Photo Editing Tips and Tools

[Dana Hickman]

A thread dedicated to the software, plugins, tips and techniques for improving ones photos might be useful.

I'll start by giving my solution to the "how do you fix the ugly angles of the mesh polygons in your photos?"

 

I use the old Kai's Power Goo photoshop plugin. Available in the Kais Power Tool 6 pack as photoshop-compatable plugins, and also as an old stand-alone DOS program with more features. It's quite easy using the smear tool and 75% power to stretch, pull, and reshape any of these kind of graphicals annoyances. It's a far superior method to trying to cut-paste-edit-blend layers as it's done mathmatically and there's no loss of pixels at all. It also does wonders for stretching clothing and skin textures over to match seams as well. One does not need photoshop to use the plugins, as many editing programs can recognize and use them. An example of one is the free and highly regarded Irfanview (which I use a LOT).

For other photo editing plugins to use in improving photos and making fine adjustments, I'd have to honestly say that Xero Graphics   makes the best. I've used all the filter forges and flaming pears and such, and tons of independant plugins, but very few individual plugins and none as a collective group have impressed me more than those from Xero.

Have fun.

[valerie Inshan]

 

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Dana Hickman wrote:

A thread dedicated to the software, plugins, tips and techniques for improving ones photos might be useful.

I'll start by giving my solution to the "how do you fix the ugly angles of the mesh polygons in your photos?"

 

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I use photoshop all the time. I usually fix ugly angles by making cutouts, playing with multiple layers, brush strokes and a bit of gaussian blur to soften the rendering. This is how i made the picture below (from a pic thread in the old forum "your movie star and you"). I had to work also on the lighting effects on "my Scarlett" face to match with Rhett as much as possible. :smileytongue:

 

btw, Dana, you badge really made me jolt the first time I saw it! Awesome! :smileyvery-happy:

[Maxx Mistwalker]

I use PS for all my editing needs, and to get rid of those angular spots...liquify is my best friend. It smooths and contours with little effort

[Dana Hickman]

 

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Maxx Mistwalker wrote:

... and to get rid of those angular spots...liquify is my best friend. It smooths and contours with little effort

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Thanks and kudos for that tip! I can't believe I never bothered to try that one... it's almost exactly the same as power goo.

 

[Torley Linden]

I just had a Kai Krause FLASHBACK MOMENT to 1995! OMG. I remember flipping through Macworld Magazine and marveling at this latest one-of-a-kind UI. Terms like "software toys" were bandied about then...

EVERY photographer should enable antialiasing at the source to smooth those jaggies! Instructions and a picture that shows a comparison are here.

Now, there are some plugins that can try to achieve it after the fact, like Power Retouche's, but the effect isn't as integrated or seamless.

[Rhonda Huntress]

Ctrl-Shift-X

Also, if you mark off a selection it keeps you from warping parts that do not need to be warped.