JANUARY 10: Imperfect Photo

Discussion in 'MOC Challenges' started by Trista, Jan 10, 2015.

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  1. Jan 10, 2015 #1
    Trista

    Trista I'm Working On It

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    I am so excited to bring you DAY 10 of the 2015 Month Of Challenges!

    Whether you are an enthusiast or an advanced level photographer we have all had our fair share of mishaps with the camera. From busy backgrounds, blurry shots, bad lighting, and even the occasional uncooperative toddler. :tantrum :hissy

    Bad photos happen. As memory keepers we may not always have the ideal photo, but we shouldn't let a bad photo ruin a great memory.


    Today, I am sharing a few of the tricks that I use to "fix" an imperfect photo. There is of course the option to edit a photo with editing software like Photoshop, but we won't get into that for this challenge because the possibilities are endless. Instead, let's talk about a few other ways to salvage a bad photo.

    Creative Cropping: In this example, I have taken a busy photo and cropped it to make it a little less distracting. Aside from the noisy cell phone photo you can see a lot of people in the background that are distracting. Cropping the photo closer brings the focus back on the main subjects of the photo.
    [​IMG]

    Black and White: In this example, I have switched a busy photo from color to black and white to help bring the focus back on the subject.
    [​IMG]

    A few other tricks that will work to improve an imperfect photo include:
    * Blurring distracting objects in a photo.
    * Blending a photo into the background.
    * Masking a photo with a photo mask.

    One final tip that I would like to offer is to Accept it! Sometimes a photo is imperfect and you just have to accept it for the sake of documenting the memory.

    Here is the page I created.
    [​IMG]
    I used the frame to disguise some of the busy background once I converted the image to black and white.
    Credits:
    I Am Beautiful - Little Butterfly Wings
    Butterfly Basics: Grateful Elements - Little Butterfly Wings

    The Challenge:
    Now it's your turn! I challenge you to create a layout using an imperfect photo. You can edit or adjust the photo in any way. Share with us your trick for "fixing" the photo.

    I know this thread is going to fill up with stunning pages, so don't forget to give our fellow scrappers some love in the gallery.

    Challenge Details:
    Your page must be a new page in order to count for the Month of Challenges. Please post your page in the page thread you created in this forum. You should have one post per completed challenge page. If you complete all 31 challenges, your thread should contain 31 posts. Please do not comment in the participants’ page threads so we can keep them clean. You should also post your page here in this thread, and people can comment here if they wish. Pages should contain at least 75% current Lilypad product (currently for sale in the store from either permanent designers or guest designers).
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2015
    Trista, Jan 10, 2015
    Trista, Jan 10, 2015
    #1
  2. Jan 10, 2015 #2
    bellbird

    bellbird Pollywog

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    the challenge here is *which* imperfect photo to use -- thanks for your tips and prompt Trista
     
    bellbird, Jan 10, 2015
    bellbird, Jan 10, 2015
    #2
  3. Jan 10, 2015 #3
    lorryfach

    lorryfach Likes to be chauffeured

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    Cropping and strategic element placement to get around distracting backgrounds
    [​IMG]
     
    lorryfach, Jan 10, 2015
    lorryfach, Jan 10, 2015
    #3
  4. Jan 10, 2015 #4
    ArisaMinamoto

    ArisaMinamoto Crazy for Coffee

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    [​IMG]

    heres the original photo --->
    [​IMG]

    i used: auto adjustment, auto color, auto color tone, old grain action, b/w action and cropped it :)
     
    ArisaMinamoto, Jan 10, 2015
    ArisaMinamoto, Jan 10, 2015
    #4
  5. Jan 10, 2015 #5
    bellbird

    bellbird Pollywog

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    hey if anyone can suggest a fix or work around for this shot - the only one i have with DS's Toy Story fave Rex, i'd love to hear - or grab it from my photobucket and see what you can do - my PS skills aren't good enough to 'patch' this - i dont know why the parents of this girl didn't think to tell her to move - we stood there for 5mins and i took two shots - she's like this in both
    [​IMG]
     
    bellbird, Jan 10, 2015
    bellbird, Jan 10, 2015
    #5
  6. Jan 10, 2015 #6
    thomsen

    thomsen Olive Juice ...

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    Photo fix: Lighten, skin smothing, cropped, b/w background, blurred background, softening effect on the colored parts

    [​IMG]
     
    thomsen, Jan 10, 2015
    thomsen, Jan 10, 2015
    #6
  7. Jan 10, 2015 #7
    lorryfach

    lorryfach Likes to be chauffeured

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    Justine, I'd probably use an element to block her. Perhaps a journaling card poking over the photo in just that corner, or a doodle, ribbon, tree, or stemmed flower that can poke up over her.
     
    lorryfach, Jan 10, 2015
    lorryfach, Jan 10, 2015
    #7
  8. Jan 10, 2015 #8
    wendy85

    wendy85 Guest

    I have cropped the photo and did the blur filter fading environment on the background

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 11, 2015
    wendy85, Jan 10, 2015
    wendy85, Jan 10, 2015
    #8
  9. Jan 10, 2015 #9
    VickyD

    VickyD Coffee - I need an IV for that!!

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    This would be my solution too - A JC can hide all of her xx
     
    VickyD, Jan 10, 2015
    VickyD, Jan 10, 2015
    #9
  10. Jan 10, 2015 #10
    bellbird

    bellbird Pollywog

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    thanks for the idea!
     
    bellbird, Jan 10, 2015
    bellbird, Jan 10, 2015
    #10
  11. Jan 10, 2015 #11
    dvhoward

    dvhoward Don't bother me before 10am!

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    Here's my attempt at it. I'm not necessarily good at it, but... hopefully you can use it.
    [​IMG]
     
    dvhoward, Jan 10, 2015
    dvhoward, Jan 10, 2015
    #11
  12. Jan 10, 2015 #12
    omuli

    omuli La!La!La! I can't heaaar you!

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    I blurred the background (which had dirty dishes on the table) and adjusted the levels to make photo a little brighter.
    [​IMG]
     
    omuli, Jan 10, 2015
    omuli, Jan 10, 2015
    #12
  13. Jan 10, 2015 #13
    dennydenny

    dennydenny Why can't it snow in the Bahamas?

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    My before and after picture:
    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    I crop the photo, "delete" some stains from the glass of the car, add a bit of brightness and contrast... :)

    Here's my page
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2015
    dennydenny, Jan 10, 2015
    dennydenny, Jan 10, 2015
    #13
  14. Jan 10, 2015 #14
    Mother Bear

    Mother Bear Crikey!

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    I cropped the photo as the background was too busy, added a light filter to lighten, sharpened to fix the blur and converted to b&w.

    [​IMG]
     
    Mother Bear, Jan 10, 2015
    Mother Bear, Jan 10, 2015
    #14
  15. Jan 10, 2015 #15
    VickyD

    VickyD Coffee - I need an IV for that!!

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    [​IMG]




    The tag is covering an unwanted guest in my photo xx
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2015
    VickyD, Jan 10, 2015
    VickyD, Jan 10, 2015
    #15
  16. Jan 10, 2015 #16
    Celeste

    Celeste I'm moving to Hogwarts!

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    [​IMG]
     
    Celeste, Jan 10, 2015
    Celeste, Jan 10, 2015
    #16
  17. Jan 10, 2015 #17
    bellbird

    bellbird Pollywog

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    oh wow! this is sooooo much better than i could have hoped for! thanks so much Diane! this is one i can print and stick in a frame now! it's one of my fave disney photos and i've been depressed about it for ages France is a long way from Aust, we won't get this photo-op again) - u have no idea how grateful i am!

    anyway, this was my attempt at just covering it up
    [​IMG]
     
    bellbird, Jan 10, 2015
    bellbird, Jan 10, 2015
    #17
  18. Jan 10, 2015 #18
    chigirl

    chigirl Candy Corn junkie

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    every child in this pic was wearing different color jp's, not to mention that couch...the only help was to convert to b&w

    [​IMG]
     
    chigirl, Jan 10, 2015
    chigirl, Jan 10, 2015
    #18
  19. Jan 10, 2015 #19
    MlleTerraMoka

    MlleTerraMoka Well-Known Member

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    my photo before cropping :
    [​IMG]

    My layout with my photo cropped :
    [​IMG]
     
    MlleTerraMoka, Jan 10, 2015
    MlleTerraMoka, Jan 10, 2015
    #19
  20. Jan 10, 2015 #20
    mollyc

    mollyc PrettyPinkPicturesPlease

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    [​IMG]

    i brightened and cropped tighter to make the most of a poor in-camera crop...plus the whole thing is pretty out of focus.
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2015
    mollyc, Jan 10, 2015
    mollyc, Jan 10, 2015
    #20
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