Reality, fantasy, and Photoshop

The original image from the 5D "as is."

This weekend’s Mad Hatter Tea Party brought a huge reaction to Sadira’s blog.  Pretty darned amazing how many people stopped by and commented on her story and my photos.  Needless to say, I was surprised.  And I got a fair amount of comments too.

Thanks all, glad you enjoyed the pictures.

I read often how much people liked the photos, the sky, the backdrop.  At points I wondered if people believed the shots were real.  How much Photoshopping really went into the final results?

Not too much.  Maybe 5 minutes per photo.  A little retouching, a little filter play, and a little work with Topaz Adjust and Topaz Clean.  They’re my newest toys and I thought the fantasy photo shoot was the perfect opportunity to get a little surreal with my new tools.

You know what?  They worked pretty well!

So, what are you looking at here today?  One of my favorite images from the shoot.  Both versions.  The first is the unedited, untouched image that the 5D produced.  The second is the edited (Topaz Adjust Color / Exposure Stretch) version.  Ah, the clouds and sky are real in the first, and just enhanced in the second.

The enhancement of the original image was pretty quick.  I used one of Topaz Adjust’s quick settings.  Their color exposure stretch.  I tweaked the settings ever so slightly and the final result was enough for me.

In total this image took about 5 minutes from the starting point to where I declared it “good enough.”  There’s more I want to do with it of course, and I  might toy with it a little more.  Not today though, still getting over the stomach bug.

The final product. Photoshop and Topaz Adjust and 5 minutes of my time....

What do I want to do extra with this photo?  The lower left corner is bugging me.  The sock monkey legs without sock monkey bodies.  Maybe brush them out totally, maybe extend the blanket where they were?  I’m not sure, but that corner just bugs me and I’m sure there’s something I could do that would make me happier with it.  I’ll ponder more on it as I stretch out on the couch and watch movies today.

Well, just thought I’d show you a before and after so you knew what went into the fantasy photo shoot, and what I did to add a little more fantasy to it…….

Oh, and for those interested, I think we’ll be selling a few of this one online soon.  I’m thinking 12×18 Framer’s Wraps on canvas in a limited series of 100.  Already printed two for another project I’m working on.  And they’re already spoken for.  More about all of that tomorrow……