Tuesday's Photo Challenges

Note to self: Get the yard stuff put away before it get berried under snow.
Okay now that I have that out of the way, it time to share my photos for the Tuesday's photo challenges.
I have to say that I am obsessed right now with editing photos in Photoshop.  My usual work flow was to edit my photos in ACR, take them to Photoshop and sharpen then leave them alone.
This past two weeks I have been taking Kim Klassen's Skinny Mini Course and can I be honest here, my photo editing process has a new twist.

 

My photo today is of a dead, dry zinnia from my summer flower garden, ( these should have been cleaned out by now). I really miss the color that flowers add to a yard, miss them all ready and winter/fall has just started.

Here is the original image straight from ACR with only exposure adjustments made.

Surprising how something so lifeless can be pretty.

Here is the same image after applying textures, blending modes, levels adjustments and a few other steps.  I am not a pro by any means, hence Kim's Course.

Photo editing steps are as follows -

• Background copy - Blend Mode: Normal - Opacity: 100%
• Adjustment Layer - Solid Color 391d0a - Blend Mode: Soft Light - Opacity: 100%
• Adjustment Layer - Gradient Map: Black to White - Blending Mode: Screen - Opacity: 35%
• Adjustment Layer - Gradient Map: Black to White - Blend Mode: Normal - Opacity : 100%

                                When working with the two gradient maps, if you click on the gradient map icon in you lalayers pallet, then click on the adjustments gradient map bar the gradient editor will pop up.

Your page will look similar to this -

By clicking bringing you cursor down below the black and white bar it will change to a hand.  With you cursor in the middle of the bar and you cursor in hand shape click once.  You now will have a black box below the scale.  Double click on the small black box, now you have select stop box up.  By clicking any where in the select stop box you can change the intensity of you gradient scale.  This is a great trick for working on Black and White photos.

Steps Continued

•  Applied Kim Klassen's light paper texture - Blending Mode: Light - Opacity: 100% - Masked off all but the sky - soft black brush
• Applied Kim Klassen's light paper texture - Blending Mode: Light - Opacity: 100% - Masked off all but the sky - soft black brush
• Copied Background  - Blend Mode: Soft Light - Opacity: 100%
• Adjustment Layer - Levels - tweaked till dark, lights and contrast looked proper
• New layer - added brush signature
• Image - Duplicate - Re-sized - Saved for Web

I am really enjoying learning, experimenting and sharing this new found knowledge.