SOTD - "Behind the scenes"

Darkbulb

Darkbulb

Member #10
Thought it would be fun to see if this thread could be of interest to people over here as we have a lot of SOTD photos being posted :)

I find 'behind the scenes' and/or 'before and after' photo threads interesting as they can, if nothing else, often be entertaining - and maybe in some cases re-assure one that you don't need fancy equipment/setup to achieve a look that you want.

Not that these photos of mine are any masterpieces in any way, shape or form but it could be fun to show that things are not as neatly planned/prepped as some photos may have you believe :)
Example 1:
Running low on time, plopped the gear down on a black t-shirt I threw out across the table.
Grabbed the phone and snapped a shot.

Once in PS I made it darker to hide the wrinkly t-shirt and cropped off the table showing at the edges.
Done.



Example 2:
A regular set-up spot for me. In front of the fire place.
Unfortunately, I was once again a bit rushed. The composition is a bit odd cropping through the bottle cap, the whole thing leaning a bit, the overly yellow cast, etc...

Once in PS. Straightened up the angle, a rather aggressive crop and the yellow cast, well, we all know b&w photo looks much more artistic so saved some time just converting it to that :)



Really curious to see yours "before and after" and/or WHERE the photo was taken (windowsill, top of the toilet, etc) :)
 
Darkbulb

Darkbulb

Member #10
My SOTD from today:

The original snap from my iPhone:


5-6 minutes in PS using two filters (as I'm extremely lazy and want even adjustments to be made automatically); Silver Efex Pro 2 and Viveza 2 (both by Nik Software), it spits this out:
 
pjgh

pjgh

Forum GOD!
Almost always, it's a sheet of A3 on top of my razor and soap cabinet, camera on tripod as it's up about 5 foot. The picture is rarely cropped as such because the framing is done on the camera. I so usually pop a "film" over the top ... Papyrus or Vintage from Fotor.

So, it's picture, usually taken on a white A3 paper infinity curve, cropped, straightened, instant fix in iPhoto then over to Fotor for the mask.

How much that mask is applied depends upon how I feel ...

Today, however (my tripod is broken, which is another matter) I'm using the stone window sill in my bedroom:

Original:


Papyrus:


Vintage:


I think I'll run with that location for a few snaps as I like the change.

From a little further back, here's my assistant ... and the area I'll be taking snaps in for a short while:

 
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Darkbulb

Darkbulb

Member #10
pjgh said:
Almost always, it's a sheet of A3 on top of my razor and soap cabinet, camera on tripod as it's up about 5 foot. The picture is rarely cropped as such because the framing is done on the camera. I so usually pop a "film" over the top ... Papyrus or Vintage from Fotor.

So, it's picture, usually taken on a white A3 paper infinity curve, cropped, straightened, instant fix in iPhoto then over to Fotor for the mask.

How much that mask is applied depends upon how I feel ...

Today, however (my tripod is broken, which is another matter) I'm using the stone window sill in my bedroom:

Original:


Papyrus:


Vintage:


I think I'll run with that location for a few snaps as I like the change.
Click to expand...
Loved seeing the changes from the original photo
 
halvor

halvor

a most elusive fish
Great hands-on thread, Richard! (Nice to see that the original photos behind people's masterworks are just plain, regular photos. Gives me the idea that this is something I should be able to fiddle around with too.)

Those that use their phones, which editing apps do you use? I haven't done much editing so far but just downloaded Snapseed and Aviary for trying out. Tips most welcome!
 
Scuba Steve

Scuba Steve

Forum GOD!
Fox said:
The more I think about it this thread might also be up @Scuba Steve and @Number Six street?? Both of whom create great photo's.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the compliment Darron @Fox, please find below a short account of how I approach taking SOTD photographs.
There is nothing clever about my photographs. I either use my phone camera or Canon EOS 550D.
When I take photographs underwater I get as close to the subject as I possibly can. Underwater you do not want to use zoom as the less distance between your camera lens and the subject the better in order to reduce scatter or tiny particles of sand ruining your shot.
I generally apply this method when creating SOTD shots.
By using this method you naturally fill your frame so consideration to composition, rule of thirds and depth of field become unnecessary especially with my crappy standard Canon lens. I try to take my photo's without the use of flash, so good light is essential. As such most of my shots are taken either outdoors or by a window.
I do not use any fancy photo editing software mainly because I am too lazy to learn how to manipulate said computer gobbledygook and use it in anger.
I upload my photos into Picasa, hit the 'I'm feeling lucky' button to see if it makes any improvement.
When I am happy I add a drop shadow and a simple frame then export the photo in a reduced file size format to my preferred directory before uploading to SOTD.
Photos taken with the phone are manipulated using either Prisma or Photo Lab directly on the camera then emailed to my personal account prior to posting on SOTD
:cheers:
 
Rowlers

Rowlers

Massive Member
Staff member
halvor said:
Great hands-on thread, Richard! (Nice to see that the original photos behind people's masterworks are just plain, regular photos. Gives me the idea that this is something I should be able to fiddle around with too.)

Those that use their phones, which editing apps do you use? I haven't done much editing so far but just downloaded Snapseed and Aviary for trying out. Tips most welcome!
Click to expand...
I use the inbuilt one on my Motorola X Style. PicsArt is pretty good on Android. And don't forget Prisma too :okay:
 
PLANofMAN

PLANofMAN

Retro Razor Junkie
Today's SOTD.
Original:

Cropped with Moto droid photo editor:

Imported to SketchGuru, cropped again to 16:9 ratio and run through the color pencil 2 filter.

Imported to SnapSeed and run through the vintage filter (#3 I think) to add shadows and deepen the coloring. Then I added a black frame:

Total time from set up to posting on the forum...about 15 minutes.

Edit: if I were to do it over, I would tone down the pencil filter and leave more of the 'photograph' look. Probably would have straightened it out as well. That makes the picture a bit less interesting, visually, I think. Sometimes a person can overdo a picture by second guessing themselves.

Like so:


Edit: most of the fifteen minutes was spent setting up the shot. The editing of the actual picture took only a few minutes.
 
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