Sunset over Lake Travis request

[wattsbw2004]

Ok so upon request to post here in the before and after section I wanted share a little bit of wat I did to this image. Bare with me though because I can't remember all the settings and im at work away from my laptop while typing this.



Original



Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/10
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 200


- First thing I did was open this image in PS as a RAW file and tweaked the settings only on the exposure, darks, and the temp. to bring out what I had really saw in the sky that night.

- Second thing I had done was opened the image as a smart image by holding down shift and clicking open object which brings it up as a smart image layer. Once the file was opened my next step was to create a duplicate smart object. To do so requires you to right click the layer and go to the line that says "New layer via copy" ( or something like that.)

- What the 2nd step doe's for me is create another layer to work with so i can properly expose for the sky on one layer and the silhouette on the other.

- Once the new layer is properly exposed and tweaked I added a layer mask to the top layer and painted away the parts I had wanted to come into view. (Explained in detail in Scott Kelby's 7 Point System)

- Now that I have everything in view on the image I can now merge the two layers to create one single layer to mess with. Which only leaves me with a small curves adjustment layer, as well as a smart sharpen/ fade to 70% to get it ready for print, and a crop to finish it up.

Hope this helps any and if you have any questions on steps I listed out feel free to ask and i'll answer them when I get to my laptop.

[windrider86]

the finished product is certainly an improvement witht he rich brillaint colors. Using water is an old trick to keep perespective and lighting after the sun goes down. Good choice in subject