get that Vintage

Hand - Tinted look on your photo....



here is the promised tutorial!


i am not using the same photos i did on this layout. i found this cute one of my son from many years ago. as much as he has changed, he is still the same cutie he was then. same smile, just on an older face.




this is the photo that came straight out of the camera.

i should also add that i cannot take the credit for taking this photo. it was part of a photo shoot set up by Leah Warkentin from Design Pics. basically they do free photo shoots in exchange for using your photos for their stock photography business. the photographer will also give you a disk of the photos they took. i had a few favourites and learned some things at the same time. back to the tutorial!




this is the final result of my photo. a bit different than the ones of the kids on the bridge.

to start, open your photo in PSE (Photoshop Elements) or CS (Creative Suite or Photoshop).

the photo will appear enlarged in your screen. it should also automatically appear on the right column under "layers". there is a thumbnail version of the photo too. often it gets named to 'background'. simply meaning that it is your first layer. think of it like the foundation of the photoshop photo.

you now need to duplicate your background layer.

you can do this by clicking on IMAGE -> DUPLICATE in the pull down menu. or right-click the layer name and choose 'duplicate layer'. on a MAC, i just use the shortcut 'command j'.

make sure you have highlighted the 'LAYER 1", then click on SOFT LIGHT in the LAYERS pull down menu.



this is what the main photo looks like at this point. definitely more rich in colour.

this set of steps is very nice for a photo just on its own. but we will continue....

going back to the 'background' layer. click the eyeball icon in the little box to the left of the thumbnail photo. we want to HIDE this layer. notice we are back to where we started. or so it appears!

DUPLICATE "Layer 1". {you have to make sure that it is highlighted in blue when you do this.}

and back to "Layer 1" again. this time we are going to remove the colour from this layer.

if you have PSE, you may need to do this step differently. try ENHANCE -> ADJUST COLOR -> REMOVE COLOUR. don't over think this step. you just want to have a layer that is DESATURATED  or BLACK AND WHITE.

in CS it is a bit different. this window pops up and you can adjust the colours in even more detail. i did not. i clicked OK and moved on.



this is what my photo now looks like.

back to 'Layer 1" again. this is our DESATURATED or Black and White layer. now DUPLICATE this layer.



it is getting quite dark now. notice the change in the denim overalls? cool, isn't it?!

DUPLICATE 'Layer 1' a third and final time.



super dark. definitely not a great one to print out. even if the denim overalls look amazing.

at this point you should have FIVE layers in total. the middle three are all in Black and White. the bottom one is still hidden. the top one is still the way we left it. all of the photos have been copies of the first one, to which we added a SOFT LIGHT effect.

sometimes it helps me if i label each of my layers. you can do that at any time if it helps you. for now i will left the names as my computer labeled them. hopefully it will help you compare my screen to yours.

only a few more steps remaining!

this time we are going to work from the 2nd layer from the top of our list, or the last layer we were working on. the label i have is Layer 1 copy 2. pull down the LAYERS menu and select SCREEN.



notice how much lighter the photo got?

okay. one more major step!

still keeping that 2nd layer highlighted....go to FILTER -> BLUR -> GAUSSIAN BLUR

i choose any number between 8 and 10 pixels. it creates the dreamy and glowing effect.

if your photo needs it, you can also add this same effect to the 3rd layer. again play around with the pixel size.

in this case, i went with 8.0 pixels. but i also chose to lower the opacity of this layer. the photo is quite dark around his feet, and very light around his face. i wanted to keep the dreamy effect...but not so much. one option i had was to use the erase tool for his face. but i was happy with the result of decreasing the opacity and went with that. this step i did not have to do with my other photos. sometimes you just get the perfect lighting and layout! and sometimes you don't.



this is my final result.

the last step is to FLATTEN your image. choose LAYER -> FLATTEN IMAGE. 

and you will be asked about that layer you hid. click OK. your image will not be affected.

but you will notice that all of your layers disappear and you are left with just one.

you can choose to save your image with all of the layers, but it will be saved as a .PSD file. and it is HUGE. it is great to have while you are deciding on photo effects. but it is a big space waster for your hard drive. flattening the image will convert it to a .JPG file and is much smaller.

however, we can make it even smaller. a typical point and shoot camera is not really meant to take photos for enlargements above the 5x7 size. sometimes you can get a good 8x10 print, but often they are a bit grainy. my default print size is 4x6. however i make them a bit larger or smaller if i know they are for a specific project. sometimes i will add the size into the name so that i don't forget or confuse it with another similar photo. for instance i would label it "aidan 4x6.jpg".

if you are sending it to a commercial printer, you don't need to set your resolution too high. last i checked most printers are not capable of printing higher than 250 ppi (pixels per inch). my habit is to set my computer to 300 ppi. only because it makes me happier. ha!! if this is a concern just ask the photo manager at the shop where you are getting them printed.

if you are interested, i did a comparison between London Drugs and Costco this winter. London Drugs came out higher in price, but the quality also matched it. the paper was heavier and the photos definitely had more depth to them. Costco was the lower cost, but the paper was really flimsy and the colours lacked the pop. presently i still use my printer for the photos i use in my scrapbooks. it is just the most convenient. depending on my project and the type of quality i want in the photo will determine where i get them printed.


if i am sizing it for my blog i set it lower. computer screen resolution is 72 ppi. you can keep it at 250 ppi, but it won't make it better and it will take up a lot of space. this sizing is the same for sending photos to Facebook, email or other sharing sites. if your photo is too small, you can always try to crop it at a larger size. sometimes that helps.


okay! if you are still reading....kudos for sticking around!! this was really two posts in one. i hope you find this helpful. i should note that i messed up my own photos a few times. i didn't do the duplicating enough times to the right layers. i had to go back and undo things while i worked on my reading and comprehension skills...ha!!

all that glitters is gold....

pink gold!

our challenge at Urban Scrapbook for February is GLITTER.

i did play with a new technique, but could not make it work with my layout. darn! i have some leftover supplies.....so perhaps i can work it into a card?

i used my border punches, sookwang tape and glitter on my banner at the top.
Craft Glitter is fine, like pixie dust (yes, i have a preschool girl in my house...why do you ask?!). i used a fine point glue pen to draw on my butterflies, letters and lace doilies. the glitter sticks like a charm. and oh so sparkly! i even used it on the 'je t'aime' card. i outlined the hearts on the doily centre and cut it out for the centre of one of my pinwheels.




my inspiration for this layout came from Steph Devlin who had a layout on the Pink Paislee blog awhile back. i loved the banner and the pinwheels with the bold borders. yes, you can see i heavily lifted that layout.








this paper is all from Making Memories Je t'adore valentine line. it really is amazing. i am not exaggerating when i tell you that the paper just sat on my desk for several days. several days. it was all so pretty, that i could not decide which piece to use for what!

i decided to use my ticket die cut to make tickets for my banner. i also just bought the Martha Stewart scoring board. i have never made the pinwheel flowers so fast!




this is my husband and i nearly 16 years ago.


we decided that we did not want to have a long engagement, nor did he want a big wedding. i have a multitude of cousins and aunts and uncles...the smallest we could make it was 125 people. Kris had no idea what he was in for! keeping the wedding under 200 caused a lot of friction to my family. great start for us! it was a Friday night, and very short. given the short engagement i knew that my aunts were already making guesses as to how many weeks early the baby would be born! i remember thinking that if we were to get pregnant it had better be at least 12 months after the wedding. there was no way i would want add more debate and speculation among my family to my life with my new husband! {no babies would enter the picture for another 9 years. take that! ha!!}


we were so poor! we were extremely fortunate that an old high school friend of Kris' was a professional photographer. the session was a gift from him. we gave him 30 minutes. can you believe it?!! he printed out a selection of 4x6 photos and put them in an album for us. we never did make any enlargements. out of all the photos i think only 12 were just of the 2 of us. which is why we probably never enlarged any. we did keep a few out in frames for awhile. our favourites was a series of 3 comical and spontaneous shots of us...those were framed and hung on our wall until we moved here.


i'm sure he still has the negatives. we should call and buy them. 


thinking about that.


i decided this photo would be perfect for the layout. it is also the FIRST wedding photograph i had ever scrapbooked. gasp! but the colour was just not quite right.


i scanned it. the photo is glossy. not great for scanning! enter Photoshop Actions. a little more intended blur, desaturation....voila!


i know i won't scrapbook a wedding album for myself. but i think it would be nice to have some more photos from our early years in scrapbooks.


i have done other layouts. just haven't photographed them yet. that is odd for me! they are hanging on my wall so that i can admire them though.


in other news.....so excited for CHA next week. there have been sneak peaks of lots of new stuff coming out. my list has already been started! whenever my family hears me 'gasp' they no longer come running. so true! once CHA begins then all the secrets will be out and we can see what new products we can expect. i just hope that none of the good stuff makes us having to wait for too many months. that is just plain mean! right?! yeah, you know what i mean!

okay, first class of the year is already for teaching. next class is on my desk waiting to be created. the weather is still keeping me indoors. perfect!

photo tip

this post from Work in Progress was very helpful to me last year.

Photographing Your Christmas Tree!

i got my first great photos of our lit tree using these tips.

here are some other links for great tips on capturing good photos of lights:

Strobist

BetterPhoto.com

Rebecca White

for myself, i found that using a tripod was perfect for me. but i've also used tables, chairs and counters to keep my camera still.

i am lucky to have a DSLR {Nikon D80} and a husband who loves to make sure i have great lenses. 

i picked up a good tip from reading a book by Scott Kelby. my lenses have a VR {vibration reduction} sensor. which means they will sense any kind of vibration and allow me to get a really crisp photo. here is where the tip comes in. according to Kelby, he recommends turning the VR to OFF when using a tripod. if it can't find any vibration...it will go searching for it! and create a less sharp image. 

{The Digital Photography Book: page 13}

in my previous post i shared a layout about our family at the provincial legislative grounds. don't be scared to take photos at night. i probably took about 10, and that is the only one that turned out the way i liked. even then, i still had to lighten the RAW format before printing. Photoshop Elements (often available at Costco or London Drugs for around $100CDN) has some features too that can help to lighten photos like that. Picnik would also be helpful, and it is available online for free. 

however....it is always helpful to have the best photo you can before you do any editing!

i hope those links were helpful. enjoy!!

gratitude

is the theme for next month's layout class. (i was going to wait to share the photos next week, but i wanted to have a post on 10-10-10 and have gratitude as the theme.)


last month had leaves and it was a tough one to do. especially since the leaves on the trees were still GREEN and summer had kind of evaded us.

this one was much better. the leaves had started to turn. along with the weather. not exactly pool weather, but no *now either. the layout really made me thankful for the blessings we have been given and the colours are just soooo warm!






the burlap is my fave.



finally got to use the photo of the turkeys!!



oh, Basic Grey, i love you!!



hidden journaling. one of the first techniques i learned to do when i first started. i used them on many of the kids baby books. it helped when i tried to cram one months' worth of photos into one page.



those little squares had me stumped. i really wanted to mimic the weave in the paper...but they were not as good and far from impressive when i tried it. maybe i should have checked out some weaving sites to see if you could actually recreate the pattern in the paper? whatever i was doing was just not working right.


part of our Thanksgiving weekend involved a birthday party (for my husband, my son and my daughter). i also roped the in-laws in for a photography session too. they were cooperative and fun. however i think the grandparents and grandkids stole the show. what else is new?!



i love the blur on this one. totally a mistake. but one of my favourites of the afternoon. (i should mention that i had MANY favourites from the afternoon!)

some real beach photos

from an Alberta beach, that is!







no sand dollars. no crabs. or jellyfish.

we did find some waves. and some itsy bitsy shells!

i caught a big minnow with my bare hands. it only took me 38 years, but i finally caught one.


the plan is to keep hanging out at beaches until summer ends. then we'll simply have to go to where the beaches are.....if only that could be the case!


at least i can make a REAL beach photo layout this summer!!

for today

i sat down tonight to actually choose some favourites from a recent photo shoot. i often find it difficult to do immediately afterwards. i either can't decide which one i like best....or frustrated that i didn't get exactly what i was hoping to capture. silly.


i discovered for the first time a few weeks ago the number of RAW photos i can get on my present photo card. up until now, i had not fully filled it! the number is 920. i actually had to delete a few on my camera so that i could get more photos of different poses. i also follow the advice to take multiple shots...so i take 3 (at minimum) instead of 1.


i came across this one tonight. i am still in shock that i was the one who took it!






i love that you can see the little pores on his nose. he was only 4 days old here. Elias. a new cousin.

his hands and feet were all wrinkly. just starting to peel. his skin was still clear. oh those sweet first days!



i actually used an action to take away some of the redness in his face. then i added a PW quick edge burn  to the edges. i tried some vintage and colourized actions. but i decided i liked colour the best.

i hope he stays this cooperative for me! i wasn't in love with photography when his older siblings were born, so i hope they don't mind that i monopolize him. although they are really good with letting me snap photos of them too. i really dislike "posed" shots. so much more fun to get them when they're relaxed and being themselves. they also cooperated very nicely for me that day too! perhaps it was nice for them to have some attention on themselves for a change. not that 4 days is a long time...but for kids it can seem like eternity.



the sun finally reappeared today. i actually have more layouts to share too. i was too busy soaking up the warm sunshine to stop and take a single photo. of layouts or otherwise. so sad! i also finished the layout for the August monthly class. yes, that is a record to be done so quickly.

i probably would have done another layout or project tonight...but i'm wiped! late night crop was last night, so i'm a little tired today. not to mention the sun really does pull some energy out too. my body is a little sore as well. i made a visit to the duck pond with a few neighbours. with all the rain this week, it flooded. it all descended quickly, but left a lot of mud behind. i did not stop to think that the wet grass, mud and my flip flops would not be such a great combination. without warning and without a witness - that i'm aware of - i found myself laying flat on the ground and looking at the clouds! i am a little sore now!! ironically nearly every one of our kids took a spill on their bike rides today. i guess i joined the ranks of the kids?! fortunately i did get to avoid any of the road rash that they were treated to. i guess you could say it was all in the name of 'growing up'? ha! anyway.....

talk about cool!

since i brought up the whole traveling gnome thing on my personal blog, it is only fitting that i put something about photo booths on this one. did you ever watch the movie 'Amelie'? gnomes and photo booths and lots of other interesting stories can be found in the French film.

here is a little video from The Photobooth Blog:





is that not the coolest video ever?!


now i really REALLY REALLY want to find one of those and get a few prints made! not just any old  photobooth....but the dip and dunk type like in the video. apparently the closest are in California. in fact i think i want to visit this one one day. soon. hmmmm.....

every once in awhile

i do own a few calendars. we even know how to use them. yes, they do get used. but how in the world did it ever become the middle of April so quickly?!

i suddenly realized that the end of the month is coming. which means a DT layout for Urban. a class to teach. and prepare! as well as another class layout to design. wow! if you are looking for me in the next couple of weeks, you will find me at home, with glue stuck on my hands.


here is the layout for the class next week.



it may not appear so, but it took me into the wee hours of the morning to finish this one. don't tell anyone, but i could probably have been finished earlier if i wasn't having so much fun. shhhh.....

i told Pat that it makes me want to take a beach holiday. would it not be awesome for those who did get to spend some time on the beach during this Canadian winter? i love these colours!







this sounds really vain, but i love the colour of the inks i got to use. seriously, i don't think the computer does them the justice that is seen in real life.



the girls in my monthly class can begin to work on their thank you's for me. i really, really wanted to cut out each of those little "flowers" in the pattern paper. see, i do think of you when i design these pages!



the spiral flowers are a huge hit this year. i find it totally unbelievable how many versions there are of these babies. so simple, yet a minor change is incredible.



my creative juices are going to be working hard once again. new papers and ribbons to play with.

but i am torn.

today was warm enough to expose some skin. tee...hee...hee... capris, no coat and bare feet. after days of barely above zero and cold north winds...we should reach a high of 24 Celsius tomorrow. it is only April!

hence why i am torn. must soak up the sunshine. must scrapbook. perhaps sleep is not necessary?


we did another walk around our duck pond tonight. lots of birds seen in pairs. 4 Mallard Ducks and 2 Canada Geese were swimming around, and checking out nesting spots perhaps? it was lovely to wake up to the sounds of songbirds this morning.




i took this shot tonight. the only photoshop i did was to crop it down for the web. every once in a while this happens. a totally happy surprise!

new lens

my first camera was a Christmas present when i was in grade nine. it was a 110. remember those?
i took photos of my cats. my friends. my family. they are fun to look at now. back when you could print 3 1/2 by 5 as a regular print...and 4x6 was an option you had to request.

i was sooo thrilled when we bought our Sony Cyber-Shot right before Aidan was born. i still like that camera! but it has a permanent place in my purse so that i don't miss those great camera moments that occur when no camera is nearby. i just need to remember to keep it charged. and download the photos on a more regular basis.

a few years ago Kristian surprised me when he said i was ready for something bigger. for our anniversary we settled on a Nikon D80. i'm still learning new things with it. the tough part is trying to learn new things and retain the old information! it is a lesson in patience. thank goodness for the auto setting when i am in a pinch!

i asked for a $30 macro lens. i read that you can just screw it on to the end of my lens for those macro pics. it is an economical option. it should be noted that i am not the electronic or computer genius of the family! Kristian found the 105mm Micro-Nikkor lens instead. i think he is secretly enjoying me have to learn new photo stuff!! one of these days i'll find a way to prove it. it took a day to prove to myself that this lens was a good option. for me. oh the joys of learning.




i am impressed that it can capture fine details like the scratches in my wedding rings.




these are the Martha Stewart clear micro beads. {the background is a project i had nearby....a printout from one of Wilna's coffee cup albums...great background isn't it?!}


i just finished a busy busy couple of weeks. not sure if i could have squeezed more into such a short time. i am looking forward to some time now to work on some Christmas crafts. by myself. and with the kiddos.


i am also looking forward to sharing some exciting news in the next week. let's just say that i had some goals set for myself creatively this year. now they are being realized. right before it's time to set more goals for myself! fun stuff!!