Jiro's "How to enhance your picture" Part 1 -Basic

jiro · 09-08-2007, 11:58 AM

Hi,

I have recently been asked by a lot of members from all forums how I take pictures...and what kinda camera I use....etc..

And every time, I tell them...."It's not the camera...it's how you take the picture and what you do with it after you took it."

Since our photo geek member pugwash has already posted many threads about "how to take good pictures"....I'm going to mainly focus on what to do when you want to enhance your picture.

I know...I'm no pugwash or by-tor but I'm doing this for all those people who are struggling with their photo technique.
I'm not going to cover the advanced level technique which i'm not even too good at....
It will be mostly basic technique which will come in very handy for many members.

A lot of members already know how to take good pictures....but at the same time a lot of them don't seem to know how to enhance their pictures when it's needed.

So...here I go~!

If you're a photoshop friendly members like pug or by-tor.....you probably don't wanna read all this crap I'm about to write~

First of all, you will need a program called "Photoshop"
Latest version is Photoshop CS but I'm using version 7.0 which is slightly older version than CS...but it still does the job.

Already have one? good! Don't have one? Go get it, it's worth every damn penny....or borrow from someone you know if you can.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jiro's "How to enhance your picture" Part 1 -Basic-

Have you ever took a picture and the color came out all off and wrong?
.....yes, we all have...haven't we...

This is probably the most common and most basic enhancement you can do when that happens.

Here we have a picture of beautiful Daytona...

See anything wrong with the picture above?.....yes...color is off.....way off....not even funny....

The most simple solution to fix the color in most cases are the "Auto Color" function under the Image Tab.

Image -> Adjustments -> Auto Color

BAM~!

See how much difference that simple button makes???? HUGE~!

Next, I want that black dial to pop out a little more.

Click and hold on the "Lasso Tool" and change it to "Magnetic Lasso Tool".

And carefully, go around the area that you want to select.....

Let's get the right contrast first...

Image -> Adjustments -> Auto Contrast

Now, let's get that level adjust to make the black dial pop out a little.

Image -> Adjustments -> Levels...

I will go ahead and change the first input level from 0 to 20.

All done.

Here are the "before" and "after" comparison pictures...

*Before*

*After*

Cheers~!

trojanmike · 09-08-2007, 12:25 PM

Thanks for the very informative post jiro! I have a nice dslr but have never been able to get really detailed pictures. I picked up a tripod and lightbox this weekend and will see if that helps a bit. I did open up Photoshop and followed your advice on a few older watch shots and the difference is amazing! We should get this post stickied at the top of the forum! Thanks again!

jiro · 09-08-2007, 12:37 PM

I'm glad it helped you, mike~

let's see some of your before and after pictures!!!

this post actually was posted earlier and was sticky but while moving to different section it accidently got deleted~

So, I re-posted it...hopefully, it will become sticky again so that other members can use this as a guide to their photo enhancement~ 8)

optimus_prime · 09-08-2007, 01:12 PM

thanks jiro, what version of photoshop is that?

Dukie · 09-08-2007, 01:29 PM

then you can take it a step further :twisted:

watch photo courtesy TWP 8)

cybee · 09-08-2007, 01:38 PM

thanks jiro for sharing some of your secrets...now I will have no excuses.

jiro · 09-08-2007, 02:03 PM

and that's what I meant by the "advanced level", Dukie~

which i'm not good at~

Dukie · 09-08-2007, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jiro

and that's what I meant by the "advanced level", Dukie~

which i'm not good at~

In no time my friend. :wink:

Your watch photography is looking superb!

higgy · 09-08-2007, 02:36 PM

Very good info jiro...and for those who don't have or can afford photoshop try this program...it's free and lets you do basic picture editing. Nothing as indepth as photoshop... http://picasa.google.com/

Thanks again jiro.... :wink:

Higgy 8)

CISO1969 · 09-08-2007, 03:09 PM

Great post Jiro.

And to add to Higgy's suggestion, another free tool for your tool box is : Irfanview at

http://www.irfanview.com

Anyone who has seen some of my "on the fly creations" what I used was old school tech: Irfan view and the windows "paint" application. This is much better suited for avatars, logos etc but you can get some good photo work too.

I also have photoshop 7 but am so damn impatient I never really used it :roll:

Great post once again!

CISO

09-08-2007, 11:58 AM	#1
jiro Dark Overlord Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,828	Jiro's "How to enhance your picture" Part 1 -Basic Hi, I have recently been asked by a lot of members from all forums how I take pictures...and what kinda camera I use....etc.. And every time, I tell them...."It's not the camera...it's how you take the picture and what you do with it after you took it." Since our photo geek member pugwash has already posted many threads about "how to take good pictures"....I'm going to mainly focus on what to do when you want to enhance your picture. I know...I'm no pugwash or by-tor but I'm doing this for all those people who are struggling with their photo technique. I'm not going to cover the advanced level technique which i'm not even too good at.... It will be mostly basic technique which will come in very handy for many members. A lot of members already know how to take good pictures....but at the same time a lot of them don't seem to know how to enhance their pictures when it's needed. So...here I go~! If you're a photoshop friendly members like pug or by-tor.....you probably don't wanna read all this crap I'm about to write~ First of all, you will need a program called "Photoshop" Latest version is Photoshop CS but I'm using version 7.0 which is slightly older version than CS...but it still does the job. Already have one? good! Don't have one? Go get it, it's worth every damn penny....or borrow from someone you know if you can. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jiro's "How to enhance your picture" Part 1 -Basic- Have you ever took a picture and the color came out all off and wrong? .....yes, we all have...haven't we... This is probably the most common and most basic enhancement you can do when that happens. Here we have a picture of beautiful Daytona... See anything wrong with the picture above?.....yes...color is off.....way off....not even funny.... The most simple solution to fix the color in most cases are the "Auto Color" function under the Image Tab. Image -> Adjustments -> Auto Color BAM~! See how much difference that simple button makes???? HUGE~! Next, I want that black dial to pop out a little more. Click and hold on the "Lasso Tool" and change it to "Magnetic Lasso Tool". And carefully, go around the area that you want to select..... Let's get the right contrast first... Image -> Adjustments -> Auto Contrast Now, let's get that level adjust to make the black dial pop out a little. Image -> Adjustments -> Levels... I will go ahead and change the first input level from 0 to 20. All done. Here are the "before" and "after" comparison pictures... *Before* *After* Cheers~! __________________

09-08-2007, 12:37 PM	#3
jiro Dark Overlord Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,828	I'm glad it helped you, mike~ let's see some of your before and after pictures!!! this post actually was posted earlier and was sticky but while moving to different section it accidently got deleted~ So, I re-posted it...hopefully, it will become sticky again so that other members can use this as a guide to their photo enhancement~ 8) __________________

09-08-2007, 01:38 PM	#6
cybee Flaneur Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Andreas Fault--Onion Fields--Big Sur Posts: 5,487 Awards Showcase Total Awards: 1	thanks jiro for sharing some of your secrets...now I will have no excuses. __________________

09-08-2007, 02:03 PM	#7
jiro Dark Overlord Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,828	and that's what I meant by the "advanced level", Dukie~ which i'm not good at~ __________________

09-08-2007, 02:36 PM	#9
higgy ADVISOR Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Antonio Posts: 3,446	Very good info jiro...and for those who don't have or can afford photoshop try this program...it's free and lets you do basic picture editing. Nothing as indepth as photoshop... http://picasa.google.com/ Thanks again jiro.... :wink: Higgy 8) __________________ ....................

09-08-2007, 12:25 PM	#2
trojanmike I Think I Like The Darkside! Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 77	Thanks for the very informative post jiro! I have a nice dslr but have never been able to get really detailed pictures. I picked up a tripod and lightbox this weekend and will see if that helps a bit. I did open up Photoshop and followed your advice on a few older watch shots and the difference is amazing! We should get this post stickied at the top of the forum! Thanks again!

09-08-2007, 01:12 PM	#4
optimus_prime I'M BANNED! Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 105	thanks jiro, what version of photoshop is that?

09-08-2007, 01:29 PM	#5
Dukie Dark Overlord Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 995	then you can take it a step further :twisted: watch photo courtesy TWP 8)

09-08-2007, 03:09 PM	#10
CISO1969 Dark Overlord Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: My other watch is a Seiko Posts: 1,471	Great post Jiro. And to add to Higgy's suggestion, another free tool for your tool box is : Irfanview at http://www.irfanview.com Anyone who has seen some of my "on the fly creations" what I used was old school tech: Irfan view and the windows "paint" application. This is much better suited for avatars, logos etc but you can get some good photo work too. I also have photoshop 7 but am so damn impatient I never really used it :roll: Great post once again! CISO __________________ CAVE ADSUM