chiaraluna Workshop Photos Given

(2560) [2005-09-23 04:33:45] [10] [+]

hey Stef!

well here's the ws i did for you.. it started with the desire to make the photo b&w and just leave the lips red and then evolved into this whole dramatic tranformation.. i really enjoyed doing it! ihih

so this is what i did: (what i can remember anyway)
* cropped to main facial features and added some usm
* made 2 layers, turned top one b&w with the channel mixer and made it very high key
* erased top layer over the lips to reveal the red
* adjusted levels on top layer to further the high key contrasts
* flattend layers and used the blur tool to soften and blend the outline of the red lips against the face
* added a light diffuse glow with gentle grain
* then framed with text in a poster like format

i really hope you'll like it! :-)

big hugs,
Ayda

*.* Anissima *.* (38) *
chiaraluna

(2560)

the original image

(2560) [2005-08-01 06:07:46]

just how the flowers looked when shot.. newly born and before their creative journey ^_^

New Zealand

A Winters Day Silhouette (34)
Dawn

(17508)

spooky movie look :-)

(2560) [2005-07-13 14:02:11] [1]

just wanted to try and give the spooky haunted b&w look which i'm really fond of to this beautiful tree :-)

here's what i did:
* made black and white and intensified contrasts with the channel mixer
* used levels to further burn the contrasts of the clouds
* applied some usm
* cropped off the frame and slightly reduced the size
* ran through a low setting of neat image to reduce the slight noise in the dark parts of the sky
* added more usm in photoshop and applied a gradient fill layer over the image to darken the foreground and add even more mood
* boosted highlights in levels to intensify the clouds
* a finally reframed

really hope you'll like it Dawn!

take care,
Ayda

Italy

my love in Genova (12)
piermad

(397)

movie star treatment :-)

(2560) [2005-07-12 22:42:32] [6]

i hope you'll like my movie star view of your lovely girlfriend Pierpaolo :-)

here's what i did:
* cropped tightly to the face to focus on her beautiful eyes
* resisized to make larger and applied some USM to sharpen
* applied a gradient map to achieve a high contrast black and white result
* added a very light diffuse glow with no grain
* adjusted levels to enhance the shadows and midtones
* and finally framed

complimenti ancora per la foto e la ragazza!

Ayda

...Loneliness... (90) *
chiaraluna

(2560)

simpler frame..

(2560) [2005-07-11 06:22:40] [+]

it felt like the darkness was surrunding me.. creeping in on my world.. so i made the frame the way i did to illustrate that feeling... but here's a simple black border if preferred..

Lithuania

Radvile (10) *
rimas

(797)

black, white & red :-)

(2560) [2005-07-10 17:39:29] [1]

just couldn't resist trying to make this black and white except for the little red creature on her hair.. hope you'll like it :-)

what i did:
* made image slighty smaller to later add a frame
* selected the moth with the magic wand tool and inverted the selection
* made a duplicate copy of the whole image and turned it b&w with channel mixer
* made only the selected area of the original copy b&w again with channel mixer (leaving the moth red) and then erased any small areas left in colour on the hair revealing the black & white from the backround copy layer below
* played with the saturation & levels of the moth and then the levels of the rest of the image
* added some usm all over
* finally framed :-)

again.. hope you'll like it!

take care,
Ayda

Poland

Barbara (10)
LeHo

(2426)

dramatic colour fade technique..

(2560) [2005-07-03 16:00:55] [11]

like i say i think this is a beautiful portrait.. and as i usually tend to do b&w workshops i thought i'd experiment with a different technique.. colour fade is something i've been working with a bit lately and i just liked the way if looked on this girls lovely face :-)

* first i selected the black background in the lower left corner and applied angled strokes brushstrokes to even out the texture while leaving some depth rather than just flood filling with a solid colour
* then applied usm to the face and hair
* saturated the reds in the hair
* added a light diffuse glow with no grain to her face
* applied a horizontal colour fade in photoshop actions to create a high contrast gradient from a porcellain white face to the rich reds of the hair
* did some blending work with the colour transitions in the hair using the history brush
* played a little more with saturation and contrasts
* and finally framed with a bold matte style border

rather unusual looking i know.. but i thought there was a kind of theatrical drama & beauty to the result.. so i really hope you like this little experiment! :-)

take care,
Ayda

Title: My Little Passion FlowerToshiba PDR-4300

My Little Passion Flower (38)
chiaraluna

(2560)

original lily :-)

(2560) [2005-07-02 14:08:21]

post-crop, pre-processing..

France

Stairs (14)
lglandon (73)

A Black & White Mood :-)

(2560) [2005-06-23 14:36:55] [7]

hi Laurent :-)

well, like i said, i love this shot and just wanted to see how it would look with my favoured grainy b&w mood.. i really hope you'll like it!

here's what i did:
* cropped to a slightly different composition
* made b&w using the channel mixer to achieve a strong but subtle contrast
* further played with shadows and highlights in levels
* added grain through the 'add noise' filter in uniform monotone mode (i find 'add noise' gives more flexibilty and softness than the 'add grain' filter)
* then just framed with a classic simple white border

thanks for letting me play with your photo and i hope you like the result! ^_^

take care,
Ayda

Title: La Rosa D'Oro.. In MemoriumToshiba PDR-4300

La Rosa D'Oro.. In Memorium (28)
chiaraluna

(2560)

the 'film noir' treatment..

(2560) [2005-06-13 07:27:18]

le fluer noir al film noir :-)