Super Simple Photo Editing 2

Way back in 2009 I did a post titled "Super Simple Photo Editing".  I've come a LONG way since those overly edited photos I thought looked good.  I still have a lot to learn, but in learning, I have determined that "natural" edit is my preferred choice.  Most of the time I simply adjust a few color curves and run an "unsharp" mask and that's all I do for editing.  Sometimes though, a more heavy edit is needed to get the look I'm going for.

Though the above edit doesn't look all that heavy, it required more than just a simple color curve and "unsharp" mask.  I did this edit using Photoscape (free editing software) because it was quicker and easier than my usual Gimp (another free software).

Here we go, my edit in 5 simple steps:

Step 1)  I cropped the image into a square because I thought it would look best without so much background.

Step 2)  I attempted a basic white balance correction but the white background was still a bit blue/gray.

Step 3)  I did a medium "bloom" to brighten the photo and make the flower pop a little more. 

Be careful with bloom though as it can blur your photo and give it a "dreamy" feel.

Step 4) I gave it a medium Portra to make one last pop.

Step 5)  Sharpen.  I usually don't go all the way up to 13 because it looks overly sharpened but this time it looked nice.

There you have it!  What do you think of my editing?  Be honest...

Capture Santa On Camera For FREE!

I'm sure you've seen those websites out there that offer to help you prove that Santa was in your home by capturing him on camera for you.  "Upload a photo of your tree or fireplace and for $10 we'll put Santa in your photo!"  I'm here to tell you, that with a little effort, you can do it yourself for FREE!  Don't worry, I'll walk you through how to do it step by step:

I'll start by saying that this is my friend Lindsi's fireplace.  At the time I started working on this tutorial I didn't have my tree up or house decorated yet.  Since I'm also posting this tutorial on my other blog (Toys In The Dryer) I asked Lindsi to send me a photo.

Step 1)  Download my favorite FREE photo editing software Gimp.  If you have Photoshop you can still follow this tutorial.  You just have to make adjustments for that program.  If you are like me and don't want to dish out the money for expensive photo editing software, Gimp is comparable to Photoshop only it's FREE!

Step 2)  Take a photo of your living room, tree, or fireplace.  Remember, Santa comes at night so make sure you take the photo at night in that lighting!  You don't want a bright, sunlit window in the background!

Photo courtesy of Design Dazzle.  If you find this tutorial too hard, check out her post on how to capture Santa!

Step 3)  Find a photo of Santa to use.  Google "santa costume" or "capture santa" to find the best images.

Step 4)  Open both photos in Gimp and make them the same size.  Go to your larger photo and click "image > scale image" In the "height" part make it the same as your smaller image.  (You will see your smaller image minimized on the bottom if you can't remember the size you need.)  Now hit "scale".  If your larger image becomes too small to see, go to "view > zoom > 100%".

 
Step 5)  Click on your Santa image then click on "edit > copy".  Now go to your house image and click on "edit > paste as > new layer".  Make sure it's "new layer" or the rest of this tutorial won't work!

Step 6)  Click on the little eraser icon in your toolbox.  Then pick and scale your brush to preference.  Now start erasing everything from your Santa photo except Santa.  As you erase you'll see your room photo come through!

Step 6-2)  To get closer to Santa with the eraser, click on "image > zoom > 200-400%".  You will most likely have to scale your brush down to a smaller size.  When you are done with the details, zoom your image back down to 100%.

Step 7)  Move your Santa where you want him in the photo.  Click on the cross or move arrows, make sure the "move the active layer" is checked at the bottom of your tool box, then click on the photo to move Santa.  If you accidentally move the whole photo, go to "edit > undo" then make sure you have the "move the active layer" checked.  (Can you tell I forgot to check the box?)

Step 8)  Scale your santa.  I got lucky with my photos, I did not need to make my Santa larger or smaller.  The above photo of the super small Santa is just to show you that the steps work :)  Go to "layer > scale layer"  then play with the height until you think it looks right.  As long as the link next to the height and width is connected the width will automatically change with the height.  Do not change the width unless you want a super funny, wide looking Santa!

Step 9)  Adjust Santa's color.  Your house photo will most likely have a blue or yellow tint to it but your Santa will most likely be bright white.  Fix the color difference by going to "colors > color balance".  Play with the sliding scales until your Santa's white parts look like they match the tone of your photo.

Step 10)  Combine the layers.  Click on "image > flatten image".  Save and you're done with the photo editing part!

Step 11)  The night before Santa comes, set up your camera on table, chair, shelf or where ever you can prop it.  Turn your camera on and tell your kids that it will take a photo when it sees Santa.  (Don't forget to turn your camera off after the kids go to bed if it doesn't have an auto off) 

Step 12)  In the morning take the memory card out of your camera and pretend to upload the photos.  Find the photo you edited on your computer and watch your kids eyes light up as they see you captured Santa on camera!

How to Find and Install Gimp Scripts and Plug-ins

Scripts and plug-ins in Gimp are equivalent to actions in Photoshop, and many Photoshop actions can be duplicated in Gimp.  I've seen some of the most favorite CoffeeShop and Pioneer Woman actions done using Gimp!

(Shhhh...I clipped this image from the Gimp website!)

When I first sat down to write this post I had a totally different idea in mind.  I was going to do my own tutorial on how to install Gimp scripts and plug-ins, but then I decided it was better not to reinvent the wheel.  Instead, I am going to point you to this tutorial on

How to Install Scripts & Plug-ins to Gimp

It's a super easy tutorial with screen shots, the one I used when I needed to know how to install my scripts and plug-ins, and pretty much the same tutorial I would have made if I wanted to reinvent the wheel.  So there you go, part 1 done!

Now, how to find those scripts and plug-ins....

The first, and most obvious place to look is the Gimp Registry.  That's where most people are going to put their "official" scripts and plug-ins.  The problem is, it can get a bit overwhelming if you don't really know what you are looking for.  Random browsing can drive you crazy!  There's also a lot of "computer talk" when you look through it.  It's all way over my head and not really relevant unless you are a super photo editor and computer whiz.  Just ignore all the "talk", look at the photo examples, and go straight to the script/plug-in. 

Flat out Googling "Gimp Scripts" or "Gimp Plug-ins" will bring you to a whole bunch of forums, blogs, and random places to find scripts and plug-ins.  That too can get a bit overwhelming, but you'll find some really cool stuff that you might overlook in the Registry.

Joining a Gimp forum has helped me a TON!  I personally belong to the Gimp Users Flickr Group but you can join any one out there.  I can only speak for the group I have joined, but members help each other with bugs, give demos of what they've done with scripts, help to translate Photoshop actions into Gimp, hold challenges, and more!  Again, the "computer talk" goes over my head, but I'm happy that they don't treat me like I'm an idiot, and are always willing to help.  

Lastly, here are two of my favorite places I've found scripts:

Elsamuko--I have to say that these are some of my favorite scripts by far!

DeviantArt--Cool color curve scripts.  You'll have to weed scroll through the graphics scripts but it's definitely worth it!

Really quick...two things worth noting about Gimp scripts and plug-ins....

1)  Unlike most Photoshop actions, Gimp scripts can be adjusted.  If you don't like the default settings, just change them.  Scripts are much more complicated than actions but if you're like me (and really new to all this), the default settings are just fine.

2)  Gimp is not only a photo editing software, it's also a graphics design program.  Because of that, you'll find a lot of scripts and plug-ins that aren't really relevant to straight-out photo editing.  Just thought I'd let you know that you may have to do some digging through weird scripts to find some that are just for photo editing...

Add/Remove Objects (Cloning) in Photos Using Gimp Free Photo Editing Software

Since I posted this before and after picture, I have had a lot of people ask me how I did it.  Here's the tutorial (and I promise this is the last time you will see this picture of Tottie!):

1)  Start by cropping the picture.  I don't think you need a photo to explain that :)

2)  Use the "Free Select" tool to select the portion of the photo that will replace the object you want to remove (or the portion that you will clone).

3)  After you have selected your portion to clone, copy, then pasted it into the picture (it creates a new layer).

4)  If need be, use the "Flip" tool to turn the selection around.

5)  Use the "Move" tool to move the cloned area into it's new position.  Once the area is in position, you'll need to click somewhere else on the photo to anchor it into place (you'll see a little anchor next to your cursor).

6)  Now is where the painstaking process begins.  You need to get rid of all the extra stuff around the new cloned area and make it blend in.  For the bigger spaces you can repeat steps 1-5.  For the smaller spaces you'll have to use the "Clone" tool or brush.

7)  Once the entire area is cloned out, use the "Clone", "Blur/Sharpen", and "Smudge" tools to make the hard edges and any shadows blend in.

Before and After:

Blurring a Photo Background-Bokeh-Using Gimp Free Software

In this tutorial I will be teaching you how to blur a photo background, or create bokeh, using Gimp free photo editing software.  As most of you know, getting bokeh straight out of the camera with a point and shoot is super hard.  Fortunately, creating bokeh with Gimp is super easy!

1)  Open your photo with Gimp.  Duh!

2) Use the Free Select tool to outline the area you want to keep in focus.

3) File > Copy Visible

4)  Layer > New Layer

5)  Edit > Paste, Then click on the image to anchor it. 

6) Click on the eyeball next to your new layer to turn it off (A) then make sure your background layer is highlighted in gray (B).  Then go to Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur.  If you can't see your layer box click on CTRL + L and it should pop up.

7)  Make sure your Blur Radius is no less than 30.  In this tutorial I used 50.  The higher the number, the more blur you get.  It's really just a personal preference.

8)  Once the photo has been blurred, turn on your new layer by clicking on the place where the eyeball should be (A).  Your in focus part should now be on top.  Go to Image > Flatten Image (B) and you're done!

Super easy huh!  The only (small) downfall is that you get a slight halo around your in focus area.  As hard as I tried, I couldn't figure out a way to get rid of it. 

If you are a bit picky like me and you have some sharp edges between your in focus area and your out of focus area you can use the Blur tool to help:

Just make sure you have "Blur" clicked and your radius is all the way up to 100.

One of these days, I'll make a tutorial on how to select fine, small areas of photos such as hair.  That way you won't have the problem above :)

There you have it!  You can have bokeh with a point and shoot camera, you just have to do it with your photo editing software :)

Color Curves in Photo Editing--A Basic Tutorial

After some time off for personal reasons, it's finally time for me to get back into photography tutorials!  I figured I'd do color curves in photo editing since I've been playing around with them a lot lately.

Color curves are a pretty powerful photo editing tool but they are often under used by beginners because they can be a bit intimidating.  This tutorial is going to be really basic because there's just so much you can do with curves that it's hard to go in depth without making a super lengthy post.  If you want to go more in depth, simply Google "color curves" and you'll find tons of lengthy tutorials!  I found this one helpful in explaining the histogram part of color curves.  Hopefully my basic tutorial will be enough info to get you started.  The real way to learn is just to play, play, play!

One of the most basic things you can do with color curves is the s-curve.  Point-and-shoot camera pictures often come out a bit muted in color.  The s-curve is a simple way to make your colors pop a bit while keeping the natural colors of the picture.

The s-curve simply darkens your shadows and brightens your highlights giving your photo more contrast.  There's clear, then there's s-curve clear.  Sorry, I couldn't help it.  That's what the s-curve reminds me of--the Claritin commercial where they take the film off the lens, but this time you're taking the film off of your photo!  Most photo editing software has a preset s-curve but playing around on your own is a good way to get started learning how color curves work.

If you want to be a bit more bold, you can adjust more on your color curve.  The first thing you'll want to do is to make your blacks true black and your whites true white.  You'll do this by starting your color curve where the pixels in your histogram start.

Notice in the above picture that I've moved the bottom dot to where my histogram starts.  If there was a gap on the right I'd move the top dot too.  As you can see, making my blacks and whites true, made my picture more vivid.  In doing that however, it also made some areas too dark and others too light.  We can fix that!

Take your mouse and hover over the part you want to darken or lighten.  You'll notice an eye dropper (don't ask me why it doesn't show up on my screen shot).  You'll also notice that there is now a vertical line on your histogram.  That is where you want your curve to be.

In the above picture, I lightened the browns in the background a bit by bending my curve upward in the area that my vertical line appeared.  I darkened the tan she's holding onto a bit but bending my curve downward in the area that my vertical line appeared.  Not much, but enough so that it looks better to me.

Now, I could quit there but there's a slight blue color cast to my photo that makes it look a bit cold.  This is when you play with individual color channels.

In the case of this picture, I bent my color curves on the green and blue channels just slightly down to decrease the green and blue hues and bring out more of the yellow and red hues.  I "warmed up" my photo.

After tinkering around quite a bit, here's the before and after photos:

Words of caution:
1)  You can cause "damage" to your photo when working with color curves.  Always work on a copy of your photo until you are confident in what you are doing.
2)  When making your blacks and whites true, you are stretching your tonal information.  The downside is that you lose some image detail.  You'll notice a comb-like pattern in the histogram meaning you no longer have pixels in the image at some brightness levels.  Most of the time this is not noticeable to the naked eye.
3)  Remember when flexing your curves that as some areas gain contrast, others will lose it and vice-versa.

Have you played with color curves lately?

Batch Photo Watermarking with Gimp Free Photo Editing Software

It's finally here--batch watermarking with Gimp!  I guess they released it back in January, it just took me this long to find it :)  Before you read this tutorial, you'll need to check out how to install Python plug-ins in Gimp.

Did you install the plug-in?  Good!  Let's start!

Step 1) Copy the photos you want to watermark and put them in their own folder.  Copy the photos so that if you mess up, you still have the original, and you have an un-watermarked copy for yourself.  Put them in their own folder so Gimp can distinguish which photos are to be edited.

Step 2) Open Gimp (duh!)

Step 3) Go to tools>batchwork>watermark.  

 From here you can choose either "bump map" or "difference map".  To be honest, I have no clue what either means but this is what they look like:

The first is bump map, the second is difference map.  As you can see, bump map gives the text a little of a bubble feel.  It actually bumps out parts of your photo to make the words.  The difference map just overlays the words on your photo.

Step 4) If you choose "difference map":  it's super easy--

 a) In both the input and output directory you'll want to go down to "other" and find your folder of pictures to be watermarked.

b) You'll need to change the opacity because the default of 5 is not enough.  After playing around, I liked 35.  You may like something different.  You'll also choose your font and put in your text.  Then hit "ok" and watch how fast you are watermarking your photos!

c) When it's done, you'll get this little warning screen.  Don't worry, it says "warning" but if you look close, it actually says that it's complete.  You'll get an error message if your watermarking didn't work.  Find your folder again and check out your photos!

Step 4) If you choose "bump map":  a little more confusing--
a) Just like the first one, go down to "other" and find your folder.  You'll also select your font and enter your text.

 b) There are more options in this one.  I fooled around with them and really didn't get a good grasp of what they do.  You'll probably have to play to find out what you like.
I'll give you a few hints: when I dropped the depth to 0 the watermark really stood out!

When I brought the water level down to 0 the watermark barely showed up.  In fact, you can only really see it on the top dog's chest.

  The rest of the settings, I didn't notice much of a difference when I changed them.  You can play...

There you have it--batch watermarking with Gimp!

I'm personally not thrilled with the bump map option.  I like the difference map option much better.

I'm also not too thrilled that the text repeats and it's in two spots on the photo.

You're limited to just text but I can live with that.

Hey, if you're a mom with a camera and a blog, and you don't want to go through and individually watermark all your photos, this Gimp plug-in will do just fine!