I very much wanted to combine the moon from one shot with the temple from another and with Jane's @jgpittinger 's guidance, I did this via Photoshop. The moon is too big but the only fix was starting over...PS users probably do this in 5 minutes, but hours later, I didn't have the heart to start again! A great learning experience -- it will get easier, I'm sure! It's all in learning layers...
Good luck to all on the east coast!
Here's what the moon really looked like, in Junko's photo from the same area: http://365project.org/jyokota/365/2016-01-21
I cloned it out of this one so there wouldn't be two moons, and then imagined where it would be when it rose higher in the sky (and grew in size?).
I love this photo with the larger than reality moon. You did a great job and like you said will learn more. You are amazing to me that you have learned and done what you have. I am so far behind and enjoy visiting your project to see just what you are up to in photos, travel and life. We are getting much needed rain and snow in the mountains. Life is good. Hope you are doing well. FAV
Wow Taffy! I'm no expert, but I see nothing here to apologize for! It's beautiful! The lighting overall looks like it could be possible on a moon-lit night, and like Joe said, it's beautifully serene! (You're about to get so hooked with these new toys!)
Nice shot, I quite like the moon the size that it is, but if you want to make it smaller you can click into the layer that contains the moon. select edit/free transform and then hold the shift key while reducing the size of the moon, (holding the shift key will keep the perspective without distorting it)
This is what I want to learn how to do! Layers is a complete blank to me and what I really need to learn! The image has a surreal effect which I love! Fav!
The beauty of using layers is that each layer stays it's own unless you merge the layers or flatten the image. Once you grasp layers the world is your oyster! @pamknowler Pam there are some great easy to follow tutorials on YouTube on using layers. I will post some links for you later.
My goal is to be more comfortable with PS this year. I have a book and I'm reading sections then trying to work with the topic. I haven't gotten to layers. I wonder if anyone out there would want to guide us PS newbies thru some tutorials? When I joined 365 last year I participated in the camera settings challenge and learned so much. Maybe a PS techniques challenge? I just wouldnt know who to ask!? Thoughts?
@pamknowler Pam the top one is a link to page describing layers. A bit long winded but well worth reading through. At the end of the blurb there is a link to a page discussing the layers panel (also well worth reading). The best way to learn about layers is to play around. The second link is a YouTube video showing things about layers.
You have combined things so well it looks like one shot. I use my little tablet or my hubby's iPad to post shots and get frustrated as I can't even use picmonkey on them . I'll just have to carry on takingunaltered shots
@salza Quick question...at this site (the tutorials are great -- they lay out the concepts behind the idea of layers so clearly and I'm also learning what some of the tools are that I didn't understand before), you can download PDF versions of the tutorials - http://www.photoshopessentials.com/print-ready-pdfs/ - and there are three membership levels, all pretty reasonable. Do you find it would be worth it, given your experience? Or would it be better to just order a book for reference as I did with LR? I can see that 'starting over' would be useful. Building on the work I've done with Jane, I feel like I now know enough that these make sense and some of the early ones I can go through fairly quickly, but there's something I'm learning in each one.
@onewing I know this is a really dumb question...but when I save the photo and leave PS, and then start a new photo, did photoshop keep the original version in its layers? Or did I need to do some kind of save so that it's saved in PS. OR, is it saved in layers in LR? When I went back to this shot, I couldn't figure out how to open in layers again.
@neatz Really? I have PSE 9 and it find it amazing but hard to figure out. Hence the book and starting at chapter 1 and just going thru it. Boring but I'm learning.
@taffy I have never had a book or downloaded anything. I have just watched video tutorials and read articles online. So unfortunately I cannot assist you on that one!
With regards to saving photos in Photoshop, if you save as a jpeg then you have no further access to the layers. Saving as a psd file keeps all the layers etc so you can go back and edit at any time, even months later. I usually save as both a psd and a jpeg.
@taffy Save your finished photo in Photoshop first as a PSD file. When you do 'save as' you can get a drop down box and one of the options will be Photoshop (*PSD; *.PDD) select that and save the photo, then you can go back into Save As and save it as a jpeg. The PSD copy you will be able to alter later because that keeps all the layers.
Just noticed that is what Sally Ings has just said. I do the same as Sally and save it as a PSD and a jpeg.
@onewing@salza Thanks...huge help...I was saving as .jpg and lost layers, and now will do both. It was too discouraging to have to start completely from scratch!
I think the larger moon works for this shot- it's sort of fanciful which works with the lighting and the building. Sometimes the moon does appear to be this big as it comes up on the horizon, so it's not beyond the realm of possibility. Nice!
hi - here is the Sandbox intro to layers, but you have probably mastered them by now :))
the two layers of the moon & temple can blend in screen or lighten mode. tag me any time you have an editing question if you think I could assist. cheers, Lyn
@ltodd Do you create your own textures using photoshop, or do you work in a program like Texture Effects and then import to PS to clean up and brush in details? I'm trying to sort out what I need to learn and in what order. I'm fairly confident in LR, but not at all in PS, and learning Texture Effects and that layering.
@taffy mmm I have just started keywording some images for 'textures' in LR. ( Clouds, fog, wood, concrete & out of focus flowers etc). There are a lot of poor quality textures available for free - but I like FrenchKIss, Shadow-housecreations and Jessica Drossin for more 'refined' (non-grungey) textures. I tend to change colours of the ones I find have worked well for me. http://frenchkisstextures.com/ was the place that excited me by using textures artfully and with style. Masking in PS can be a bit tricky to get the hang of - checking which layer you ar on & which ones are active. It is pretty easy to drop textures in CTRL-V as a new layer & then blending I pretty much use overlay, soft light, screen or multiply modes by trial and error! Opacity reduced 20-50% mostly.
I can use up to 5 different textures in an edit - all at different opacities & when I get close to the 'feel' then I fine-tunes them all again for blend mode & opacity.
Frenchkiss has a cool way of 'painting out' texture from the subject using the eye dropper tool & a big soft brush directly on the texture. Brushes are trick in PS - mostly leave flow to 50% & then change opacity with [ or ] keys. Use a soft brush most of the time. check the Sandbox discussions - there should be some good help there for you.
@ltodd The tutorial looks like it will be great. I have a meeting/retreat for work coming up and tied up tomorrow through Sunday, but next week I'm gong to spend the week focused on getting started in PS with textures. In the meantime, I'll play around in Texture Effects as it's pretty straightforward and I'm learning from it. I didn't want you to think I was ignoring your advice! I'm very grateful for all the tips!!
@pamknowler Pam there are some great easy to follow tutorials on YouTube on using layers. I will post some links for you later.
PS is amazing, I need more practice!
@pamknowler Pam the top one is a link to page describing layers. A bit long winded but well worth reading through. At the end of the blurb there is a link to a page discussing the layers panel (also well worth reading). The best way to learn about layers is to play around. The second link is a YouTube video showing things about layers.
@taffy Taffy I don't know if you have seen this.
@dianen Diane take a look at the link I have posted here
There are so many tutorials out there, Google 'using layers in Photoshop' and browse through them.
With regards to saving photos in Photoshop, if you save as a jpeg then you have no further access to the layers. Saving as a psd file keeps all the layers etc so you can go back and edit at any time, even months later. I usually save as both a psd and a jpeg.
Just noticed that is what Sally Ings has just said. I do the same as Sally and save it as a PSD and a jpeg.
the two layers of the moon & temple can blend in screen or lighten mode. tag me any time you have an editing question if you think I could assist. cheers, Lyn
I can use up to 5 different textures in an edit - all at different opacities & when I get close to the 'feel' then I fine-tunes them all again for blend mode & opacity.
Frenchkiss has a cool way of 'painting out' texture from the subject using the eye dropper tool & a big soft brush directly on the texture. Brushes are trick in PS - mostly leave flow to 50% & then change opacity with [ or ] keys. Use a soft brush most of the time. check the Sandbox discussions - there should be some good help there for you.