Desert Dreaming: Color Splash...

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Color Splash...

I'm an amateur photographer with a professionals heart. I don't leave home without my camera. My wonderful husband bought me my Nikon D60 SLR Digital Camera the Christmas before last. Since then, I've bought a variety of lenses, programs, filters, etc. I haven't put it down since. My family and friends call me the "local paparazzi". Living here in Florida, I try to get to the beach at least once a week for beach shots, each sunset is uniquely different. Or to areas such as Ybor City to take pictures of all beautiful old buildings, tile, and landscaping. I've been doing a lot of macro photography throughout the summer, it is a whole different world. Though SLR digital cameras take some awesome pictures, it's always fun to use different programs to enhance or change the photo. Two of my favorite that I use are Photoshop and Corel. But, there are so many online free photo editing packages. There are several that I use frequently, and one of my favorite is http://www.picnik.com/. This program has hundreds of great features you can use to do just about anything to your photos. It's quick easy and fun to create. The photos here are called "color splash". I chose several that are very basic, just to give an idea of what this feature does. It's taking one of your photographs, changing it to either sepia or black and white and coloring in the original color of the photo of your choice. It's just like being a kid and coloring within the lines. You can color splash as much as you like, or keep it to just one area.

Step 1 Hit the "get started" button

Step 2 On the left side of page hit "upload photo"

Step 3 Click on the photo you want to color splash

Step 4 Pick the "create" tab at the top of the page

Step 5 On the left side under the "home" button hit "effects"

Step 6 Select either the "black and white" or "sepia" tab, this will change your photo to either the black and white or sepia.

Step 7 A box will appear that says "effect painting", here is where you determine the size of the paint brush you wish to use and the strength of the color splash. Just run the circle brush with your mouse over the desired area. You will need to experiment until you get the desired effect. I would suggest you use small strokes so if a mistake is made you can just hit the undo button and it won't erase all your previous work. Once you have finished your photo, just hit the "save and share" and "apply" tab and save it to wherever you wish on your computer.

Let your imagination go wild, and enjoy!!!