right) and also the amount of vignetting:










The result is this:



Not bad; but I usually want to have more control of the black space. Then I don't go to filters. What I do is the following:

First I create a new layer, then select the paint brush tool, but change the size to an exaggerated number, really big. Then paint just with the border, not the full brush; the center of the brush must be out of the border.


Now you control the areas where you want the shadow to appear. And this way, though the layer opacity, you control the amount of vignette;
Then, there's only the last step: flatten your image, through layers > flatten layers.











And here is the result:

Hope you like it.
Anyway, experiment, try new techniques, duplicate layers, compare, play with blend options...
Thanks for reading.

silhouettes. We kiss the day goodnight.

Driving back home after an afternoon out, we enjoyed this awesome sky, getting more and more spectacular. We could not but stop and watch the sun hide, creating a beautiful scene.

rule of thirds (kind of): summertime.

Hi.
It's been a long, busy and extremely hot summer, most of it without any possiblity of having internet connection!
Back to ordinary routine life, here I am, time for examining every photo I took during this wonderful summer holiday time.
One thing I immediately noticed is how my eye tends to frame every view to make it fulfill the *pseudo*rule of thirds, especially the beach shots, with people. I say pseudo because my thirds are not exact, I tend to exaggerate; (dunno if it's good or bad, but I do).
So I would say that these captures follow a defined pattern that my mind always searches for.
Here are some examples: