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05/28/2006 08:16:06 PM · #1 |
Well, Picasa has now been ported to Linux, so I got my first taste of it today. It's still in the first beta release, so there's some 'bugs' that will need to be fixed, but so far I like it.
My question is this:
Picasa has some editing capabilities that the GIMP does not (duotone, focal B&W, etc.) and I was wondering if anyone knew which actions were 'legal' in advanced editing (or even basic editing) and which were not.
I'm specifically wondering about the duotone action (I think it's called 'Tint') and two others - one is called 'focal B&W' which desaturates around a focal point and the other is called 'soft focus' which softens focus around a center point.
An example using the last two actions is this (and I know there's a huge shadow here - she was too close to the backdrop and wouldn't move forward, so this is what I got :P) :
Picasa also has something called 'fill light'. Would that be legal in advanced or basic (or neither)?
Any help is appreciated.
Sara
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05/28/2006 08:52:09 PM · #2 |
Originally posted by saracat:
Well, Picasa has now been ported to Linux, so I got my first taste of it today. It's still in the first beta release, so there's some 'bugs' that will need to be fixed, but so far I like it.
My question is this:
Picasa has some editing capabilities that the GIMP does not (duotone, focal B&W, etc.) and I was wondering if anyone knew which actions were 'legal' in advanced editing (or even basic editing) and which were not.
I'm specifically wondering about the duotone action (I think it's called 'Tint') and two others - one is called 'focal B&W' which desaturates around a focal point and the other is called 'soft focus' which softens focus around a center point.
Picasa also has something called 'fill light'. Would that be legal in advanced or basic (or neither)?
Any help is appreciated.
Sara |
Focal B&W is fine in advanced because the rules have not put a limitation on color manipulation.
Soft Focus is fine as well, assuming the blur is not too extreme; it sounds like it would be no different than duplicating a layer, applying gaussian blur, and adding a layer mask with a radial gradient.
Tint seems to be ok as well. I can't imagine it's a lot different than a "Color Balance" adjustment.
Don't quote me on this, I've never used Picassa, but everything that you've mentioned sounds perfectly legal if applied within reason. Remember, a good rule of thumb is that as long as you don't change a major element, you'll probably be fine.
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05/28/2006 09:48:22 PM · #3 |
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05/28/2006 11:37:52 PM · #4 |
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05/28/2006 11:44:20 PM · #5 |
I use Picasa extensively. Just dont use focal b/w, glow and gradient in basic editing. "Tint" is not great for duetone. I get the best results by converting the pic to b/w and then playing with color temperature to get desired results (though this limits me on what colors I can get). Picasa is great when it comes to basic editing. Its Simple.
Let me know if you have any specific questions on Picasa.
Message edited by author 2006-05-28 23:45:01.
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05/29/2006 09:43:55 AM · #6 |
Thanks, tejinder.
I haven't run across any problems yet (now that I've figured out how to save a photo I've modified!), but I shall certainly keep you in mind for when I do find something I can't figure out!
:)
Sara
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05/29/2006 11:20:27 AM · #7 |
Originally posted by tejinder:
I use Picasa extensively. Just dont use focal b/w, glow and gradient in basic editing. |
This sounds right -- that most of those tools would be legal for Advanced but not Basic challenges. Remember though that any filter (blurring, etc.) if applied to an excessive degree (sorry, can't define that) can still result in a DQ. |
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05/29/2006 11:25:35 AM · #8 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by tejinder:
I use Picasa extensively. Just dont use focal b/w, glow and gradient in basic editing. |
This sounds right -- that most of those tools would be legal for Advanced but not Basic challenges. Remember though that any filter (blurring, etc.) if applied to an excessive degree (sorry, can't define that) can still result in a DQ. |
Isn't that only for obscuring a background? Would you say that blurring a background while allowing for the background to be recognizeable to be in safe territory?
edit -
Something like this, I just added some blur to the background flowers to draw your attention down to the foreground one better.
Message edited by author 2006-05-29 11:27:11.
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05/29/2006 11:46:15 AM · #9 |
Originally posted by wavelength:
Isn't that only for obscuring a background? Would you say that blurring a background while allowing for the background to be recognizeable to be in safe territory? |
I don't know if "safe territory" is the exact phrase I'd use, I think the degree of blurring in your example would be acceptable -- I'll look for a recent example where I used something like this myself.
If you blurred the BG to a solid red or black it probably wouldn't pass muster ...
Here, read the editing details on this one ...
Behold a Pale Egg
Isaac's sister Heather at the family Easter gathering.
-Created mask for subject
-RGB Curve on BG
-Hue/Sat adjustment on BG to partially desaturate
-RGB and Blue/Yellow Curves on subject
-Gaussian Blur on BG at 16 pixels radius
-Cropped to final aspect ratio
-Created gradient mask L>R covering hand and arm
-Gaussian Blur applied to hand/arm at 4 pixel radius
-Resize for DPC
-USM at 12%/48 dia/TH=0
-USM at 88%/0.8 dia/TH=7
-Retouched a few over-sharpened artifacts around hair and clothing using Clone, Dodge/Burn, and Blur tools
-SaveAs JPEG at quality 9/10 = 136kb
Message edited by author 2006-05-29 11:49:09. |
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