Isolation Tutorial (Basics)
posted on 16th of january, 2008
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So, I have finally launched my photography site. It is intended as a gallery to showcase my work to potential buyers and clients and organize my work into categories I see it fit. It is accompanied by a blog to muse on life & discuss my tutorials, and by referral links both for buyers and sellers. It is also intended to be a collection of tutorials on issues of noise, color correction, isolation, and so on - something that I can offer fellow photographers, both aspiring and more advanced. Now, on to the fun part. Did you really think all the images in this blog post were born over this perfectly white background? Well, in my first isolation tutorial, I look at the basics of isolation, and I am using a corner crop of this image of mine (the one to the left) as an example. In the second part, I will look at more complex issues of isolation (hair, fur, complex objects). Hopefully, these tutes will be of help to those who are starting to try their PS tools at isolation. Cheers :)
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Tags: isolation personal site tutorial website
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Comments (8)
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Comment by Charlesoutcalt
on January 24, 2008
PS: I don't think there's a way to see email addresses from the Dt profile, so here's mine: charlesoutcalt at gmail.com or coutcalt at mac.com. If you're serious about a photo expedition, let's talk! |
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Comment by Charlesoutcalt
on January 24, 2008
Hey! Thanks for the ideas on my troublesome skull photo (for what it's worth, I took it in the Museum of Natural History here in DC--their collection of animal skeletons is a little eery, but they're also very beautiful in a Georgia O'Keefe sort of way). Anyway, I'll try your ideas, and see what I can do. For the time being, I've pulled my submission (with the gray background) from Dt consideration.
Yes, a photo safari around DC would be great! I would love to have a chance to get some inspiration, share the dilemma of producing a fresh vision of the sites that have been photographed 10,000,000 times, etc. I saw on your bio that you have a Ph.D. and a career in an area completely unrelated to photography--ditto for me (my degree is in education, and I do research consulting and teaching). I am way way way behind you in both talent and progress in this photography business, but I am always willing to learn from those who are ahead of me! |
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Comment by Notebook
on January 24, 2008
Charles, well, with your "skull example" is two options: (1) use wand tool to get rid of the dark background and then use the burn tool to burn around the edges of the skull so that there are no leftovers (you might want to experiment with changing hte setting from "highlights" to "shadows" (wand tool is a less effective strategy); (2) pen tool ! set it to a small feathering though otherwise the edges will show the background color, or when you are making your selection with the pen tool "carve" a little bit into the area of the skull.... |
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Comment by Charlesoutcalt
on January 24, 2008
Olga, thanks for the comments in my blog, and the tutorials! I have spent a happy hour putting the first tutorial into action. It's very helpful.
I've got a question, though: I am trying to isolate an image that is lighter than its background (it's a beautiful, serene animal skull against a dark gray background). What can I do in this case? The levels procedure doesn't work, as the levels adjustment wipes out my image before it affects the background. Are there any work-arounds here? |
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Comment by Notebook
on January 17, 2008
UPDATE: by request, the isolation tutorial (basics, Part 1) is now a three-part tutorial on how to use several tools (pen, wand, levels, eraser tool) to achieve basic isolations
I will be writing Part 2 of this tutorial (advanced isolations) tomorrow, and I'd appreciate some feedback about what works and what doesn't (pm or email me).
Best, Olga |
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Comment by Kasiden
on January 17, 2008
Thank you for posting this informative article. I can't wait to try it! |
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Comment by Notebook
on January 17, 2008
Valeria73, was it what you were looking for? I'll have the second part of the tute up by tomorrow! |
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Comment by Valeria73
on January 17, 2008
I'll go and check your site right now, then! Se ya there!!! |
Comments (8) |
This article has been read 364 times.
Photo credits: Digitalphotonut, Patrick Hermans, Dragoneye, Olga Bogatyrenko. |
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