Jillian's Thread

[Jillianweedmark]

Hey everyone.
I hope you guys haven't missed me too much. LOL
I've kept intouch with a couple of you, and thought to come back to the site on a casual note.
I always LOVED seeing your retouched versions of me, and always LOVED complementing you guys
So I thought I would return.
But before I go any further I would like to thank everyone who helped out on my Women's Studies project. We presented our work in a power point presentation and our final grade was 97%!
WOOT WOOT!!!
We really weren't after a killer grade, but to have the time to drill home how the media is infact selling an image to adolescent girls.
RetouchPRO's retouchers, and the media and SOOOooo different.
There's a difference between skills and talents, and stupidness and false hopes.
RetouchPRO is an amazing site, and if anyone has a second to practice their skills I would be thrilled to see your work on any photos I post.
I also have access to a new Digital camera. (What do you think of the quality)
I personally love how for once my eyes aren't stupid BROWN and that you can tell the true colours
IF you would like a larger version than what I have posted you can e-mail me at Jillian_Weedmark@hotmail.com
Thanks guys and have fun;
Jillian

Photos:

Photo #1 This is a close up. I have yet to figure out how to work the timer... something farther away will come soon. I figured I'd get you guys warmed up a bit

[Jillianweedmark]

88 views, no feedback.
Are these okay photos to work with?

[NancyJ]

You should probably use better titles than Jillian's thread every time
...and say what you actually want from the thread.

[Peter S]

Forgive me if this sounds cynical.
I would seem that you want the people here to do some more work for you.
This is a learning forum, we are quite happy to help you with pictures if you require assistance with styles etc. but not to do all the work for you.
Why did you remove all your pictures when you had finished with us?
No one else had the chance to look at them or even give their own interpretations.
I for one will not be working on your pictures.

Peter

[Jillianweedmark]

1) A different title - what couldn't be more simple
2) I am learning how to do thing myself - thank you
3) Learning from you on what you did to the photos that I have would create guidelines
4) Privacy: The Girls in my WISE (Women's Studies Class) didn't want their photos up, Ben and my photos were personal (someone made a comment that was very out line) making me think that taking off the remaining photos would me smart.
5) This wasn't meant to make anyone upset. One person ruined it for the rest, and that's how it goes in life.
6) I'm sorry that you got this impression from me.
7) For those of you that don't see me as (using her own words) some demanding photo w***e than I would love if you could help me learn the techniques there are.

I just took two photos and thought that the bigger the better.
I would love to see what you can do, and see whether I can reach the same techniques you have. I'd like to keep things natural looking, but that's never been a problem.

I'm sad to have this type of welcome back... but really I guess I was asking for it not explaining myself.
Peter you're an awesome and talented person, and I'm sorry that you've felt this way for a while now, my appologies.
Jillian

[miguel]

if you are "learning" why don't you post a pic that you've worked on to show us how much you've learned

[Jillianweedmark]

If you don't want to practice on the pictures then feel free not to
And I will be learning through other forms. I don't have the program right now, and I don't have any knowledge on this topic.

For those who would like to practice themselves, please feel free.
I would love to know what tools you used as this will be very helpful to me, and other users. I will be keeping everyone's photos up

For those who think this is a fighting match, bugger off! I've appologized, now let's move on.

[Janet Petty]

This picture is better quality than the others you had posted. The camera phones just don't give a person much to work with.

If you want to learn, then I'd suggest finding a good college class (I assume you are in college). You will get the benefit of an instructor, hands on experience, and a wealth of tutorials to experiment with. You know the old adage, take one FUN class every semester to stay sane. Try it. You might like it.

Janet

[Jillianweedmark]

Classes are a good idea.
But I don't learn from instructions. I teach myself.
Some of the more talented people in the world have taken the time (and the longer way) and taught themselves. I am not in school as I am rather ill. This week was my first time home in quiet some time. The rest of my time I was in IC or at the doctors office.
Thanks though for your suggestions, but I'm bed ridden for a while.

[Kraellin]

welcome back, jillian

first off, if you EVER receive ANY abusive, invalidative, snide, or offensive remarks, private messages or emails as a result of being on this site, then report it immediately to a moderator or to doug nelson. that sort of behavior is NOT conducive to the friendly, helpful environment we attempt to maintain here. dont EVER let those go. ALWAYS report them!

second, it is the policy of this site, as stated in the FAQs, to not do freebies. however, there is nothing that says you cant donate an image to one of the challenges or to the art forum for others to work on. it was one of the reasons i suggested to you before that you place your image(s) in the art forum. basically, it's a sort of gift that others may choose to work on or not.

and third, i too was a bit surprised you took all of your pictures down, especially the ones of yourself. i found this out when working on one of you for the art forum and went to post it and there was no longer any thread. a shame. i was rather pleased with the work and no thread i do understand removing the others. so, thank you for letting us know about that.

and fourth, i enjoyed working on your images, freebie or not, and i hope you post more. but in light of all that's occurred, you might try the challenge forums or the art forums as being a little more in line with the site policies, at least until such time as you are actively working on the images yourself.

and fifth, lighten up, folks many of us enjoyed working on jililan's images. her engaging, vivacious, and energetic spirit were quite enjoyable to many. and her payment was always a warm remark or joyous 'wow!'. to me, that's often payment enough

so, welcome back, jillian

[Cassidy]

Congrats on the 97% for your Women's Studies Project

[bart_hickman]

Generically speaking, I did the following:

1. Pincushion distortion added to undo the barrel distortion look from such a close perspective.
2. Used shadow/highlight tool to bring up the shadows slightly (I like portraits with a little less contrast).
3. Curve that is slightly pushed down near the highlights to make them a bit less harsh and bring out textures there.
4. Some of the degrunge method followed by some healing to smooth the skin
5. Boost saturation of the eyes and hair
6. As is typical with many brands of P&S cameras (Canon comes to mind), the shadows lose all color information, so I copied/pasted the left eye onto the right eye and adjusted brightness to sort of match.
7. Color balance to warm things up a bit--also could use a warming photo filter.
8. Added a levels adj layer with multiply blend mode. Applied a radial gradient mask to darken the edges softly--brings more attention to the subject.

Bart

[Jillianweedmark]

Craig:
Good morning Craig!
Thank you for posting here. It really started my day off with a bit more hope for this site. As far as the comments (from before) I just let them roll of my back. But, if they occur again, I won't let them slide.
I remembered this site as a positive and constructive site, and due to this I returned. Though things started off with a bump I have recieved LOTS of help (Kerry and Bart thank you both!). Getting back on my feet will take some time, so I thought to discover the world of retouching photos.
What program would you suggest I look into. As a beginner I'm not ready to purchase an expensive program. Just something to dip my toes in. I have a photoshop CD somewhere. It's about 2 years old and that should work. I never knew what all the honking buttons where. So perhaps today I will search for that CD and follow up with some questions on here later.
I will look into the art forum as I don't want to come off as wanting freebies.
Helping others with their skills, and aquiring (sp?) some myself is the whole point behind this.
Cassidy:
Thanks! We really worked down to the last second to make sure everything was running smoothly. And our message, and everyone's help made that 97% come true!
Bart:
Thanks for your addition to this thread. Your step by step instructions will be extremely helpful onces I get some sort of program running. What program did you use. And the photo itself is amazing! After reading what you did I can appreciate every step you did. Some suggestions for another photo would be great. I'm not handy with the camera really (it's new and has far too many buttons).
Everyone:
If there is a photo that you thought was perfect for retouching based on the lighting and the quality I would be pleased as punch if you could add the link to this site and I can attempt to get the same quality photo.
If anyone would like to practice further please don't hesitate. I always check the site for updates, mine and others. So it's up to you.

Jillian

[Cassidy]

Jillian, if you have a 2 yo photoshop, then that's pretty current, maybe do a bit of searching on the web for help and instructions, also consult the help file. Don't know if there is still a free 24 hour access to www.lynda.com (online progressive video tutorials), but that is worth a try once you get a program installed to have a play with. Some handy video tutorials can be found at http://www.russellbrown.com/tips_tech.html
These are mainly photoshop oriented

[Jillianweedmark]

New motivation to find that darn CD!
Thanks for your direction I'll be sure you get back to you on my progress
Misson: Find la CD

[palms]

Jillian
Craig has given you some sound advice, have a look through some of the threads in the art forum there are some excellent ones there and should you post some photo's there you will get some great and interesting results, ( sometimes not always what you would expect)
I was also going to add while recuperrating you could have a bash at using some software find your old cd out and load it, or i believe Gimp is a free download ( ikroll is the expert on that one and he is very helpful) the time will fly for you then and you will have had fun into the bargain.
Also could i put a different take on what has been said previously Jillian may not have posted any "attempts" but if i remember rightly she commented on everything anyone done ( not many of us can say that ) and as she is not familiar with any of the techniques that may be a unbiased opinion ? seen from a different angle !
Ultimately the choice is ours to have a go at a photo or not
well i have chose to, just messing around with cspringers illustrated look again might get there one day
Jillian i think it happened before as well as now have messed around with the amount of beauty spots sorry

Palms

[Jillianweedmark]

On the ... spot
Hey! This is a great version of the photo. I love how you kept the texture of the sweater I was wearing rough, and then smoothed out my face. I look like a diva! (That's a good need no need to fret)
I was actually made aware of GIMP 5 minutes ago and am all over the downloading process like a dirty shirt.
Art forum:
I'm starting slow in that section and just posted to see if anyone would be interested in playing around with some photos and so on. I think it would be a great learning experience and it's a blast to mess around with photos. I mean, hello! I've been playing in PAINT BRUSH all this time! That takes pactience and talent folks!
Anyways! I'm off to d/l some fun.
I'll be back on later inquiring about GIMP and what button does what
Thanks you guys! This day is so much better that yesterday!
Jillian

[JimJam]

I don't know if you deserved the cold welcome you received or not but I will add my work here for now. I use Photoshop's Elements 2 so you don't need the latest and greatest from Adobe to make some great images. And the addition of two free plug-ins Impressionist and optic Verve Labs -Virtual Photographer greatly expand photoshops abilities.

[CJ Swartz]

Jillian, most of us all learned on our own, with some seminars or classes along the way, but you can't learn without DOING. Reading how someone here did something, or reading a tutorial (there are many of them on this website and all over the internet) doesn't help you learn until you actually open up a program and start practicing it yourself.

[Jillianweedmark]

That only makes sense... I did mention that I'm downloading a could programs at the moment and moment's away from DOING!! Hold me BACK!

[palms]

Originally Posted by Jillianweedmark

On the ... spot
Hey! This is a great version of the photo. I love how you kept the texture of the sweater I was wearing rough, and then smoothed out my face. Jillian

Thank you Jillian
i am another one who has learnt by "doing" and the best learning curve is right here on retouch, loads to read and believe it or not loads of people who will help you out with the even the silliest of questions

hope you enjoy gimp

Palms

[Lorraine]

Hi Jillian,

It's good to hear from you. I'm thrilled that your group presentation went to so well. Hope you feel better soon.

I'm among the many that have learned practically everything from RetouchPRO. Also took a few classes in Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro from www.lvsonline.com to learn the mechanics of the programs.

Lorraine

[Jillianweedmark]

A moment of everyones time to recognize the effort and hard freaking work that goes into retouching photos.
Last night I downloaded Gimp - I think I only have 8 more days of the free trail - and I SUCK! Horrible! I have no clue what I'm doing and am extremely unmotivated.
Practice makes perfect I guess....

[JimJam]

No practice makes better, lots and lots and lots and lots of practice makes near perfect.

[palms]

There's a game some of us play here occasionaly it is called "what if" translated it means "what happens if i press this button or move this slider this way, or combine these layers " just have fun see what you can do using the "what if " method you learn loads that way even if it is just finding your way around your software

Palms

[Ziaphra]

Originally Posted by Jillianweedmark

A moment of everyones time to recognize the effort and hard freaking work that goes into retouching photos.
Last night I downloaded Gimp - I think I only have 8 more days of the free trail - and I SUCK! Horrible! I have no clue what I'm doing and am extremely unmotivated.
Practice makes perfect I guess....

Could you show us which website you downloaded it from Jillian because GIMP software is free and if there is a website charging for it, they should be reported.

[Jillianweedmark]

I went to download.com and typed in GIMP I had to download to things to make the program run..... well see what happens.

[joey florio]

>>>>>>I think I only have 8 more days of the free trail

Sounds fishy to me.

Where's the Photoshop CD?

Adobe.com - you can download any of their products for a full month, full version.

I think JW is playing everybody like a violin.

[Cameraken]

Very Fishy.

On the 22/11/06 in the Women's Studies Thread Gillian Wrote

Blown out of the water!
Hey guys - the whole group is here and we just want to thank each and everyone of you for helping us and taking the time to work on this project!
We will be still looking on here for any other submissions as we don't present until DECEMBER FIRST (1st). But - as it stands right now your photos have made a great presentation and we have you guys to thank for it!!!!
You work is amazing and the time that you've taken from your days has gone to a great cause. We will post our final mark on here as soon as we get it.
Thanks,
Jillian, Jenny, Amanda, Anne, and Amanda
__________________
Jillian

source
http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache...&ct=clnk&cd=26


In post 5 in this thread Gillian Wrote

4) Privacy: The Girls in my WISE (Women's Studies Class) didn't want their photos up, Ben and my photos were personal (someone made a comment that was very out line) making me think that taking off the remaining photos would me smart.

But one of the photographs is still on the net here

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/4162/jennyhps0.jpg


Ken.

[CJ Swartz]

Originally Posted by Jillianweedmark

A moment of everyones time to recognize the effort and hard freaking work that goes into retouching photos.
Last night I downloaded Gimp - I think I only have 8 more days of the free trail - and I SUCK! Horrible! I have no clue what I'm doing and am extremely unmotivated.
Practice makes perfect I guess....

Jillian -- everything is hard at the beginning when we don't know how to do it.
The only things that are easy to do are the things we've already learned how to do well. You have no need to learn to do retouching or to learn GIMP or Photoshop -- if you want to stop before you try and go do other things instead, that's completely up to you -- you know where your interests lie. If there's a reason that you want to learn to work with photos, then just take some time and start to learn one thing at a time with the program. When you start learning it and knowing how to do that, move on to a second thing. It's just like everything else you've learned to do in your life -- it's hard at the beginning and gets easier -- when it gets easier, it gets to be even more fun.

Oh, and GIMP from download.com is free -- no trial period.