Print from training outing today

[terrylndrs]

here is a new print from my photographs from a training outing today. It was hot and her tail isn't up like usual but i'll take it. What do you think?

[tommyboy72]

That is pretty cool especially since it is your dog. Is that a software application that you made that with?

[terrylndrs]

with Photoshop CS4. when i get quail picts. it will have quail flying across the top.

[tommyboy72]

That is really neat. I just downloaded Gimp which is supposed to be the free open source form of Photoshop and there is supposed to be a way of changing the image so it looks like it is coming out of the flat picture but I am not real familiar with graphic design programs. I attempted to use Gimp to change some dog pics but it didn't really accomplish what I wanted and the tutorial was not that great.

[MTO4Life]

That is really neat. I just downloaded Gimp which is supposed to be the free open source form of Photoshop and there is supposed to be a way of changing the image so it looks like it is coming out of the flat picture but I am not real familiar with graphic design programs. I attempted to use Gimp to change some dog pics but it didn't really accomplish what I wanted and the tutorial was not that great.

I find GIMP was very difficult to use as there aren't any manuals to read, only what is online. Nice thing about Photoshop is I can buy a book and go from there. Just my opinion though, as both will do many great things. I use Photoshop CS3 right now, and do some cool things.

I think the effect you are talking about withthe image coming out of the flat picture is what is called Out of Bounds editing. It is a really nice effect, but not one I am anywhere close to being proficient with yet!! It is fun to play thought....

[tommyboy72]

Uhhhh ya there was a tutorial for that but it was way over my head. I had some web design classes in college but Gimp seems to be very complicated but if you know how to use it seems like there are some very cool stuff you can do with it. Unfortunately my degrees were in Finance, Management and Marketing not CIS so I didn't understand it.

[jbogacki76]

you can usually find tutorials for photoshop and gimp posted on youtube. They will walk you through some editing jobs.

[PntrRookie]

...What do you think?

Coming from a graphics point of view I like the B/W or Sepia technique you have. Only suggestion I have is to separate the dogs a bit. It looks as if the smaller dog's head is too tight to the larger pict. Other than that I like it. What if you reversed the setting? Make the profile of the dog the smaller pict and enlarge the head on shot. OR enlarge JUST the head of the straight on shot, feather the edges of it, enlarge it to be the focal point and decrease the profile shot of the dog. The quail will be a nice touch. Just some suggestions.

Monday I will post a Photoshop collage I did for a friend from his ND trip last year. I have used Photoshop professionally for 20 years and LOVE it. Nothing better than taking the sickle out of a tail

[DGFavor]

Cool idea and nice shots. The only critic that matters is you - it's gonna go on your wall!! That said, composition doesn't quite do it for me...a little too much for the space you've got maybe??

What I would do/have done, that I think would look cool with your two photos is to "ghost" one picture as background for the other...with your shots, I would crop out and create a real nice crisp head shot from the lower left photo to the dimensions/resolution you want your print to be (not sure of the size of your original photos so may not be a good option though). You could do it with the full size dog but I think that might give composition probs. Then I would copy and paste the side view photo as a layer onto your nice head shot...then decrease the opacity of that layer to create a nice ghost image of your dog on point as the backround. Add yer nice crisp, flying quail (good luck with that one!!! ) and you'd have a wallhanger!!

"Ghosted" background example just screwing around:


Could also true up your whites and blacks on your photos too to give a bit more pop, kapow!!

I have used Photoshop professionally for 20 years and LOVE it. Nothing better than taking the sickle out of a tail

Or pounds off my waist!!

[wems2371]

Wow, that's neat. Beautiful dog too. Makes me want to go get a photo program and start experimenting. Show us what you finish with.

[terrylndrs]

Photoshop is worth every penny! This was a rough comp. I threw together in 20min. I have other pointing image that will go into it but I'm trying to put it together to maybe sell prints as a club fundraiser. Maybe on a would plack for a trophy. My dog is a young dog 1 1/2yrs will be trialing her this fall. Have been in two trials so far and showing a lot of promise. This is my first time trialing this past spring and now I'm hooked. I'm darting my nature photography carear so what better way to honor your first dog than with a print! Thought I would share

[Ken Lynch]

Any chance that people would like to keep this thread going as a source of help for working over photos that people have of their dogs? I have Adobe Photoshop 6.0 and Adobe Premiere 6.5. Not sure that I can accomplish some of the effects that you have managed. I like the "Ghosted" background example posted by DGFavor and would like pointers on how to accomplish similar affects with what I have if possible.

[terrylndrs]

I would be glad to help anyone with question they have if I can. I've learned so much on training here I will do what I can to return the favor. Some topics could be very involved to explain but mabye a photography topic or a gallery to share our photographs. Who doesn't like looking at dog photographs.

[DGFavor]

Hey Ken - I use Elements 6.0 as well and love it. Tons of features well beyond the capabilities of us amateur hacks.

terrylndrs - Here's a quick similar example of what I thought would be cool with your pics. Wasn't working with as good originals as yours but you get the idea.:

[ACooper]

Doug that is super cool, I need to do some of this.

[Boxa]

Here is a simple question... probably been asked before. Seems most of my files are too big to post on GDF. Is there a way to reduce the size in order to post?

[Ken Lynch]

Not sure if this would be better approached via private mail or not. Thanks for the offer to help DGFavor. How did you manage to eliminate the unwanted portion of one photograph so that you could apply the remaining portion to a second photograph? In the picture of the dog with Pro Plan bags, how did you manage to keep the fine lines of the brush while eliminating the background? Is PhotoShop 6.0 capable of doing such work?

[tommyboy72]

Boxa are you using the attachment method or using a third party site like photobucket and then cutting and pasting the image code into your html post? If you are using the attachment method then you will have problems with files being too large but if you use photobucket and cut and paste the image code into the post a reply box then you should be able to post larger pics but I have found that anything above about 640x480 pixels will have a problem with cutting off the edge of the pic when you post it.

[Boxa]

Thanks for the heads up. Haven't had time to work with it yet.

[DGFavor]

Is PhotoShop 6.0 capable of doing such work?

Yup, that's what I used.

How did you manage to eliminate the unwanted portion of one photograph so that you could apply the remaining portion to a second photograph? In the picture of the dog with Pro Plan bags, how did you manage to keep the fine lines of the brush while eliminating the background?

There is at least a handful of ways to combine images. Most would tell you to create a mask layer of some sort out of the image you want in the foreground which I personally find tedious and in my hands usually looks pretty phony by the time I'm done. I just initially edit the photos I want to combine separately, usually making them the exact same size/resolution (in the dog pic I think I made them 600x600 pixels at 72ppi since I wasn't making a print, just posting to the web). Open both pics in the Photo Editor. Copy the picture you want to "ghost" (use Select All then Copy). Then Paste the "ghost" picture into the other picture. It will be at 100% Opacity and since the images are the same size, will completely obscure the underlying image (which is the image you ultimately want to portray in the foreground). You'll now have two layers over in the Layers pallete on the right. Move the opacity slider (found over in the Layers Pallete) to the left until your image is ghosted to the point you desire. As you move the slider to the left, you'll see your underlying image being uncovered but unless you slide all the way to 0% it will still be slightly obscured by the overlying ghost image. The way I then eliminate the unwanted portions of the ghost image is to use the Eraser at 100% opacity, using a fine brush setting...then I just start erasing parts of the overlying ghost image I don't want...and magically the ghost image goes from foreground to background. The dog pic was easy, the brushy pic more tedious. It takes some practice and you have to adjust the brush size for the smaller intricate areas. Really pretty simple. The dog pic took me maybe 5 minutes.

Layers...it's all about layers!! I post alot of hunting pictures to the web but like to disguise the whereabouts so often I'll add a mountain range to the background, maybe remove a prominent landmark then add a landmark from somewhere else. I posted a pic once and had a guy that knew where I was at because he saw me out there at the time I took the picture...but he couldn't figure out where in the heck I actually took the picture from. He couldn't recognize the mountains in the background and old barn in a valley (the old barn came from a photo I took in Montana, the place I was hunting was in Idaho!). Told him he might try getting out of sight of his truck while hunting and maybe he'd find some of these places!! Disinformation on the web, my specialty!!

[PntrRookie]

DGFavor...is this a "hobby" for you or do you do this professionally as well? I told my wife if there was a way to "play" with outdoor photos like this and make a livin' I'd be first in line. I love doing it professionally, for nearly 20 years, but unfortunately none of it was focusing on the outdoors!

This merely took me minutes...pretty simple collage

[Ken Lynch]

Thanks DGFavor. I suspected the solution was that way. Although I use layers a lot, I have not ventured into that particular procedure very much because it is time consuming (I thought). I was hoping that there was another way to accomplish the same thing.

[postoakshorthairs]

Oh great, I found one more thing to do with these dogs that will end up costing me money!!

doug--awesome pic!

[wems2371]

Oh great, I found one more thing to do with these dogs that will end up costing me money!!

doug--awesome pic!

Ditto on that. Pointer Rookie that's terrific too. I wonder if I buy Photoshop 6 now......if I be able to figure it out by December--to make a Christmas card.

[kylenicholas02]

What camera do you guys use to take such photos in the field?

[DGFavor]

PntrRookie - Very cool picture, captures the whole feeling of a Nodak trip at once!! I just do this stuff for a hobby...I tend to go overboard on most things I get involved in!!

What camera do you guys use to take such photos in the field?

Sony A700 SLR and Panasonic Lumix LX3 P&S for me.