The story behind this picture?
First, I took 50 or so pictures of my little darlings with the promise of princess gummy snacks if they posed for me. This shot pretty much sums up their feeling about posing for pictures.
Unfortunately, I did not get that one great shot of both girls together. But I did gets shots of each of them individually that I really liked.
This was my favorite shot of Claire:
And this was my favorite shot of Abby:
Enter Photoshop. I used the Polygonal Lasso Tool (the little dented lasso tool highlighted below) to select Claire's head and a portion of her body. Since the two pictures did not line up exactly, getting the right selection area took a bit a trial and error. Once the area was selected, I feathered the selection area by 20 pixels so the edges would blend nicely (Select menu, Feather, 20) .
Then I copied and pasted this Claire head into my favorite shot of Abby.
After everything was lined up nicely, I cropped the image a bit, increased the contrast and adjusted the levels a tiny bit.
Cheating? Absolutely. But have you tried getting a portrait of a toddler and a preschooler lately?
YOU are brilliant my friend!! I am completely and totally impressed by your skill!! And now I really REALLY need more lessons from you!
ReplyDeletepretty darn smart
ReplyDeleteBeautiful girls! Fantastic job on the picture. I never would have guessed you had Photoshopped that.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! If I may offer one tiny critique, its a little bit underexposed...it might print really dark. Easy fix, especially since you seem to know your way around photoshop.
ReplyDeleteWow, now that is extreme photography and I love it! I would put it on my mantel too!
ReplyDeletehoney you rock!! seriously high five!!
ReplyDeletelooks awesome :) like christmas card worthy!!
I am in awe of you! That is incredible. I wish I had photoshop, and I wish I knew how to do that! Thanks for sharing. Your girls are adorable.
ReplyDeleteThis why we call it making pictures, and not taking pictures.
ReplyDeleteIt's all about the end result.
I need to get photoshop.
Holy crap I never would have noticed. Just another reason I *need* photoshop!
ReplyDeletehey, do what you gotta do to get a nice shot! i'm just impressed that you were able to do it so seamlessly! nicely done!
ReplyDeletehappy PSF!
Wow!!!! Great work!! I never tried something like that. And am not sure I could. Love that shot!
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool and they are the most darling girls - REALLY! I wish I had Photoshop and had a clue how to use it - maybe one day I'll be as cool as you!
ReplyDeleteTake care and see you soon - Kellan
Wow, I am SO impressed. You wouldn't have even had to tell us! I never would have known!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful girls...
You totally rock. And yes, I have tried getting a picture of a toddler and a baby lately and it is IMPOSSIBLE! Great thinking!
ReplyDeleteNo WAY!!! You can do that? Awesome!
ReplyDeleteI need lessons. We try to pose and take shots of our grandbabies often, like that could be possible.
ReplyDeletewow - I need lessons in this! I have 3 littl emunchkins - oh the torture - look here - smile - hey you look here!
ReplyDeleteFantastic!
WOW -- that is AWESOME! I love photoshop. GREAT photo. :)
ReplyDeleteMy Photo Story Friday
Holy Moly! Girl, you have some rockin PS skillz!
ReplyDeleteHad you not divulged your little secret, I would never had known!
Wow that is awesome! I would have NO IDEA how to do any of that...the photo looks awesome!
ReplyDeleteHa! Genius!
ReplyDeleteLove the final product! I am a huge fan of photoshop too! Amazing what you can do!
ReplyDeleteThe girls are beautiful and that photo will look great on the mantel!
i always love to go back and look at the ones that I originally think are "duds".
ReplyDeletethey usually end up being the JEWELS of the bunch.
Oh man! I wish I knew how or even had photoshop!!! I have tried to take pictures of toddlers and on up lately and it is impossible!!!
ReplyDeleteGood job!
Wow!! That is a fantastic picture - cheating or not. But I say it is fair knowing just how hard it is to get a nice picture of two young ones.
ReplyDeleteI love the photo..
ReplyDeleteand I must say you are amazing..
Great editing..
Very.Cool.
ReplyDeleteGreat work with Photoshop!
I am starring this post in my reader so that when I have to do this a week or two I can follow your instructions. I KNOW I will need them!
ReplyDeleteI love the end result!
Wait a sec...I have to pick my jaw up off the floor.
ReplyDeleteYou have got to be kidding me!!!
Never in a million years would I have thought of that nor would I deem myself capable of such technologically advanced cropping.
WOW!!!
Now, why don't photo studios do that? Think of all the time and energy that could be saved trying to get that perfect shot of everyone.
Seriously, I would have never known if you hadn't pointed it out. I just saw that first pic and thought - "Wow! She got lucky."
I've got to get Photoshop.
seriously.....the best photoshop merge of two photos I have seen. I simply can NOT tell that you did it. rock on with your bad self. :) thumbs up from me.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics! I love the tips too, am currently plugging hubby for a copy of photoshop right now!
ReplyDeleteOhhhh - I did that with out Christmas picture this year!! LOL - isn't PS awesome?! I didn't do it the way you did, as I have PSE6...not sure if I can do it that way - I may have to try it. But yeah really - you can NEVER get two kids to smile pretty at the same time! Way to go - and awesome finished product!
ReplyDelete