One thing I have always enjoyed was seeing what people do with the resources that I put out there for them to use.  Be it textures, actions, frames, brushes, etc., it is inspiring to see how they get used.  To give everyone a more central place to share their creations, I created a group on Flickr: Dubtastic’s Textures & Frames. If have used any of my resources, and have not already done so, go drop them into the group pool.  I would love to see what you have come up with.  Also, to celebrate the group, I am releasing 5 new hi-res grunge textures for free. Download them after the jump.

Enjoy!

As part of this post-processing series, readers are encouraged to send in their files for me to work with and write something up on after processing it.  This was one of the first images sent to me and I really had a tough time with it.  After looking at it, I really did not want to do anything at all with it.

The main reason I did not want to touch the image was that I really thought it was great already.  The natural light in the background is great and their colors are wonderful.  Being a portrait, the photographer clearly understood that as the focus here is more about the eyes and the face.

So what would I do?  If this were a client of mine they would certainly get this image with just a few minor adjustments (just to give it a little more punch).  But the more I thought about it, what really could I do to work this image when it was already good to begin with?  It was really tough to decide what direction to go in. What I would normally do, if I liked the shot enough, would be to give the client the shot as it was.  I would also work on an additional shot which had the post-processing in it.  So that is where this explanation comes into play.

As with 99% of what I shoot, this was first imported into Lightroom.  The photographer was kind enough to send over a raw file to work with so I was able to treat the photo just as I would any other.

Here is what you need:

• Adobe Lightroom & Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Lightroom presets by Sarah J (Autumn Presets) {Free}
• Ghostbones “Gray Matter” texture {Free}
• Shadowhouse texture set {Free}
• My skin softening Photoshop action {Free}

Here is the original image:

From the data in the file, I see that the image was taken with a Nikon D50 with the following settings: f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO-400, and at 50mm.

After importing the photo into Lightroom, I bumped the clarity and saturation of the photo with the sliders in the Develop tab.  Then, I applied the Retro Warm preset from Sarah J.  I love this preset with this image because it really goes well with her skin.  The warm tones are soothing to me for some reason.

Next, I brought the image into Photoshop for some additional processing.  The first step was to soften the skin just a notch.  Run my Photoshop skin softening action which should give you a bit softer look:

Since the portrait is all about the eyes, the next step was to bring the eyes out just a little bit more.  Here is where you have to be a little careful.  Too much emphasis pulls the eyes out too much and rather than it appear normal, they look artificial.  You want people to notice the eyes but they cannot be too strong or it just comes across overworked.

Using the Rectangular Marque Tool (M), I copy the eyes and bring them into a new layer (Command+ J or Control + J).  I then run the Unsharp Mask filter on the new eye layer with the following settings:

If you find that the results are too strong, lower the Amount from 84% down to 50% and/or lower the radius to 1.0 pixels.  You can always lower the opacity of the eye layer to reduce the effect as well.

Next, to balance out the sky a bit, I wanted to bring back in some of the colors that were in the original image, namely the purple.  So I created a color fill layer with a layer mask (I used a color hex value of #290a59).  Using the Linear Gradient Tool (G) (Foreground color set to black and background color set to white) I placed a gradient to mask out the purple over the subject yet leave some in over the sky.

If you want to see the layer mask and your image at the same time, simply hit Shift + | (pipe). I then changed the blending mode to “Soft Light” and dropped the opacity down to 80%.  Here is what I ended up with:

Since I absolutely love working with textures, I thought something placed in this image might make for a cool effect and also help punch the overall warm tones up even more.  First, I started with this texture by Shadowhouse Creations:

I added this texture on top of all of the other layers and set the blending mode to “Overlay” and dropped the opacity down to 80%.  Keep in mind this is still about the subject, so not wanting to leave a texture over the subject, I masked it out.  I created a layer mask on this new texture layer.  With a soft-edged paint brush and black as my foreground color, I painted on the areas I wanted to mask off, leaving the texture to appear more in the background.

Next, I used this texture:

As with the previous step, I changed the blending mode to “Overlay”, dropped the opacity down to 80%, and masked out the subject.  Here is the image so far:

I think that this is a pretty good stopping point, actually.  To enhance the effect of the sunset, I did add a little lens flare.  Yea, I said lens flare.  Poor lens flare.  What used to be a cool filter was so quickly abused and overused by Photoshop users worldwide.  Should you want to take that risk, create a new layer above the “Color Fill” layer and under the two texture layers.  Fill this layer with black and drop in your lens flare.  To have it blend a little better with the overall image, I changed the blending mode to “Screen” and lowered the opacity down to 80%.

I have mentioned a few times that I am working on a Photoshop resource DVD which will include actions, textures, etc.  To prove I have been working on something (ha!) I am releasing a sample pack containing 10 of the 100 new hi-res grunge textures that I plan to include on the disc.  All textures are 4256 x 2832 in size at 300DPI.  So they should be suitable for your photos, designs, etc.

To download the hi-res image, click on an image below:

Rules

• You may use these textures in any project: personal, commercial, profit, non-profit.
• You are not required to link back to me, give me credit, shake my hand, walk my dog, bake me a cake, or do anything else aside from use the stock photographs.  However, a link back and credit is appreciated.
• You may NOT modify these and redistribute, even if not for profit.
• You are required to eat chips & salsa at a Mexican joint at least once in my honor.
• You may use these in printed publications, graphics, artwork, etc without obtaining prior permission from me.  If you are using any of the stock photos in a printed publication, flyer, etc, I would love to see a final version of how the photos were used.

“Bring the Rain” | 52.10

So it is safe to say I have been slacking with this 52 weeks thing.  No really, slacking.  It has been nearly 3 months since my last weekly shot, but you see, I have good reason.  Back in January my wife and I welcomed our second daughter into the world and life has not been the same ever since.  The free time I get is used very wisely and naturally paying gigs come before my personal projects.  Still, this project provided a much needed outlet for me, something I have been missing quite a bit.

Thus the reason behind this image.  Lately, with the amount of stress my wife and I are under, it feels like all we have to do is reach out to feel it start pouring down on us. We are extremely thankful for this new addition in our life but the adjustment period has left us feeling exhausted, drained, and shells of what we were. It feels like no matter how often we see dry land, we end up with the feeling of keeping our heads above water.  I would love to say more but this is a photography related blog, right? Just a very stressful time right now.

Enough complaining…

The setup here was relatively simple.  I knew in the back of my mind the direction I wanted to take and needed an initial shot to get this started off right.  This was shot in the studio against a white backdrop.  There were two Calumet Genesis 400s shot into umbrellas to blow the white backdrop out.  Directly in front of me was an Alien Bee ABR800 ring flash with a 56” moon unit.  The lights were all triggered with Cybersyncs.  The shot was taken with a Nikon D700 and Nikon 24-70mm lens.  Settings were ISO200, f/10, and 1/250th.

The shot was actually taken last week, but I just have not had the time to process it the way that I would have wanted.  Here is the original shot from the camera:

Yea, you can tell the light to my left needs some adjusting as the backdrop is not blown out.  Ugh. Here is a shot zoomed out a tad

We were still getting the settings correct and the lights where we wanted.  Without our blockers on hand we used the umbrellas to block the spill from the back.  A little rough around the edges but we got it done.

There was a wide array of processing done using brushes and textures (include Les Blumes and Skeletal Mess).  I looked around for specific cloud images and just couldn’t find what I wanted, so I purchased this image from iStock and then used it to create the clouds as I wanted them.  Here is the final:

If you are like me, you love finding resources online for your work.  When they are hi-res that is great.  When they are hi-res AND free that is even better.  Here are 8 new hi-res grunge textures for you to use in your work.  All of the images are 4256px x 2832px and 300DPI.

To download the hi-res version, click on the image below.  Terms of use are available at the hi-res page.

TXTR26:

TXTR27:

TXTR28:

TXTR29:

TXTR30:

TXTR31:

TXTR32 (Not sure what happened here, but this one is a bit smaller than the others):

TXTR33:

If you use these, I would love to see your creations.  Credit/links back are not required but encouraged and appreciated.

I have been scanning in old slides taken by my great-grandfather.  Some of these slides are really interesting to look at.  While scanning them, I came across an empty frame.  Thinking it would make for a decent TtV, I scanned it in.  Bringing it into Photoshop for a few minor adjustments and texture additions seemed to just polish off the process.

View the entire set or download each image individually:

Dubtastic TtV 001
Dubtastic TtV 002
Dubtastic TtV 003
Dubtastic TtV 004
Dubtastic TtV 005

Usage Guidelines:

1. You may use these stock photos (those only marked as such) in any project: personal, commercial, profit, non-profit.
2. A link back and credit is appreciated.
3. You may NOT modify these and redistribute, even if not for profit.
4. You may use these in printed publications, graphics, artwork, etc without obtaining prior permission from me.  If you are using any of the stock photos in a printed publication, flyer, etc, I would love to see a final version of how the photos were used.
5. By using this TtV image, you agree to smack your significant other on the right butt cheek while screaming my name.  If you are currently single, any random person will suffice.
6. If you are with a magazine publisher and wish to cover mount these on a CD for inclusion in a specific issue, please let me know and I would be glad to provide you a single zip file.

I have received a lot of positive feedback from the first set of hi-res grunge textures that I released back in May. I like the idea of throwing out some large images for others to use without locking it down so there are a ton of silly rules.  I always get frustrated when I locate a resource but run into an obstacle placed there by the creator. So without further delay, here are ten more hi-res grunge images suitable for photomanipulations.

Rules for Use

+ You may use these stock photos (and only photos marked as such) in any project: personal, commercial, profit, non-profit.
+ You are not required to link back to me, give me credit, shake my hand, walk my dog, bake me a cake, or do anything else aside from use the stock photographs.
+ However, a link back and credit is appreciated. I would, however, appreciate it if you would tag your photos and post a small version of how you used the photo here.
+ You may use these in printed publications, graphics, artwork, etc without obtaining prior permission from me.  If you are using any of the stock photos in a printed publication, flyer, etc, I would love to see a final version of how the photos were used.
+ If you have a fish tank, you have to rename at least one fish after me. If you do not have a fish tank you are required to write my name on at least one bathroom mirror in your home.  Please use either pink or purple lipstick.
+ You may NOT modify these and redistribute.

These initial 10 textures will fit right in with those images you are look to grunge up or add some texture to.

One frustration of mine is finding a great resource and then having your hands tied by some overly exhaustive guideline provided by the creating artist.  Sometimes I believe that people get too carried away with the rules and restrictions they apply to their resources. Especially when they might be searching for some resources and become frustrated by restrictive guides as well.  A recent rant of mine talks about people uploading photos to a FREE stock photo site, yet requiring the user to contact them, etc.  I digress. I want to avoid all of that with my textures, which is why I am encouraging the outright abuse of these textures.  Well, you get what I mean. So these textures are for your use and abuse.  I do have a few guidelines (scroll down) , but I believe you will find them relatively easy to follow.  If not, then perhaps you should stop using the computer all together.

You may download the hi-res by clicking on the texture below, or view the whole set.

Rules

• You may use these stock photos (those only marked as such) in any project: personal, commercial, profit, non-profit.
• You are not required to link back to me, give me credit, shake my hand, walk my dog, bake me a cake, or do anything else aside from use the stock photographs.  However, a link back and credit is appreciated. If you like to run around your house naked except for potholders, it would be cool if you would scream my name a few times.
• You may NOT modify these and redistribute, even if not for profit.
• You may use these in printed publications, graphics, artwork, etc without obtaining prior permission from me.  If you are using any of the stock photos in a printed publication, flyer, etc, I would love to see a final version of how the photos were used.

Lately I have been working on processing a group of photographs taken in an abandoned home here in Georgia.  To make room for development, the old has to be tossed out, leaving a small gem for those interesting in exploration photography of this type.

As uncomfortable as I was being in this house taking pictures, I enjoyed it thoroughly.  It was not until I got back home and began working the images that I realized just what I had done and where I had been.  I believe that many times we get caught up in composing the right shot, visually planning, and positioning that the past and buried memories are directly underneath us.  I thought about the living room, with destroyed fireplace and couch turned upside down, and imagined how many Christmas mornings were shared in that room.  I imagined how many arguments and lectures were given between parents and children in the rooms.  I imagined the meals shared in the kitchen area.  It became more of an experience for me than I had initially thought it would.

Secondly, I processed these photos more than I normally would do.  Bordering on more Photoshop than photography, I really did not care.  I have spent too much time lately worrying about traditionalist photographers and their disdain for the digital world.  I worry too much about the digital world and the need to get that perfect shot.  I simply did what I wanted to do and there is so much freedom and power in that artistically that I could never explain it on a blog.

All of these images are also available on my Flickr account. I would love to hear your feedback on them, either here, or on the Flickr set. And if you feel so inclined, you may purchase prints as well.