A study in way overprocessing

[rufus5150]

The pizza eater:

This was a candid shot taken at a work celebration event (read 'ship party'). The lighting was terrible, the food worse but most of the pictures processed normally came out OK. It's such a huge batch of photos that I started just playing with doing all sorts of random things with them in photoshop, some successful, some not. The guy pictured, Max, really enjoyed the result but I figured I'd offer it up for input here.

 

[Early]

Nice! It's really different, like a painting, 'cept I'm turn off by all the mushy stuff at the bottom. Rework that, I think you'll have a wall hanger.

 

[EricBrian]

It is soooo different. I like it.

 

[LaFoto]

I'm quite taken in by what can be done to creatively alter an image that started out as a profane photo of people having a snack at a fast food restaurant.

But this thread should be in the Graphic Arts and Photo Gallery! The work has changed the photo so much, it is something DIFFERENT now. So I shall move the thread.

 

[rufus5150]

Since this got moved over here and some of the edits I've done go even further than the first, I'll post some more from this 'set' with a few different attempts at stylization:

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

And another one not from this set:
9.

 

[LaFoto]

I sure like your work. I find it very creative and also well done. All these images are pleasing, each in its own manner!

 

[rufus5150]

A couple new ones. I'm trying to figure out what makes a photograph amenable to this kind of processing because not every one makes the transition well. In any event, here's a couple more. Any comments or criticisms more than welcome.

 

[Al_H]

Some really outstanding work ... I love it when someone combines the technical skills with artistic vision and you do that quite well.

#9 is one of the best I've seen and is a definite wall/gallery piece IMHO.

Show more whenever you have more!

 

[rufus5150]

Thank you for the kind words.

Another more recent one I'm happy with, which ultimately lead to a new technique for creating these:

 

[Crimsonandwhite]

I really like this last one, you could make some money writing your techniques into actions and selling those puppies!

 

[rufus5150]

I'll give away the "secret"

Do a decent B&W conversion and then use a quadtone. Set it back to RGB, duplicate the layer and run a 'colored pencil' filter. The only tricky part is getting the 'stroke pressure' and the 'pencil width' to look good. It should look a little too fake though.

Once that's done, change the opacity on the pencil sketch layer to blend the original image through. I've been using somewhere between 40 and 80% depending on the image.

I didn't with that one, but as a final touch, I like to merge those layers and then run a distort->lens correction and put a reverse vignette on the image.

I've tried many convoluted things to try and get these images, but when I went back and went to a more 'simple' strategy, it worked.

 

[Crimsonandwhite]

Well if you feel like sharing how did you get the first couple of photos in this thread? Those are crazy and awesome all at the sametime!

 

[ann]

interesting work and a fun approach. I am not a big fan of over the top pp techniques where one looks at the image and says "light doesn't work that way", and has an ugh feeling.

these are the results of using the photo as the basis and then doing some wonderful artistic changes.

another vote for number 9.

i noticed you use liquid filter something i have been playing around with to re-create the look of an sx-70 manipulation.

 

[ann]

ps.

i just noted you use the word over processed. i think these are the use of artistic vision rather than over processed. i suppose it is how one wants to use that phase.

i call this type of work "altered art" as in my mind they are not longer a photo. please note i said in my mind and don't start getting all out of sorts.

 

[Al_H]

Thanks for sharing this latest work and for the steps you use to create these interesting images.

I like Ann's term "altered art". I sometimes consider my camera a sort of sketchbook where I make images that I can turn into "altered art".

Even though various tools, filters and effects can be used by most anyone who has PS, using them to create images that have some artistic merit is a talent in itself.

I enjoy straight photography, but I also enjoy creative experimenting and for me both are valid forms of image making. When I see images such as those here in this thread it inspires me to open PS and experiment some more.