From snapshot to portraiture - Is it possible?

[pete.i]

Hey everyone

Just to let you all know that Beth is my hero


Pete

[solitear]

Pete..... how neat to hear from you again! You are so dear ..... I learned that stuff from these people..... your mother's wedding photo was such a special photo...... really....... I'd bet people would jump at a chance to have fun with it ...... you have been so thoughtful and appreciative in your notes and even in your post here ...... thank you.

oxoxo
Beth

[Kraellin]

i can see it now, the three of us in kindergarten together. i'd be eating the paste while i tried to tickle beth, cj would be finger painting on the back of beth's blouse and beth would be rolling on the floor laughing while trying to grab my paste

and if phyllis is our mother, i cant imagine who in the world would be the father... but i'm sure he would be a nervous wreck

[solitear]

The teacher called my Mom and I heard we all have to stay in for recess...... now that ought to be some real fun!!!!

oxoxox

[stosh7]

Beth buddy ... how have you been.

Great looking grandson ... I hope I did him justice with my edit.

Stosh

[solitear]

stosh7.......... HI ....... good to 'see' you!!!! I absolutely love what you've done with my little Caden..... what a dynamic look..... I am definitely sending his parents the link here...... thank you for working on this!!

And, if you'd have been here earlier, I know you'd have wound up being sent to the principals office with CJ, Craig and I...... hehehehehe

oxox

[PhotoVagrant]

QuickPortrait Boost

[solitear]

Hi PhotoVagrant....... that looks very nice...... I like that I can see him clearer and you've kept that 'look' that I like so much...... very, very nice.... thank you. Did you use Photoshop?

Beth

[JayBee]

My effort - went for a cooler finish:

[solitear]

Hi JayBee....... that is so good !!! My little guy is only 3 but he looks grown now...... this has a neat edgy look that goes well with the pose..... thank you!

Beth

[pete.i]

Beth

I cannot see your pic very well but if you have been married for 34 years did you get wed when you was about 5

Regards

Pete

[solitear]

Hi Pete...... hehehe....... Mike and I met in school (I was 15 and he was 18).... we were "boyfriend and girlfriend" meaning he walked me to class and we sat next to each other at the occasional donkey basketball game (yes, the players played basketball while riding donkeys).......

I guess I'm telling you all this to try and cover the fact that we married at ridiculously young ages..... I was 18 and he was 21....... our first child was born 3 yrs. later..... (just in case anyone else reading this is going Hmmmm...)
Ha!

Mike used to tell our children to go through puberty BEFORE you get married... it's a lot easier......

Here we are...... I'm glad I had to use the descreen feature when I scanned this...... it covereth a multitude of sins..... (I'm going to copy and print your very nice comment then put it all over the house)

Hey, check out those eyelashes..... Mike said they look like spider legs..... they're really mine but I there must be a whole tube of mascara caked on them....

oxoxo
Beth

[CJ Swartz]

Whoa, girlfriend! Those "spiderlegs" take me back some years!

I think you are much more the "natural girl" type -- no spiders were harmed during removal.

[solitear]

Thank you CJ....... I can't believe I didn't notice how extreme they looked..... Surely they looked like that because I looked so pale...... although, I do have a hard time leaving them alone...... I think it's because the eyelashes I have are long but there's only 4 of them...... I'll bet if the wind blew just right one might crack off and stab someone.....

This has turned into the weirdest thread....... hehehe

oxoxo
Beth

[CJ Swartz]

Originally Posted by solitear

...This has turned into the weirdest thread....... hehehe
oxoxo
Beth

Weird?! It starts with a question about using your new camera to shoot portraits of your kids/grandkids, then moves into retouching your example, then flies to Western Australia to visit the adorable numbat, hiccups over the debate over the charm/lack of charm of said numbats, sallies into the playground and kindergarten classrooms of years ago, re-visits the retouching of your adorable grandson's image, forges into flirtation land and renewal of past friendships, and passes through the valley of the giant spiders... Sounds like a typical day for a flight attendant... ? !

[pete.i]

Hey Beth

I am the big 40 this year and I have a son who is 23 so I know where you're coming from on the settling down early tip.

Still they bring great joy and empty pockets so its not all bad

Regards


Pete

[Kraellin]

a picture! oh, the temptations!

let me guess... mike is an engineer?

[PhotoVagrant]

Originally Posted by solitear

Hi PhotoVagrant....... that looks very nice...... I like that I can see him clearer and you've kept that 'look' that I like so much...... very, very nice.... thank you. Did you use Photoshop?

Beth

Glad you like it.

I use Photoshop CS with the QuickPortraitBoost action from 1-click I find that with good starting images (like this one) it is often all that is needed for a little extra without going OTT.

[shootphoto]

here is my take on it........just kept it clean and simple........

http://www.lancea.net/copy.jpg

[grannysdc]

I did this just because nobody seemed to want to touch the picture of your big tennis shoe..

[CJ Swartz]

Well, you cropped it to show the most important subject (no, not the shoe)

We could do an Art History brush rendition of her shoe...