Photo and Pictures

Here is a description how you can brighten up dark areas in your photos using Gimp. It’s important that you understand how to use layers and layer mask . We have an image to start from where we have large dark areas.

The idea now is that I’ll just light up the dark areas. I create only one copy of a new layer by duplicating my original layer. The next step will be to me to make the image black and white and that is accomplished by the easiest way by Colors / Desaturate. Next, you invert the black and white layer, which you do under Colors / Invert.

Then we’ll take and make this layer blurred using Gaussian Blur, which you will find the Filter / Blur / Gaussian Blur. Here you can adjust it a little depending on what resolution the picture has. Now that you have your blurry black and white image, you should make a layer mask on it, you can do by selecting the layer and right click. You should choose to make a layer mask in gray-scale copy. You adjust the layer mode to Soft Light then so will the dark areas to light up. Is not it enough, you can copy the layers several times and even adjust the strength of the opacity.

You can easily fake a short depth of field with the Gimp. It may be interesting for you to have a compact camera as the lens for most compact cameras do not allow for a short depth of field. You need a picture where you want to highlight a portion of the picture clearer than the foreground and background.

You start by making a copy of the layer. So you have two identical layers. The next step is to use the filter “Gaussian Blur” on the top layer to make the entire stock blurred. The next step is to create a layer mask and it can be done by right-clicking the layer in lagervyn and choose “Add layer mask”. You then select the menu item “White (full opacity)”

Use selective sharpening through layer mask not to loose so much information. This might be applied to all corrections of some part of the picture that might be dangerous to the information of the picture as a whole. If you use layer masks creatively you might have a end product using jpg as good as the one´s that use Raw, but it might be time consuming. So use it only if the corrections are small and on some corrections. You have to choose your battles when photo editing.

Adjustment Layers in Photoshop adds an editor that does not destroy the original image. It allows you to easily experiment with different layers and it becomes easy to test your way. In addition, it is then easy to use old adjustment layers to other images. You do not need to reinvent the wheel.

This is probably the feature I miss most in Gimp . It would be good if there was anything like this in the next major update of Gimp.

Here’s a short video from Pxleyes , which shows how adjustment layers work.

Of course you can retouch the Gimp and it is just as flexible as in Photoshop. It’s important that you get to know the tools and perhaps especially Cloning and Healing Brush. In the movie, you see what you can accomplish with Gimp a program that is open source and free to use. Photoshop costs a lot more. You can use the money on a photography course so you do not need to use imaging as much.

How do you remove red eye from your pictures when you are using Gimp? It is common that when you use flash on people or animals so happens that my eyes turn red. That’s because the retina is filled with red blood vessels that reflect the light from your flash.

What can you do so you will not get red eye in your photos?

- Don’t drink alcohol cause the slower reactions make your eyes react slower and so do the retina. as you can see in the pictures.

- Change the angle slightly so that the light is not reflected directly into the camera

- Bounce flash against the wall or ceiling (if you can have a loose flash that you can target)

- Use a coffee filter or other paper to diffuse the strobe

- Move closer or farther away from your subject

- Lit more light-source so that pupils become smaller.

- See if you can turn on the camera’s anti-Redeye function if it has any. (Works so that it sends one or more bursts before it exposes the real thing)

If the accident has been there and you have a lot of photos with red eyes. In Gimp , makes it easy to remove red eye. You select eyes with lasso function. By zooming in and pressing Shift + left mouse button when you select, you can easily select both eyes. Select error, you can easily remove it you have done in stages by doing the undo (ctrl + z). Once you have marked as your eyes, just visit the Filters / Enhance, and select “Remove red-eye”.

Read more: Photocrititc writes about red-eye removable , Gimpguru have a more advanced version if you think that the built-in is not sufficient.

To create a circular motion like this photo in the article. You can always rotate your camera during long shutter speed. Take a look at this picture where i just created circular motion with motion of the camera. You set the shutter speed high and then let the camera rotate during exposure and you will get this effect.

You can create the same motion using a motion filter in standard Gimp no need for a special filter. You choose Filters>Blur>Motion Blur> where you choose radial. You find description in manual. You will go from a picture without blur to one with circular motion blur and you decide where the centre will be placed. This is a simple way to create motion in a photo you take.

You can use long shutter speed both to create motion and panning the photo. Like this photo at this dog which i used an dslr. This picture on this boy on the go-around i am using a compact camera which i can set shutter speed.

Late at night it is a common problem that your heaven is not so interesting in your photo and you actually want to change it in your picture. Here you can see a picture i taken and then i take another one. The first one i focus on the heaven try to get it right and then try to focus on the ground using a different exposure.

Then you use your editing program. I use Gimp and a layermask with a gradient fill to use the heaven to the other ground so you get one good picture where ground and heaven have good exposure. Simply you get this picture as a result. The picture is taken with Olympus E-PL1.

Update: Noreen Hunter ask me about an explainage. I think i will make a movie about it using Camstudio.

Filters of photo editors have changed my photo making it more complete. You need to discover that editing pictures is actually changing the outcome and thus your photo. First you will start edit your existing photo, but soon you will start taking pictures how you know you will edit your photo.

At Kbarnis place you can find plugins to Bibble 5 Pro. Remember i will take no responsibility so your testing is falling upon yourself and your lust of doing so. Gmic has changed my use of Gimp, which in its use of filters really have changed my way of thinking of photo. “C2G” in Gimps gegl-engine will be another way to create contrast in your photo.

Photo: Bengt Båvegård
There are easy ways to make your old pictures and new. By selecting half your landscape in an image editing program and flip it and then copy it and paste it next to the old one you will get a new little strange landscape. I got the idea of Flickr Group Gimpusers. You can often go back to old photos, and both find gems that you missed, and through innovative thinking you can create wonderful images that you have not thought of when the picture was taken. Your creative side might be locked when the photo is made. Go back often and look at old pictures you will find plenty of gems. By crop creatively or mirror images, you often find new angles on old material.