Hello all! Ready for some fun, creativity and perhaps to learn something new? So what is a technique challenge? The host challenger selects a specific “technique” to try. It may be brand new for some, or just a challenge to be creative for others. Techniques may include high/low key, macro, portraits, landscapes, abstracts, the possibilities are endless. It could even be specific techniques in processing. The host will select a technique along with some links and examples. Constructive & kind feedback is encouraged. Feel free to share tips, suggestions or how you were able to get the terrific photo you did. Posting your photo on this thread is encouraged but not required. The challenges will last about 7 days.
To post a photo on this thread:
1) Go to your page that has the photo you would like to post.
2) Find the code located toward the bottom right side of your page. The code is on the right side of the word "share". Copy that code and paste it in this thread.
All photos must be taken within the challenge dates. Enter as many as you would like. Voting will last about 3 days. The winner will host a new challenge (or gets someone else to host it).
This week’s technique challenge is what I like to call MINI PORTRAIT photography. The goal of mini portraits is to take a picture of small objects (a cup, pair of shoes, flowers, necklace, ect.) and place yourself within the image. It will appear as though you are as small as the objects! This is a challenging technique but there is an amazing website below that has tutorials on how to accomplish this effect. I learned everything I know about mini portraits from this site. The key to getting a successful image is getting the similar lighting and colors in both images. Make sure to TAG your photos as “ technique7 "
@myhrhelper If gimp has an eraser tool you should be able to erase the background of the subject you are shrinking. Even if the erasing doesn't leave a perfect edge it shouldn't be too noticeable since the image will be a lot smaller once you downsize it. I hope that helps!
I wish my photoshop skills were better, it would have looked more realistic and polished. Now, it just looks like another amateur attempt. But it IS my first time. So, I'm not going to beat myself on it too much. Hopefully, I'll improve on this technique, because I love it.
Advice to self: When you are trying a new technique, don't think of complex ideas. K.I.S.S. :-)
@ikamera I love the concept you created here! Smart idea to use black and white; it makes the colors very realistic! The only suggestion I have would be to try and add some shadows underneath the young boys and play with the depth of field. Shadows are often overlooked but can really make images feel grounded and complete. Also, when making mini portraits its good to see where the focus is and make sure you place the small subjects in the same plane. This is great for your first time, excellent work!
@mrsbaldy Very creative idea on the first photo. I am impressed you built that yourself! For some reason I am having trouble seeing the mini subject though.
I think your second attempt is extremely successful! The lighting looks correct and the composition is well thought out. My suggestion would be to play with the colors of the image as a whole. Sometimes if the two subjects have very different coloring I add color filters or overlays to unify the entire image. Just some food for thought, but great 2nd attempt! I would also think about the ground in the photo. Grass is hard to work with in mini portraits because it covers very particular parts of the subject and is not flat. It may be easier to create a realistic mini portrait on concrete or any flat surface.
@lam Lauren, thank you very much for the feedback. That was very helpful. I agree with the shadows. I should have added more. There were some under the shoes of the left little guy, so I kept those and I added some on the right mini portrait. Now I see they are not quite visible.
What do you mean by play with DOF? Can you elaborate a little? I really like this technique, and would love to learn to do it well.
Also, are there any more helpful links and tutorials? I tried to google, but apparently I am not using the right keyword. Is there a formal name to this technique? The link you posted is great, but I didn't see any other articles on that site, however, there were so many amazing images that he made.
I'll try to post one more today. I have an idea but need to get supplies for it.
@ikamera By DOP I meant that it is important to make sure the focus is all in the same part of the picture. If you have a lot of bokeh and you put a sharp subject into the background the picture will look manipulated because the mini subject will be sharp when it would actually appear blurry. In my photo with the tea cups, you can see how I placed the subject right next to the sharp tea cup so that the focus is along the same line. I hope that makes sense!
Unfortunately I am not aware of any other tutorials. The website I posted is where I came across the idea! However, I will keep an eye out for more. You could try looking up ways to cut people out of pictures seamlessly and how to color correct an image that has conflicting colors. Those are both useful tools in this technique. Can't wait to see the next idea!
I guess it definitely is somewhat better than the first one.
@lam Lauren, please critique and give any suggestions for improvement. I have to improve my skills on cutting out people seamlessly. What technique do you use to cut people out? Quick mask or quick selection tool? I realize there's so many ways to do it, but curious to know how you do it so perfectly and which one you found is better. Thanks for all your help.
you should extend this challenge for a bit longer Lauren, 10 days is a good length so people have time to think it over and then do the work, just a thought
@ikamera Wow this one is incredible! I love the idea here and the picture is very seamless. I love how the color of the shirt matches the cookies and the pop of yellow really makes the picture stand out. Very excellent job on this one!
My only critique is to think about the way in which your subject is interacting with the objects. This is a very minor detail, but it might have been nice to have his fingers coming over the edge of the bowl so it appears like he is golding onto it. That being said, I think this photo is super cute and well executed. I'm very impressed!
Your selection here looks really good; I even viewed it on zoom and thought the selection seemed fairly flawless. I select my subjects using the quick selection tool and then I use the refine mask tool to get the details of the subject. Refine Mask is an option under the Select pull down menu. Hope that helps!
Due to a thoughtful request I decided to extend the deadline for this challenge! It is a difficult and slightly time consuming project so I hope the extra time encourages more people to participate.
@kali66 Very nice photo! You handled the tones in the image very well. It looks very convincing that you are in picture with the bird because the lighting and colors are coherent. I also love the artistic framing device! A very clever way to draw the eye into your subjects. I think this photo has some conceptual potential as well. The way the bird is looking at the subject creates interaction between the two and the way the subject is spreading her arms like a bird further pushes the concept of the photo. Great composition and thoughtfulness!
You seem to have the hang of this technique, so I challenge you for next time to pay close attention to the hair of your subject. The hair is always my greatest challenge because it easily looks fake when stray hairs are missing. For next time I would try to either feather the selection on the hair or use the Refine Mask tool (under the pull down menu Select) to snag some of those little details. The line on your subjects hairline looks a bit too sharp. But other than that I think your selection works very well!
The only other thing I may think about on this particular photo is the little space between the subjects foot and the branch. Next time I would either put the foot touching the branch or move it further off the branch; my reasoning behind this is it is hard to tell if she is balancing or falling which creates a tension point to the eye. Tension points tend to look like mistakes. But this is just a very very minor detail.
Thanks for the submission and I hope to see more mini portraits from you! This picture is very successful and I enjoyed viewing it.
@ikamera I forgot to mention you did a wonderful job with the focus point on this photo. It looks very realistic because the focus point is consistent between the subject and the cookies, great job!
@lam Ha i moved her many many times to decide where to place her! nice to read your interpretation of it, and yes hair is difficult, in this case the background interfered a little much to really refine things. I do use the refine mask tool, perhaps not so successfully today :)
@northy This image is great, well done! Very creative idea and well executed. The lighting is successful in this image along with the composition. I think it was a very good decision to use black and white because it makes the contrast between the opposing sides very striking. It also makes it obvious that you are on the black team. Nice attention to detail there.
My only critique on this image would be to think about the shadow underneath your model. You nailed the stunning reflection but I think a shadow in addition to the reflection might help ground your subject. For some reason she looks like she is hovering a bit over the floor instead of standing directly on it. But that is a minor detail and overall this is a fantastic image and very believable! Great work!
@lam ahah! that's what i missed... the shadow... i knew there was something not quite right but couldn't quite put my finger on what...
mind you, i really wouldn't have a clue how to make a shadow :( i only got the reflection bit because PSE has a guide to get you thru it... thank you for that feedback... i will definitely think about this for next go around!
@northy Shadows are actually quite simple! What I usually do is select the bottom part of the subject that needs a shadow then go to filter-->gaussian blur and make the it pretty fuzzy. Then I go to image-->adjustments-->curves and bring the black slider all the way to the right to make the shadow black. Then I set the effect of that layer to multiply then adjust the size and opacity. Hope that helps!
@lam ok... this is where i quietly admit that i don't actually speak PSE ;p noting all this down to work it thru step by step next time i give this technique a go... tx!!!
@lam I was also going to suggest you extend this challenge a bit longer. This is an awesome challenge - I'm hoping I find a way to figure it out with Gimp.
@lam Thank you for your feedback and for extending the deadline.
I agree his fingers curled on the bowl would have looked good. I haven't used Refine Mask before, I'll look up on it.
I really want to do one with the environment with other regular size elements all over the picture with the subject being miniature. This one looks better but too simple and too set-up like. I don't know if I will have the time to do it, but I'll try.
@northy Great picture. Very well done. I totally agree with the time consuming part.
@gigiz I love the image you created! Your subject creates a nice diagonal cross the picture and the editing is well done. The concept is also extremely clever!
I actually don't have many suggestions for this picture. The only thing I can think of is next time you might consider extending the photo to incorporate more of the scene. I think your subject would appear smaller if there was more information to compare her size to. For example, if she is working on a shirt in this image you could have more of the shirt showing so that she looks small instead of the needle looking huge. But other than that excellent work!
i did one more... a bit of a rush job, but tons of fun nonetheless... thank you for setting this technique challenge and all the helpful feedback you've been providing!
@kali66 Such a great photo! I love how all the colors pop and play off of each other in the image and the various small objects (like the tape measure), which add to the feeling of smallness. I think the lighting and color is very successful in this image and the concept is very fun and creative!
One small detail I noticed was the fact that your subjects pants are very dark and blend into the background, making the situation slightly visually confusing. For next time I would consider wearing lighter pants so that we can see the whole form of the body. That being said I think everything else looks great and thanks for submitting!
@ilanga is your image on your 365 project? I had a brief look but didn't see it. Once it is in your project scroll down under the information side of the photo, at the bottom is a copy and paste code - highlight that and select copy, then come to this page and select paste, viola.
@colie Very great photos! I have to say that my favorite out of the two is the photo with the eagle; the composition is wonderful and the lighting works so well! I also love the color palette. On the photo with the young boy, I would be careful when sizing him because he looks a bit stretched, but otherwise great job!!
@ilanga Go to your page that has the photo. On the right side you will see a code inside a box - . The code is on the right side of the word "share". Copy that code and paste it in this thread.
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I wish my photoshop skills were better, it would have looked more realistic and polished. Now, it just looks like another amateur attempt. But it IS my first time. So, I'm not going to beat myself on it too much. Hopefully, I'll improve on this technique, because I love it.
Advice to self: When you are trying a new technique, don't think of complex ideas. K.I.S.S. :-)
I think your second attempt is extremely successful! The lighting looks correct and the composition is well thought out. My suggestion would be to play with the colors of the image as a whole. Sometimes if the two subjects have very different coloring I add color filters or overlays to unify the entire image. Just some food for thought, but great 2nd attempt! I would also think about the ground in the photo. Grass is hard to work with in mini portraits because it covers very particular parts of the subject and is not flat. It may be easier to create a realistic mini portrait on concrete or any flat surface.
What do you mean by play with DOF? Can you elaborate a little? I really like this technique, and would love to learn to do it well.
Also, are there any more helpful links and tutorials? I tried to google, but apparently I am not using the right keyword. Is there a formal name to this technique? The link you posted is great, but I didn't see any other articles on that site, however, there were so many amazing images that he made.
I'll try to post one more today. I have an idea but need to get supplies for it.
Unfortunately I am not aware of any other tutorials. The website I posted is where I came across the idea! However, I will keep an eye out for more. You could try looking up ways to cut people out of pictures seamlessly and how to color correct an image that has conflicting colors. Those are both useful tools in this technique. Can't wait to see the next idea!
I guess it definitely is somewhat better than the first one.
@lam Lauren, please critique and give any suggestions for improvement. I have to improve my skills on cutting out people seamlessly. What technique do you use to cut people out? Quick mask or quick selection tool? I realize there's so many ways to do it, but curious to know how you do it so perfectly and which one you found is better. Thanks for all your help.
My only critique is to think about the way in which your subject is interacting with the objects. This is a very minor detail, but it might have been nice to have his fingers coming over the edge of the bowl so it appears like he is golding onto it. That being said, I think this photo is super cute and well executed. I'm very impressed!
Your selection here looks really good; I even viewed it on zoom and thought the selection seemed fairly flawless. I select my subjects using the quick selection tool and then I use the refine mask tool to get the details of the subject. Refine Mask is an option under the Select pull down menu. Hope that helps!
Due to a thoughtful request I decided to extend the deadline for this challenge! It is a difficult and slightly time consuming project so I hope the extra time encourages more people to participate.
Good to luck all!
You seem to have the hang of this technique, so I challenge you for next time to pay close attention to the hair of your subject. The hair is always my greatest challenge because it easily looks fake when stray hairs are missing. For next time I would try to either feather the selection on the hair or use the Refine Mask tool (under the pull down menu Select) to snag some of those little details. The line on your subjects hairline looks a bit too sharp. But other than that I think your selection works very well!
The only other thing I may think about on this particular photo is the little space between the subjects foot and the branch. Next time I would either put the foot touching the branch or move it further off the branch; my reasoning behind this is it is hard to tell if she is balancing or falling which creates a tension point to the eye. Tension points tend to look like mistakes. But this is just a very very minor detail.
Thanks for the submission and I hope to see more mini portraits from you! This picture is very successful and I enjoyed viewing it.
My only critique on this image would be to think about the shadow underneath your model. You nailed the stunning reflection but I think a shadow in addition to the reflection might help ground your subject. For some reason she looks like she is hovering a bit over the floor instead of standing directly on it. But that is a minor detail and overall this is a fantastic image and very believable! Great work!
mind you, i really wouldn't have a clue how to make a shadow :( i only got the reflection bit because PSE has a guide to get you thru it... thank you for that feedback... i will definitely think about this for next go around!
I agree his fingers curled on the bowl would have looked good. I haven't used Refine Mask before, I'll look up on it.
I really want to do one with the environment with other regular size elements all over the picture with the subject being miniature. This one looks better but too simple and too set-up like. I don't know if I will have the time to do it, but I'll try.
@northy Great picture. Very well done. I totally agree with the time consuming part.
I actually don't have many suggestions for this picture. The only thing I can think of is next time you might consider extending the photo to incorporate more of the scene. I think your subject would appear smaller if there was more information to compare her size to. For example, if she is working on a shirt in this image you could have more of the shirt showing so that she looks small instead of the needle looking huge. But other than that excellent work!
a second try, the possibilities are endless for this technique.
I must say Lauren your comments on all the photos are so great, informative and thoughtful.
One small detail I noticed was the fact that your subjects pants are very dark and blend into the background, making the situation slightly visually confusing. For next time I would consider wearing lighter pants so that we can see the whole form of the body. That being said I think everything else looks great and thanks for submitting!
I get to copy. . .just can not paste it here. . .sorry