Still Journal :: #7. Half Sepia Toning

Still Journal is a weekly digest of accumulated links, tutorials, news, tricks, ideas and creativity on the culture and art of modern photography.

Still Journal is currently on hiatus - hope to resume updates soon.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Best places to stargaze in the Midwest US? | Photographing the stars? Interesting question posed at Ask Metafilter on the best locations.
ask.metafilter.com

AIPP Winners - Best Photography of 2007 | An outstanding gallery of winners photos from the Australian Institute of Photographers for 2007.
aipp.com.au

Photography: The Art Of Being Prepared | "Over the years I’ve learned that being prepared is itself an art form. The art of preparedness is seldom just a generic chore and can require quite a bit of creative thought."
jmg-galleries

New Photo Magazine Online: MakingRoom | "MakingRoom is a magazine about the process, intention and results of image-making. You'll see quite a bit of photography here but MakingRoom is at heart an "Art Magazine" and will be open to the discussion of film, video, painting, and more."
makingroom.com | via: blog.photoblogs.org

Thursday, July 26, 2007

#7. Half Sepia Toning

Give a warm, yet grungy look to a photo by applying a half sepia effect.

Sometimes the light and colour you capture is too flat to create the right mood in a photograph. I spotted a great Half Sepia Tutorial on photoshoptutorials.ws that gives a nice warmth to a photo, and also a subtle grungy look.

A quick and dirty way to produce this effect in Photoshop:

1. Duplicate the photo layer.
2. Apply a sepia effect to the top layer (play with Image > Adjustments > Variations...).
3. Adjust the transparency of the top layer to suit (start at around 50%).

There are a few other tricks to bring out the best, so I recommend checking out the referenced article and giving it a try!

Conclusion
Combined with a little edge burning in and contrast adjustment, this effect can give a striking new depth and mood to a photo. Could suit a wide range of subject matter.

About The Photo
Taken at Puerto Natales on the coast of Chile during my recent travel in South America.

Posted on Wednesday, July 25, 2007

#16. Paranormal Blurry TV Effect
An effect frequently used and abused by horror/thriller films these days - now you can give your still images a spooky look.
View Technique

#15. That Cross-Processed look
Take a few years of a photograph and give it that nostalgic colour shift.
View Technique

#14. Soft Focus for Holiday Shots
The technique of applying Soft Focus to a photo is not just for portraits - give a dreamy look to your holiday photos.
View Technique

#13. Black & White Colour Overlay
A distinctive method of bringing out detail and depth in a photo.
View Technique

#12. Simulating Light Leaks
Another bygone characteristic of the film age that you can resurrect with a simple layer trick in Photoshop.
View Technique

#11. Creating dramatic skies.
Give your skies more punch with a simple Photoshop layer effect.
View Technique

#10. Vintage Film Effect
A quick and easy way to transform an image back in time with a vintage film effect.
View Technique

#9. Morning Light
Give a dazzling morning glow effect to a photograph.
View Technique

#8. Grunge Effect
Give an aged and grungy look to a photo.
View Technique

#6. Extreme Contrast (Faux Bleach Bypass)
Punch out the contrast and hold back the saturation of an image in this Faux Bleach Bypass technique.
View Technique

#5. Velvia Effect
Add subtle saturation and depth to bring out the best in a colour photograph.
View Technique

#4. Digital Infrared Effect
Creating a dramatic infrared effect in Photoshop.
View Technique

#3. Lens Blur (Selective Focus)
Give your action shots a visual boost with this selective-focus/lens-blur effect.
View Technique

#2. Ray of Light
Adding shafts of light to photos with a single light source.
View Technique

#1. Faux Lomo Effect
A modern digital approach to creating a traditional alternative process.
View Technique