We’ve been bundled up with some cold weather recently but have been working behind the scenes on some exciting projects. We hope to be bringing some big news to you in the very near future. In the mean time, I’ve also developed an interest in horses and horseback riding. If you would like to see another side of what we do, you can check out our horse related blog site at  www.nickertown.com.

Talk to you soon,

John

     I’ve been meaning to build a few more example photos and thought that I would play around with some older photos. Today, I’m playing with the Sharp Shot Color Pop Pro action from EZ Actions. While many (dare I say MOST) of the people who use our Photoshop actions (which also work in Photoshop Elements) use them on portraits, some use the actions on other types of photos.

     I’m originally from the East Coast (Maryland / D.C.) and we took a trip to visit some relatives a few years ago. While out there, we visited the National Zoo – which I always love (you should visit if you ever get the chance – and it’s free). I snapped a few shots of some of the creatures at the zoo (which also included my family – LOL).

    Here, we see a photo of an otter (I just love otters, don’t you). It was nice to see the otters and the otter tank was positioned so that you could see the otters both above the water and below. The photo was shot through somewhat dirty glass and you as you can see, it has a bit of haze / glare. The photo isn’t bad, but look at the before and after and you can immediately see the benefit that the Sharp Shot Color Pop Pro action brings to the table. It takes a nice snap shot and turns it into something of a shot that you might see in a magazine or book.

     Over the coming days and weeks, I’ll post more examples using different editing techniques. I hope you enjoy the photos and will come back for another visit.

Thanks,
John

Here is my entry fro Week #36.  This week, I used the Polaroid Transfer action from EZ Actions to create the main effect for the photo. Below is the original photo. I started by doing a little color correction and then adding some softening. I then ran the Polaroid Transfer action and added a border (grunge border #5 from the grunge border collection at EZ Actions). This edit took about 2 minutes to complete.

Here is the original:
 

Here is the edit:

Thanks for stopping by,
John

Here it is, another Friday. I had a few minutes to play and thought that this particular image would be fun.

Here is the original photo:

For my edit, I did a few things.  First, I started by doing a color correction using the “I Correct Photo” filter. The filter removed a bit of magenta from the overall image. Then, I cropped the photo. After a few different attempts at a crop, you can see the final below. After cropping, I used the healing brush to remove the spots from his nose, cheeks, and chin. Now, I had something to go on. I used the Soft Focus action from EZ Actions, which soften the image. Using the layer mask, I kept the hair and eyes sharp and let the rest of the skin stay soft. I flattened the image (flattening the layers that the Soft Focus action put on the photo) and then ran the EZA Porcelain action. This action allowed me to bring the bright whites and black and white effect to the image. I used the dodge tool to brighten the shadows and mid-tones and that finished my edits.

I hope you enjoy!

Edited photo:

Talk to you later,
John

This past weekend, we had the pleasure of photographing a lovely family. We’ve got their proofs ready and are just waiting for them to be delivered. However, you can see some of the photos in this short video. I hope you enjoy watching.

Talk to you later,

John