USVL shot

[Nikolai]

This was originally pretty lousy shot, but the kids were great and I decided to save it. A few layers, shades and new CS2's Warp tool - and I think it turned out at least decent:

http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/22690418-L-1.jpg

[Eric&Susan]

That's a cool effect Nik, I like it:thumb


Eric

[TassieD]

Hi Nik, I like it and dare say they will also. I have to start learning some of these effects.

[jwear]

nice effect Nik is that in my begginer book :D and those dam blondes like egrets have blow outs . A good idea for team work shots :thumb

[Nikolai]

That's a cool effect Nik, I like it:thumb
Eric
It's very "by the book", but hey, that's what the books are for:-)

Cheers!:1drink

[Nikolai]

Hi Nik, I like it and dare say they will also. I have to start learning some of these effects.Good luck in learning! PS is a great fun!
Cheers!:1drink

[Nikolai]

nice effect Nik is that in my begginer book :D and those dam blondes like egrets have blow outs . A good idea for team work shots :thumbActually, it is:-)
I did leave this blowout in place since I was mimicking el cheapo polaroid effect.
Cheers, mate!:1drink

[wxwax]

Great idea, Nikolai, it looks really good. :thumb

[Angelo]

nice capture, nice save, great post :clap

[Nikolai]

Great idea, Nikolai, it looks really good. :thumbGlad you like it.:-)
Cheers!:1drink

[Nikolai]

nice capture, nice save, great post :clapThanks, man, appreciate it!
Cheers!:1drink

[Lg-ann]

:clap :clap very cool!!! I love it !

[lr1811]

That's cool!! Is there a step by step process you can explain on that?!

Brian

[SirArmstrong]

It's very "by the book", but hey, that's what the books are for:-)

Cheers!:1drink
Even so, your creative application makes the difference. I like it. :thumb

[Nikolai]

:clap :clap very cool!!! I love it !I hope eventually their parents will love it, too:-):wink

[Nikolai]

Even so, your creative application makes the difference. I like it. :thumb
Classic recipes are hard to spoil:-)

Cheers!:1drink

[Nikolai]

That's cool!! Is there a step by step process you can explain on that?!
BrianThanks, Brian!

It took me several iterations to do this, but the approximate venue is as follows
For those who are comfortable with PS already the whole routine can be described as:


Create target layer (Multiply) with border and shadow
Warp it
Use original selection to create a correct shadow in the corners
Lower the lightness on the background and motion blur it to center
For the inexperienced PS users here goes a step-by-step. It may seem like a very long and complicated process - but it's not, trust me:

Have an idea in your head:-) - this is usually the hardest part:-)
Open the image in PS CS2
Ctrl+J make a new copy of the original layer - I always start with that to ensure the backround is there is I need it
Using marquee tool make a rectangular selection which will be your "target frame" - it's not gonna be vertical fo now, that's ok
Menu: Select|Transform Selection. Rotate and adjust selection to what you target frame is goona be. Make sure you leave some space for the white border inside this selection.
Save the selection (you gonna need it later)
Make sure selection is active, Ctrl+J. It will create a new layer with your frame in it
Hit Ctrl+J again, it will create another copy
On this new layer, change the blending mode to Multiply. If it's too bright, adjust opacity. I ended up with about 45%.
Hit Ctrl+E to merge two top layers into one.
On that merged layer create new effect layer (button with f letter on it)
Select stroke effect (white color, adjust width, inside)
On the same layer select drop shadow, adjust parameteres fo match the picture/imagination
Select the merged layer (not the effect one)
Ctrl+Click on the layer icon to select just the layer
Menu: Edit|Transform|Warp
Adjust the corners to create the slightly warped picture
(NOTE: there is a bug in CS2's warp tool - it may create one or several white circles. I worked around it by changing the viewing scale to a smaller scale)
Now the only problem is that shadow warped with the picture, while at the cornders we need the bigger shadow. Here where we need our original selection
Select the 1-st copy layer (it should be simply a copy of the background)
Load selection
Ctrl+J - create another frame of the original selection
Hide all the layers above it
Fill it with black (many ways to do it, one of them - "d", select, Shift+Backspace, fill with foreground color)
Gaussian Blur with 20..30 pixel radius
Change the opacity so it looks like the shadow
Ctrl+click to select
Transform it in to a trapezoid to create the proper shadow, confirm transformation
Make al layers visible, make final adjustments to opacities, shapes and whatever paparmeters you feel like.
Select the 1st copy, create new adjustment Hue/Saturation layer
Change the lightness to shade the background
Select Filter|Blur|Motion Blur, set it to radial, about 10 pixels, hit ok
Save as PSD and as JPG
Upload JPG:-)
Guys, once again: I *know* this sounds scary. It's not, and it's fun.
Once I figured out what I wanted it took me less than 5 minutes to do it (I spent a lot of time finding the workaround for that warp bug, though) from start to finish.

Hope this helps!
Cheers!:1drink